Here's a picure from where we're staying in Coronado...aahhhhh.
I'm lovin' the palapas...don't they just call you to relax?
If you look closely, or click on the picture, you can see the Coronado Islands in the distance.
Another gorgeous day in San Diego...such a Mediterranean quality to the light.
Check this out...all you need is a Pick Up Truck and NASCAR.
Yeeee--haw, ya'll!
If you click on the picture, you can see more detail. The red and white flag is the Bahraini flag.
I mentioned that hubs and I went driving around Bahrain.
(I also mentioned that I meant that quite literally...we did a loop around the island - AND stopped to see sights.)
This was one of the more unusual things I saw: Bahraini camping.
This is their version of: Back to Nature.
They go into the center-ish area of the island on the weekends and put up what were, to me - elaborate tents - nomad style. (Mind you, many of these tents have electricity of some sort - I saw antennas.) They also had access to water - some of it looked like the kind you'd see on sailboats.
Here's a picture of what you'd think of as a "stereotypical" Arab tent with carpets.
Hubs has heard that the weekend camping festivities are mostly a "males only", "boys club" kind of weekend....meaning that part of the reason they go out there is for purposes of hanky panky, ie prostitutes.
Frankly, I was never much of a roughing it kind of gal --- that's probably not much of a shocker, and out here, not only are you camping, but there's all the dirt and dust. (No bugs, I bet.) Shoot, I can't even walk outside without my feet getting filthy.
So, I don't know if the wives would be that upset to be left at home.
I wonder how "accepted" the prostitution really is. Apparently, the Saudis come to Bahrain on the weekends in part for the prostitutes, and then there are the tent weekends so the boys can get their prost-tent-utes. (Give me an "e" for effort there...I could have said something about tents and tatas...I'll save it for the breast cancer site.)
From what I've gathered of the lingerie stores...things might be covered and subdued in public, but it doesn't look like it's that way at home! Pretty racy stuff...very Frederick's of Hollywood. So, if that's the outlet...what's up with the prostitution??
Anyway...back to the Rednecks...
I did see some families out with their four wheelers. If you're into that kind of thing, this would certainly be a fabulous place to do it...lots of desert, lots of hills, lots of dust.
And last picture...I had to throw this in. This looks like an entrance to a race track...reminded me of NASCAR.
I just love that there are rednecks everywhere! Up in New England, they call 'em Swamp Yankees...lots of 'em in this parts. (More than I'd ever imagined growing up in the South.)
This is actually a compound.
If you look closely, you can see a structure in the background, in the center. If I recall correctly, that's one of the water towers...if not that, it's an antenna.
I mentioned NASCAR...but being Bahrain, they don't do NASCAR, but they do have Formula One Racing. We drove past the track.
Hubs says it's crazy busy when the races are open.
Hubs and I never got to the craft center the other day.
Actually, that's not true. We did get there, but it was very near a Shia neighborhood.
Now, there's nothing wrong with Shia's, but the government had put out an advisory about the fact that it was a shia religious holiday and that there would most likely be demonstrations - which have been known in the past to get violent - therefore, they advised to stay out of, and away from, the shia neighborhoods.
This is a picture of a shia mosque. Their colors are green and black. You can see the green flag in the foreground. If you click on the picture, you can see the black flags on the right hand side of the driveway. The other way to tell it's a shia mosque - the onion bulb dome. Here, that indicates a shia mosque...it's especially easy to spot a shia mosque when that onion dome is painted green. (Hubs has pointed that out to me, and I have seen the domes painted a light green.)
I've learned that the black flags are how you recognize a shia neighborhood. That - and from what I've seen, the shia neighborhoods are poorer and not kept up as well.
A Little Background...
Islam is divided into 2 major groups: Shia's and Sunnis. It's kind of like the split between Catholic and Protestant. Shia's and Sunnis differ over the order of the caliphs amongst other things. (Shia is where you get Shi'ites.)
Just as with the Catholics and Protestants, there are different branches of each...I suppose that the different "branches" is more prevalent amongst the Protestants with the Baptists, the Southern Baptists, the Methodists, etc. The most predominant group of Shia's are the Twelvers who believe in a particular group of twelve Imams.
Here in Bahrain at least - and I think it applies elsewhere - the Sunnis are the ones who typically have more power and more money. Saddam Hussein was a Sunni, for example. Many Palestinians are Shia's. Osama bin Laden is of another group entirely called Wahhabis, and this is the predominant sect in Saudi Arabia.
On the recent religious holiday - called "Ashura" - the shia's commemorate the death of Hussein ibn Ali...the grandson of Mohammed. He was travelling when his party was attacked at Karbala by some Sunnis in 680 AD, and Hussein was killed.
The shia's mourn and grieve his death, and like certain Christian groups at Easter, they will walk through the streets tearing their clothes and flailing their backs with whips until they bleed. (There are Christian groups who do something very similar at Easter.)
Ashura means tenth, and the ashura occurs on the tenth day of Muharram in the Muslim calendar.
Unusual Sighting outside a Shia Neighborhood
What I found interesting...typically, in Muslim art and architecture, you will not see pictures of people or animals. It's completely free of any of this type of ornament. Their decoration consists of Q'uranic scripture - done in various calligraphic styles - and other graphic ornamentation. (There's is a beautiful written language. Gorgeous.) They take the commandment, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me very seriously." Thus, no people or animals in the decoration.
You will NEVER see a picture of Mohammed or any of their prophets. From a Muslim perspetive, many of them consdier it rude or disrespectful to show pictures of Jesus as Christians do...different cultures.
I remember being at a museum in San Diego viewing some special exhibit of far eastern art work. The faces in one of the pictures had been scratched out. Someone had dared make an image of Mohammed. So someone else, out of respect, had scratched off his face.
That's why I found it odd when we drove by a Shia neighborhood on ashura the other day, to see images of Hussein ibn Ali on banners. I had never seen this before. Perhaps the forbidding of images of prophets is more of a Sunni thing. (It caught me by surprise, and we were driving - so I didn't get a picture. Hubs wasn't keen o stoppin gor turning around so I could snap a photo.)
Here is a picture of a storefront all done up for Ashura.
Again, notice the black and green banners. (It looks smeared because I took it from the car.)
I actually got to see some of these also written in English - basically, telling the story of Hussein's death and that he died not just for one person or one group, but that his sacrifice was for all.
As we drove, each banner had a bit of text on it. You'd read one and then the next and the next.
The way bits of each story was told on succeeding banners reminded me of the back roads of the South where instead, each sign has a Bible verse - and it's a requirement that at least one of those signs have Johnn 3:16 on it. "For God so loved the world...".
That's the impression I got from one of the Shia banners - that God so loved the world and Hussein so loved humanity that he gave his life in sacrifice at Karbala.
Made me feel at home.
Here's another picture of the Shia neighborhood with the black flags.
Once I learn the significance of the black flags, I'll share. I haven't looked into that yet, and surprisingly, my hubs - who knows many things - did not know the answer to that question.
I find the back flags ominous - but that's my cultural bias. Different colors mean different things in different countries.
To me, the black flags aren't particularly welcoming, and it doesn't seem they'd do much in the way of good P.R., you know?
I can't help but be reminded of the Raid commercials from when I was a kid...
Remember those Black Flag commercials?
Every time I see one of these black flags I remember that commercial and imagine one of these flags hauling back and going "THWAT"...."Smack the Infidel"...
I should put a disclaimer here saying that I truly believe people are people...some are crazier than others, but we all get attached to our beliefs. Hey, there are people in the south who still wear white robes and masks and who think that the things they believe are justified by God in the Bible.
They'd quote you scripture as the burned that cross on your lawn.
I guess I can admire the conviction.
I think if everyone would heed the, "Judge not" commandment, we'd all be okay.
Last note...I managed to snap this shot of a demonstration as we headed home from the mall the other day. (We went to the mall due to a shamal - a wind storm. I'll show pics of that later.)
We were obviosuly on the other side of a fence - and once again, we were driving, and hubs didn't want to do a U-ey so I could get a better shot.
I believe they were protesting Israel's attack of Hamas...and that's how they see it.
All depends on what side of the fence you're on...or on what side of what line in what country.
In the previous camel post, I mistakenly said that this gal here was in the "ready to breed" pen. I got that wrong.
This very friendly camel is in the "give birth at any time" pen.
Just FYI...all the camel pics are now posted with captions on the side of the page.
I apologize to all the lady camels in this pen for errantly mislabeling their pen.
Good luck, ladies, and may you give birth to happy, healthy babies!
Here's another shot of the same gal with her keeper. What a happy camel!
I'm so excited I could just squeal!!
We just got back from the camel farm!
That's me with a 1 week old baby.
The baby camel's coat is extremely soft and curly...this little gal stil had a piece of dried umbilical cord attached to her belly.
She was very affectionate. Hubs thought she was like a cat...she'd lean against you and rub all over you.
The babies keep this color coat until they are about a month old. They nurse for siz months and then are weaned.
Truthfully, I was a little hesitant about walking in here with the moms and babies...there were two moms and two calves. I lived on a farm as a kid and was nearly squashed by a mama cow. (I really wanted to see her new calf.) I learned my lesson. (To escape being trampled, I scaled this fence - amazingly fast - and when I jumped, I landed on a board with nails in it...yeah, not so good, but better than being crunched by an angry cow.)
Here's a picture of mama and baby.
Our guide said they have about 450 camels on the farm - and they are not used for racing or meat, and they are not for sale. Basically, it's a preserve.
These are dromedary camels.
They keep the males separate from the females, and they also separate them by age until they are adults. (Adulthood is at about 5 or 6 years old.)
They also separate the studs and the females that are ready for breeding.
This female was in the "ready to breed" pen. When she saw us walk in with the guide. She came right over...very friendly camel.
I asked about this "friendly" behavior because one of my best friends is Egyptain and can't stand camels. She says they're mean and the spit. Although none of these spit while I was there, the guide said that they will.
The camel's gestation period is 1 year!!!
Now to geek out on you a bit...what fascinated me was how well they are adapted to the environment. Their nostrils stay closed - much like how a seal's close automatically when they dive. I read that this feature also enables them to retain moisture that would otherwise be lost.
The adult camel's coat is wiry and the hair is course. I've read in an uncited article at wikipedia, that "evaporation of their sweat takes place at the skin level, not at the surface of their coat, thereby being very efficient at cooling the body compared to the amount of water lost through sweating. This ability to fluctuate body temperature and the efficiency of their sweating allows them to preserve about five litres of water a day."
They also have amazingly long and thick eyelashes!! Ladies, we should all be jealous! I'd buy stock in a mascara that could do this for the lashes. (The best mascara I've found so far - and my favorite, by the way - is Dior Show by Christian Dior...just FYI.)
Every creature is amazingly made and perfectly adapted to live in its environment! Check out the "camel visine". It seems that their eyes have a natural flushing mechanism. I'm wishing I had those lashes after getting sand in my eyes a few times here...ouch. Here's one last shot of the baby camel...she came up and laid her head on my shoulder...awwwww. I can't tell you how soft her fur is!! I'd post the location, but I left the map in the car. The camel farm isn't on the map I have, but with the map, I could better give the directions...just in case anyone plans on dropping by Bahrain. I know it's located in Janabiya...right across from Venice Gardens, a residential area. There's also a large date farm on the properry which you can see from the highway that takes you to Al Jasra Craft Center. There's no signage that I saw. We knew the general area and saw the camels through a gate as we were stopped at the stop light. A straighter route than we took would have been to take the highway like you're going to Al Jasra craft center. You take the exit going to Budaya...you go right instead of left at that exit (if you're headed toward Saudi.) There was no admission fee, although we did tip the gentleman that escorted us around the farm. This is a great nostril shot, too.
I'll post the rest of the pictures in an album on the right.
As I strolled along American Alley this afternoon, I saw my first Saudis...at least I assumed they were Saudis...and no, I didn't whip out my camera. I wanted to...and I wanted to stare, but I didn't.
The woman was draped in black. The only thing that was exposed were her eyes. That is, in fact, what got my attention from a distance...the black gallabayas (sp?) are not unusual. Having only the eyes exposed, is...but apparently not if you're a Saudi woman.
I was told about the upstairs at Al Abraj...they have little rooms with a curtain. This is for privacy, but also so that the woman can be kept private...in other words, they eat "behind the curtain" so that no one can see the guy's woman. I guess some men don't want anyone remotely looking at their woman...or women. (There's a compound about a block away with four houses...one for each wife. The first wife gets the biggest house.)
Like I said, I didn't want to stare - I did want to but I refrained...and neither did I whip out my trusty camera...althought I wanted to do that, too. (I remembered hubby's warning about taking pictures of Arab women...I can see how that'd be rude in any culture, though.)
I did get a glimpse or two when I passed... I noticed that her eyes were outlined in black. There also seemed to be a design with the black liner. It looked like it might be similar in design to the henna designs done on hands and feet.
She was clinging to her hubby as they walked down the street.
I was expecting to see more Saudis in the next few days.
Thursday is their Friday night...and Bahrain is their Vegas. (There's actually a causeway that connects Saudi Arabia to Bahrain.) It seems even they find their religious rules a bit constricting. (After judging from my groevery store incident today - and also from what hubs has told me - they also come here for the prostitutes.)
The prostitutes are a bit more covert here...they don't do the "street corner" scene. (I was wondering about the guy in the grocery store...I was completely covered in a long sleeve t-shirt, jacket and jeans - hardly a come hither look. I didn't think I was screaming "prostitute", but apparently, many prostitutes here don't look the part...yet they are abundant.)
So, I saw my first Saudis today...which apparently means I have to be extra careful now that they're in town. (They're good people, I'm sure...but apparently not such great drivers. Plus, the women get to drive here...and being Saudi, they don't get any experience at all when at home. People have gotten hit and killed here.)
I'd love to get a closer look at the eye makeup. It looked like it'd be beautiful...and her make-up didn't seem heavy at all. All I could tell that she had on was the eyeliner...then again, her face was covered.
Season's Greetings from the Kingdom of Bahrain!
That's a picture I took in London Heathrow as I was headed for my next flight - which didn't happen for 5 hours! (My layover was only supposed to be two hours.)
Knowing me, I was just happy that I eventually got to the right gate and on the right flight - and didn't fall asleep and miss it. (Yes, I've had all those things happen...wrong gate, wrong city, and I did fall asleep at a gate - but I didn't miss the flight thanks to a thoughtful passenger who stopped to wake me up and inquire if I meant to get on the flight.)
I actually thought that this picture was a clever use of the "passenger icons" in a seasonal greeting.
Tell me....does that, or does that not, look like antlers extending from the passenger's head??
See it?
I thought it was funny...then I realized my interpretation was probably not their intention.
Still, I found it highly amusing...maybe it's because I'd been awake over 20 hours at this point.
Anyway, I am in Bahrain and having an amazing time!
All total, it was a 30+ hour rotation from the time I got up Monday morning to the time I arrived on Tuesday...it was 2 flights - each about 6 to 7 hours plus the layover, and I drove from Newport to Boston to catch my flight.
I'll post later about all the food and sites. All amazing. ( I just opened the bedroom window so I could better hear the call to prayer.) The Grand Mosque isn't far from here. Hubs and I will be touring it this Saturday morning.
I'll post some more soon...right now, I'm headed out to "American Alley" to see if they have Lemon Mint juice. Discovered this fabulously refreshing drink yesterday at the Dome, which is around the corner.
I had it again when we went to Al Abraj last night for dinner - and it cost less than half what they charged at the Dome, and there's a mini-Al Abraj on American Alley.
I love mint so this drink is one of my many ideals of heaven!
For those of you interested...I posted pictures of my hubs apartment here in Bahrain. Check it out on the right side of the page. (When you go into the photo album, you can click the thumbnail to see a larger version.)
I'm off...pray that Al Abraj has lemon mint juice!
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