Engagement Party Jeddah Style

Last night I attended my 4^th engagement party since arriving in Jeddah 9 months ago.  It was for the older sister of a co-worker.  I actually went shopping for a dress for the celebration.  The 3 past celebrations I had been to were more elegant than a Red Carpet event, and when I packed my bags for teaching kindergarten in Saudi a ball gown did not make the cut.  After having been to a few of these events already, I was starting to get the hang of them.

Rule 1: Plan to arrive home no earlier than 3am.

Rule 2: Wear shoes you can dance in, or dance barefoot.

My friend introduced me to all of her cousins and aunts.  They were absolutely gorgeous—like movie stars.  My friend was wearing a satin silver long dress bottom with a sparkling rhinestone strapless top and matching high heels.   She was stunning.  Her long hair was pinned back forming a beautiful bun.

Words cannot describe being in a room full of custom-made gorgeous ball gowns. Below is a picture of what a typical dress that a Saudi woman may where to one of these engagements.

After a couple hours of dancing, talking, eating small appetizers, and drinking Arabic coffee made of cardamom (an excellent way to keep awake), the bride-to-be was ready to be presented to all the women.  As friends and family gathered below, she appeared from the top balcony doors with staircases ascending on either side.  Traditional music was played. What a beautiful moment this was to share in.

As she stood at the top of the balcony alone while pictures were shot, she started tossing red roses into the crowd, one-by-one.  After this was finished, with the help of 2 other women fixing her dress, she gracefully descended the staircase while pictures continued.  She was so happy, and her sisters’ and mother’s faces expressed the same overflowing joy.  They joined her at the bottom of the staircase, and they continued together down the stage walk-way through the center of the room and up to the center stage that was awaiting her.  After a few more songs the guests were dismissed for dinner in the dining hall.  The row of white tables lined with silver dishes of food stretched for the entire length of the large room.  The food was amazing, and I especially enjoyed the shrimp and crab legs.

We visited for a bit longer, and one-by-one women returned to the counter to get their abayas where they had left them upon arriving.  I soon followed and exchanged my square number “86” card for my abaya and head scarf and sat to wait for my driver.  It was 3:15 a.m. I thanked my friend for everything. It was such a privilege to share in this family’s special memory of their oldest daughter’s engagement celebration.

By Michele

Saudi Women Climb Mount Everest

A few weeks ago this story caught my attention.  Inspired by their previous success in breaking the Guinness World Record for forming a female pink ribbon chain in Jeddah a group of women decided to start a new campaign:  “A Woman’s Journey: Destination Mount Everest”.

This May a group of 10 Saudi women successfully climbed  Mount Everest while raising awareness about breast cancer prevetion and living healthy lives.  There are some seriously amazing and strong women in this country who will go to great lengths to positively impact their country.

Check out a short news clip about their successful climb!

A Day with Friends

We were invited to an Omani’s house because she was a friend of a friend that met us. She called us and insisted that we come to her house for lunch. So with great enthusiasm we accepted the invitation and headed over. Her house was very beautiful with lots of detail on the walls and in the furniture.  We sat on the floor as our mouths watered at the feast in front of us. We had chicken, rice, salad, mangos, bananas, apples, watermelon, honeydew, dates and Assyrian sweets, with the best chai tea we have ever tasted.

After about 2 hours of conversation, our very kind friend asked us if we like to have fun. We of course said yes, and off we went on our adventure! She first took us to the City Center where we did some window shopping until the temperature cooled off enough for us to go outside. Around 6:00 we hopped in the car and headed for the theme park! We pulled up and to our surprise it was not crowded.

We got to take our friends on their first log ride experience! They were such good sports.  Even though it was not their ride of choice, they still got on with smiles. After we stepped off, a bit damp, we walked over to the ferris wheel. We got to see the beautiful view of Muscat at dusk.

After the rides, our friends took us to a beach we haven’t seen before. It looked like a popular hangout spot for couples. There were several couples having a picnic on the beach. There were also some guys fishing off the shore. We hiked up some rocks for a bit to get a better view.

The horizon was very beautiful! We finished off the night by going to McDonalds for dinner and having lots of laughs with our new friends! We are so thankful for and blessed by their kindness!

Rustaq

Continuing our amazing adventure here in Oman, we were invited, by the same group of Omani girls that took us to Mutrah, to a village called Rustaq that is about 1.5 hours away from Muscat. We woke up in the morning around 10 am to get ready for our awaited adventure with the girls. With all the excitement we kept looking at our cell phone to see when the girls would call to let us know that they had arrived at our house. Around 11am the girls arrived. We got in our cars and were on our way to Rustaq. Upon arriving in Rustaq we were quickly ushered into the girls’ mother’s house where we met her grandmother, aunts, dad and mother. We were shown into a room where the girls brought lunch to us. Lunch was chicken with potatoes, rice, spinach, onions, and yogurt. It was very delicious.

After having lunch we took a two hour nap that was very refreshing. When we woke up we had a snack, it was a platter of fruit that consisted of mangos, bananas, oranges and dates. After that they brought us some black coffee with a traditional Omani dessert called “Hilwa”. We headed out and the girls showed us the date farm that their family owns.

We got in the cars and we had about a 20 minute drive to a natural hot spring. The water was very HOT and we got a chance to dip our feet in the water.  People are allowed to bathe in the spring water.

After that we were taken to a fort in Rustaq, due to maintenance the fort was closed so we didn’t get to go inside but we still took pictures on the outside.

It was getting late and we had to get ready for the Omani wedding that we were invited too. Without hesitation we quickly got in the cars and drove back to the family house. The girls put makeup on us and even let us borrow their traditional dresses called “jalabiyas”.

Jalabiyas are beautiful silk dresses with a lot of bright print on it.  They are worn with a matching headscarf. Once we were all dressed up we headed to the wedding.

In the traditional Omani culture the bride is in a tent with all the women having their own party while she awaits her husband to come and pick her up. We ate dinner there which was rice and chicken and awaited her husband to come. In the meantime, we were taught how to dance by some of the women which was really fun! After a long day we drove back to Muscat and went straight to bed.

~ written by a traveler

Visiting Mutrah

On Wednesday June 6^th, we headed out to Mutrah Souq (which is a shopping market) in a city nearby with our new local friends!

We stopped at almost every shop that had scarves until all of us were at the point where we could not buy anymore scarves!

They took us to an Abaya shop, where we got to see three men hand making abayas. The man was putting each jewel on, one by one.  He told us that it takes him between 1-2 days to make a full abaya and matching scarf.

We then ventured off a bit further where my friend stopped me and showed me this platter that had different shaped containers on it. She told me that in the village it is tradition that when you have guests over at your house, after you eat a meal, the family will bring this platter out that has incense burning and perfume for the guest to put on. We were invited to her cousins wedding in the village and she told us that when we go to her house we will get to experience them giving us perfume after the meal.

She also showed us traditional chests that Omanis used to use to store their dresses and gold.

After about 2 hours of shopping we sat down for some fresh coconut milk!

Then our wonderful friends took us to see the Sultans palace in Muscat. It was very extravagant and beautiful. We were happy to find that there were no crowds because it was so late at night.

We finished off the evening by grabbing some very tasty Turkish chicken sandwiches called “shwarmas”. We had an amazing time visiting Mutrah with our new friends!

~ Written by a traveler

Ghumra

A few weeks ago I attended my first Ghumra – a traditional Saudi pre-wedding party held for the bride.  The word Ghumra means “soaking” – perhaps because she is soaked in beautiful gold jewelry -perhaps also because the bride is truly soaked with love, blessings, and congratulations.

Arriving around 9pm, I was one of the first to arrive.  The room was beautifully decorated and women sat around round tables adorned with beautiful linens, flowers and jewels.  Tea, coffee, and sweets were at every table for guests to enjoy.

By 10:30pm the room was filling up with women dressed in colorful jelabias.  I loved watching as people came in and greeted every lady one-by one.  I also loved seeing all of the different jelabias.  There were black jelabias with shiny gold, hot pink and vivid purple jelabias, floral jelabias, and pastel jelabias with silver and jewels. The styles varied from Egyptian to Moroccan to Indian; modern to traditonal.  Similar to the Jelabias pictured below.

As the room began to fill with people, Arabic music began to play and some older woman began singing traditional songs.  As the music filled the room, women took turns dancing in the middle of the room as servers walked around offering more beverages and sweets – including delicious clusters of nuts with honey.

As the evening progressed, the bride arrived.  Close female relatives walked in front of her, tossing rose petals and carrying two large poles adorned with fragrant leaves and roses.  The bride walked arm-in-arm with her mother.  She was adorned in a beautiful dress, gold jewelry, and a face covering made of crystals – similar to the one pictured in this article.  At the end of the isle was a small couch with beautiful fabrics draped over it – the seat of honor for the bride.  As the bride sat, family and friends surrounded her, danced around her, cheered and celebrated her.

The rest of the evening and early morning was filled with more dancing, more music, more singing, and eventually a feast -including the traditional dish of kabsa (rice and lamb) and many delicious desserts.

Around 3 am, women began to say their goodbyes and trickle out.

The evening was absolutely beautiful, and it was such an honor to be a part of it–getting to see another incredible part of Saudi culture.

Omani Hospitality

We never knew what it meant to truly serve someone and show them real hospitality until we were welcomed into our first Omani home.  These families go to great lengths to treat their guests with kindness and respect.  To them, this is how a host should always honor their guests.

When you first arrive, it is customary to remove your shoes before entering the home.  Once you are inside, the men go into one room and the women into another.  It is refreshing to be able to spend our time alone with women.  It makes it very easy to have relaxed and open conversation.  At about 8 o’clock we gathered around the table for a traditional Omani dinner.  Following the dinner was more conversation until late hours of the night.  To them, there is no limit on a guest’s stay.   Even though we came from different cultures and did not know each other very well, by the end of the night we felt as if we were part of the family.  We will never forget that night full of hospitality spent with such a beautiful family.

­Yliana and Caitlyn

“Reinventing the Saudi Abaya”

Recently I went to an Abaya Fashion show that was preceeded by an informational talk about the Saudi Abaya – the long black cloak worn by all women in Saudi Arabia.  I  learned about the history of the abaya, its ties to Islam, and modern Abaya fashion.  The abayas I saw were absolutely gorgeous and the styles creative and unique.  Instead of trying to relay what I learned –  BBC news recently interviewed Eman (the same woman I heard speak) and wrote an article about the Saudi Abaya titled, “Reinventing the Saudi Abaya” – check it out!

AP Women Make Forbe’s List: World’s Most Powerful Women

Three women from the AP made this year’s Forbes 100 of the World’s Most Powerful Women.  Follow the links to learn more!

# 70 Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi – Minister of economy and first woman to hold a cabinet office in the UAE among other things.

#74 Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Missned – First lady of Qatar and actively involved in working towards helping women and children and improving education.

#91 Maha Al Ghunaim – Vice Chairman of Global Investment House (Kuwait).