New Word

My plan has been to learn one new arabic word every day.  The problem isn’t learning the new word…. It’s remembering the words from the previous week!

Yesterday’s new word was pronounced “Hardith” (I think).  The word occurred at a major road junction on the way to work.  There had been a “Hardith” (crash).  It looked like one vehicle had ignored the “ishara” (traffic lights).  Oops that’s two words in one day!  I’ve been meaning to buy 100 blank business cards and start writing english on one side with arabic on the reverse.  I’m still meaning to buy them…..!

Ahead of us was a car with a wheelchair in the boot (trunk).  Well I initially thought is was a wheelchair but then realised it should have been folded and inside the boot.

Then I realised it was one of those OAP’s all terrain high mobility scooters.  It’s not the most unusual sight observed during my travels.  On the journey back from Dammam a pick-up (ute) passed going in the opposite direction. In the single cab were two adult males and the heads of at least two small boys.  Whilst in the rear were two women (wrapped in black of course) and a baby camel.  I don’t believe there was sufficient room in the cab for the camel!  Or maybe it was female?

My poor driver has to drive quite slowly in the compound as he get distracted by all the ladies walking about showing their intimate parts (faces).  I’m almost certain we took a detour when he noticed one middle-aged lady in the distance who was wearing SHORTS and showing her bare LEGS.  I’ve already realised what a shock I’m going to get when I arrive home to see half naked females everywhere.

Humour aside, I have always found it interesting to observe people and their cultures.  Saudi Arabia has two of the most holy cities in Islam and a non believer may not enter either of them.  Riyadh, the capital is reputed to be more conservative that Jeddah or Dammam.  No doubt because it is the capital.  The Saudi’s see themselves as the “custodians” of these most holy of places and are determined (within reason) to maintain religious standards.  What I find interesting is the variations in dress standards between Islamic nations.  In Iran the women wore a black cloak and a headscarf (or hood) which covered their hair.  In Egypt many women wore western clothes.  In Indonesia (which has the largest Islamic population in the world) they wear a tight headscarf.  So dress standards vary.  I’ve read Mohammed didn’t stipulate the type of clothing to be worn and apparently neither does the Koran.  Mohammed reputedly stated that women (and men) should dress modestly and cover their intimate parts.  It then became a matter of defining “intimate”.  The veil for women existed in this part of the world long before Islam and I suspect wearing of it has continued.  So the reason for women wearing a veil in the kingdom is more likely based on cultural rather than religious grounds.  Wearing the abaya (cloak), hijab (head covering) and niqab (face veil) means the only visible parts are the hands (but some wear gloves) and eyes.  It certainly makes them anonymous.  They become shapeless black apparitions.  Perhaps they feel some psychological advantage being able to observe the world around them from behind a one way mirror?