Everything Saudi - Clothes, TV, and What Is That Wonderful Smell?

The traditional dress for Saudi women are hijab (veil) and abaya (ankle-length full-sleeve dress). As Americans, we assume that because it's hot out we have to break out the mini skirts and short shorts. It's counterintuitive, but having that head-to-toe layer of protection over my skin kept me from getting hotter because I didn't get direct sunlight on my skin. I loved wearing my abaya it was so easy to move around in because of its loose fit.

Some of the abayas worn by Saudi women stunned me. There's intricate sometimes ornate embroidery and beadwork around the sleeves, waist, and hem. I saw women wearing abayas taken in at the waist or wearing a belt to accentuate the waist. Contrary to popular belief, woman aren't rendered completely figureless or unstylish in abayas. Some Saudi women wear a niqab that covers the face showing only the eyes and gloves. Neither are required by Islam.

I got a chance to flip through Saudi TV channels at the hotel. One channel was a 24/7 feed from the Masjid al-Haram. Another channel focused on Saudi culture and featured ardha, sword dancing. The rest were news channels. The scope of what the Saudis watch seem narrow because for the Saudis, God, Islam, and culture are at the hub of everything even television.

Used as a natural pest control for mosquitos, you'll find dragonflies everywhere. They're huge mean looking bugs that'll sometimes land on your abaya or sit atop your head, unbeknownst to you.

Like Americans, the Saudis drive on the right side of the road too. Our drivers in Saudi Arabia drove at blindingly fast speeds of 100-110 mph!!! I loved it. The Saudi police "try" to enforce the 80 mph speed limit with no avail. The Saudis have a need for speed and with gas prices at a mere 90 cents a gallon, why not drive fast?

There are millions of people in Saudi Arabia. Think of any big city with lots of people, the city stinks, right? Manhattan smells like rotting eggshells and banana peels, but Makkah and Madinah smell wonderful. It's a spicy woodsy smell. You'll smell it on people, in cars, in stores, masjids, and hotel rooms. What is this wonderful smell?
It's oud/agarwood.

Is there anything more you want to know about Saudi Arabia?
Let me know!

Everything Saudi - Food, Bon Appetit!

I began writing my next post, Everything Saudi Arabia, when I realized I should do a separate post on food alone.

For all my food obsessed readers, Bon Appetit.

I can't talk about Saudi food without mentioning dates. Its a meaty sticky fruit with an earthy taste. I don't like dates.The only date I tried and liked, I drank down with bitter Arabic coffee made with cardamon. It's the best way to eat dates if you don't like the taste. The sweetness of the date becomes neutralized by the bitter taste of the coffee.

If you go to Saudi Arabia you MUST try shawarma. It's legit street food and a Middle Eastern staple. It's lamb meat that's been roasting on a spit all day. You can see the juices running slowly down the meat. It's usually ready to serve after Asr namaz (afternoon prayer), you won't be able to get it before then. The meat is shaved off into thin pieces and wrapped in a flatbread. Think of it as the Middle Eastern version of a philly cheesesteak.

Americans are notorious for their gluttonous food portions e.g., king size/supersize/biggie size = large. But, they can take a seat to the Saudis. My dad ordered what the Saudis consider a one person meal. It came with rice, lots of it, six long pieces of goat kabob, and a mound of steamed vegetables. There was enough food to feed him, my mom, and me!

And now, for the best thing I ever ate….Baba ghanoush. Our driver suggested I try Baba ghanoush so papa ordered that and three khubz, a large flat bread, to dip into the Baba ghanoush. It was made of yogurt, eggplant, olive oil, and spices. I singlehandedly ate it all.
There are so many variations on Baba ghanoush that I'll probably never have one that tastes similar to what I had in Saudi Arabia. I think you can find Baba ghanoush in ::gasps in disgust:: a can (sacrilege!) in Middle Eastern stores, but it won't be similar in taste, smell, or authenticity.

Makkah - In Pictures

Jabal-e-Saur, where the prophet hid from the pagans with his friend and future caliph Abu Bakar.

It's difficult to see, but there's a dent in the middle of the mountain.

That's the cave Muhammad (pbuh) hid in.

Masjid-e-Nimrah prayer for Hajj is performed here.

The same mosque.

The same mosque again.

Camels!

So colorful.

Hello Mr. Camel

My favorite picture.

Bedouin

I like this picture as well.

Mina - Tent City
Pilgrims stay here during Hajj before moving onto Mount Arafat.

More tents. Mina can accommodate millions of pilgrims.

Saudi roads, smoother than a baby's bottom.

Jabal al-Noor

It takes two hours to climb Jabal al-Noor. I didn't climb it.

There's a barely visible dent in Jabal al-Nour. The dent is another cave, Hira, where Muhammad (pbuh) received the first revelation.

This is the town where the Prophet's (pbuh) first wife Khadija lived.
I admire Khadija very much.
Before becoming the Prophet's (pbuh) wife, Khadija was a successful businesswoman.

Cemetery where Khadija was buried.

Masjid-e-Jinn.

Muhummad (pbuh) was reciting from the Koran in this mosque when a group of passing Jinn stopped to listen.

Tunnels under the mountain.

Town where Muhammad's followers lived.

Back of the Masjid al-Haram

Landscape

Date trees

Makkah Day II - What Are All These Bangali People Doing Here?

In Makkah I didn't see a single Bengali pilgrim, but I saw hundreds of Bengalis! So what are all these Bengali people doing here? They're foreign workers brought over by the Saudi Kingdom to do low skilled work for minimum wage. The bell boys, room service people, waiters, taxi drivers...Bengalis. The working visas usually expire in two years. In that time, foreign workers have the opportunity to send money back to their families or save up money so that when they return to Bangladesh they have more money than what they left with. Some Saudi employers provide room and board and even an old model car.

It sounds like a good deal, right? The problem with hiring desperate people especially desperate poor people is exploitation. One has to wonder are these ex-pats leaving terrible conditions for better ones? Or is it out of the frying pan and into the fire? Women foreign workers hired as maids are sometimes physically and sexually abused by their employers. In Kuwait, workers protested against low wages and poor working conditions. The Kuwaitis deported over 200 Bengali workers involved in the protest.

From the conversations my parents had with some of these Bengali workers, I found out their primary concern was premature cancellation of their visa due to cutbacks being made on foreign workers. Another concern is their status in the Kingdom. Saudi nationals look down on foreign workers because of the lowly work they do. The irony is that the Saudis don't want to do the work that Bengali workers are hired to do. The unemployment rate in Saudi Arabia is 30%! One of the highest in the world.

Shouldn't a 60 year old Bengali man mopping the floors of the Masjid al-Haram be treated with the same dignity as a Saudi oil tycoon?

I think so.

Visual Aids - The Kaaba, Tawaf, and Sa'i

1 - The Black Stone; 2 - Door of the Kaaba; 3. Gutter to remove rainwater; 4 - Base of the Kaaba; 5 - Al-Hatim; 6 - Al-Multazam (the wall between the door of the Kaaba and black stone); 7 - The Station of Ibrahim; 8 - Angle of the Black Stone; 9 - Angle of Yemen; 10 - Angle of Syria; 11 - Angle of Iraq; 12 - Kiswa (veil covering the Kaaba); 13 - Band of marble marking the beginning and end of rounds; 14 - The Station of Gabriel.

Tawaf (Tavaf) - circling the Kaaba seven times counterclockwise starting at the Black Stone corner.

Safa and Marwa - two small mountains.

To make Sa'i easier for pilgrims the mountains are enclosed in the Masjid al- Haram.

You can only see the peaks of the mountains.

Sa'i (Saee) - going back and forth seven times between the mountains beginning at al-Safa.Performing Sa'i is like walking up and down a very very long hallway, but the ends of the "hallway" become unleveled and steep when you reach the peak of each mountain.

Seven rounds is approximately 2 miles/3 km.

Masjid al-Haram

To be in a state of Ihram means conducting yourself a certain way before undergoing the pilgrimage; no cursing, quarreling, etc. Men wear Ihram clothing made of two pieces of towel-like material. In the Ihram clothes one cannot distinguish a rich man from a poor man, an educated man from an uneducated man, everyone stands equal before God.

Makkah is the holiest city in Islam and the most sacred site in Makkah is the Masjid al-Haram, the world's biggest mosque, and the Kaaba built by Abraham (yes the same Abraham from the Bible) and his son Ishmael

King Fahad's Gate - Yeah I don't know who he is either.

Minarets

Left Side

A front view of the Kaaba. As you can see it's big.

The three lighted horseshoe area is the al-Hatim. We prayed here after performing Tawaf.

The little gold canister looking thing in front of the Kaaba is called The Station of Abraham and holds his footprints.
Look at all the people. I can't imagine what it's like during Hajj.

A classic pic.

The Kiswah is the black covering over the Kaaba. It's made of black silk and the embroidery is done with gold plated thread. The estimated value of the Kiswah is $5,000,000 (yes MILLION) and its replaced annually! I want to know what they do with the old ones.

You can feed a lot of people with that money.

Across the top is the Shahada and other text from the Koran.

All those columns and arches and that's just one little side.

The back of the Masjid.

You can find Zamzam water throughout the mosque, but people take gallons of it from the back. Notice the guy with two huge blue jugs. My parents and I only took three water bottles, one for each of us.

We don't need a year's supply of Zamzam.

Hotel Views

The best part about our hotel in Makkah was it's proximity to the al-Haram and its beautiful views of the city.

Masjid al - Haram at night

Masjid al-Haram in the morning

Zoomed In

The next three pictures is the skyline going right to left.

Right Side

Middle plus reflection!

Left Side

That beautiful mountain that looks like a camel's hump in the distance is Jabal al-Nour (Mountain of Light) where Muhammad received the first revelation of Allah from the angel Gabriel (yes the same Gabriel from Christianity).

Makkah Day I - Shadada (To Witness)

"There is no God, but Allah and Muhammad (pbuh) is his prophet."
I first said these words when I was eight years old in my American accented Arabic. My declaration of faith to Islam, Shahada, little then did I know the magnitude of these words.

I performed the first part of Umrah, Tawaf, circling the Kaaba seven times. I felt a sense of unity circling the Kaaba with hundreds of other Muslims. A pocket formed in the crowd and I moved closer to the Kaaba. It seemed small to me in pictures because of its relation to the surrounding mosque, but standing in front of it, I felt this big aa*aa. I touched the Kiswah and one of the corners.

Papa almost touched the Black Stone, but ma pulled him back because of the unruly crowd around it. The reason why everyone wants to touch or kiss the Stone is because the Prophet(pbuh) kissed it. A "police" hangs suspended from the Black Stone corner like a monkey and tries to keep the crowd under control...unsuccessfully I should add.

Then, I performed Sa'i. I walked back and forth seven times between the mountains of al-Safa and al-Marwah, a reenactment of Hagar's search for water between these mountains for her baby, Ishmael. Hagar's search ended when the crying baby kicked the ground with his feet and water miraculously gushed out. This water continues to flow today and is called Zamzam and I drank it after finishing Sa'i.

I finished the last part of Umrah by getting a tiny bit of my hair cut, Halq. My mom cut my hair and I cut her hair and because the scissors were in my hand other women flocked to me to cut their hair. I cut blond hair, red hair, black hair, gray hair. The diversity of people astounded me. I was in awe of Islam's reach.

I sat out in the courtyard with my parents wallowing in the completion of our Umrah. I looked up at the Kaaba and saw the Shahada written across the top in Arabic calligraphy. It's cliche, but this was my "full circle" moment with Islam. The Kaaba is the tangible representation of the Shahada. Muslims don't worship the Kaaba, but what it represents, one God. The words I uttered as an eighth year old kid appeared in front of me now as a 22 year old woman.

To see the Kaaba up close, to witness it, was overwhelming, amazing, satisfying...beyond anything I could say or write. Like pi, it's difficult to express the infinite in the finite.