Lost in Translation

I just got back from a business trip from Jeddah. It was grrrrrrrrreat. I was originally supposed to go for the entire week, but that dream got chopped up into 4 days. No worries … my main goal for this trip was to make a trip to Makkah, and with the short distance, it would’ve been no problem. I ended up going twice in 3 days!

The entire week leading upto the trip, I was reading books, learning about the proper way to perform the pilgrimage, the dos, the don’ts … the musts, the enhs. I had a lot of help from the folks in Riyadh, since most of them have made this trip more times than they’d care to remember. I got the white, unsewn cotton wrap, known as [i]Ihram[/i], the proper slippers and all the other accessories all ready to go. Memorized the required prayers … I was set!

Well, not quite! When you make the intention of approaching Makkah from your origin, there are certain fixed places before which you must don your [i]ihram[/i].

For me, this would be while we were on the flight. The flight crew makes repeated announcements indicating when you’re a certain distance from the designated places. I heard the announcements, but for some reason I was feeling awkward putting on the 2 pieces of cloth … feeling wierdly naked just thinking about it. The thing is, you’re not allowed to wear anything sewn, so no underwear, no undershirt, just two long sheets, about the size of large beach towels. One draped around the waist like a sarong, and the other wrapped around the shoulders, covering the upper body. You’re allowed the special leather straps to hold the bottom cloth from falling and to hold your essential things … wallet, cell phone, car keys, etc.

So anyways, I didn’t put the Ihram on in the plane thinking I’ll just approach the destination prescribed for Jeddah, put it on there and then head onwards. Problem is, if your intention is from Point A, you cannot put Ihram from the place designated from Point B and beyond. Makkah lies in the middle of Riyadh and Jeddah. I wasn’t aware of this for awhile. In peaceful bliss, I rented my car at the airport, got a map and headed out. The drive takes about 40-45 minutes, so no biggie there. It was around 5:30, and I was sure I’d be done within a few hours, give myself another few to shop around and be back in Jeddah before midnight.

On the way, I stopped at a mosque and inquired within where the Jeddah place for Ihram is, and I was asked where I was coming from … I said Riyadh. The dude shook his head and is like “uh, no … you gotta go around Makkah to the other side and drive another hour to get to Taif, put the Ihram on there, and then come back” D’OH! So I thought, maybe this guy is clueless … let me just get into Makkah and see what happens. I knew I was getting closer as soon as I saw the sign “Non-Muslims Exit Here.” Within 15 minutes, my car was parked in front of the main mosque, and I was in awe.

I collected myself and called a few people who confirmed that it had to be Taif … or, wait a minute … I could offer a sacrifice for the poor within the bounds of Makkah, go out of the city, don the Ihram and head back in! No biggie, as this would easily save me an extra 2-3 hours. I parked my car in the underground garage, headed up, looked for a cab and off we went.

On the way, I told the guy what had transpired, and he said that I had the option of performing the sacrifice myself, giving someone else the knife and watching, or just giving the money to have it done and distributed amongst the poor. Yeah … it wasn’t a hard choice at all. If I had to hold the knife myself, I would’ve wound up in the hospital from the shock. I finally got into the Grand Mosque at around 7:30-8, having put on the Ihram outside the [i]Haram[/i] - the boundary of the Mosque.

If you’re not a Muslim, you really can’t comprehend, or even appreciate, the importance of this moment, or the inspiration, the awe and all that goes along with it. I guess if you’re a Catholic, it would be like hearing the Easter Mass delivered by the Pope in the Vatican, or if you’re Jewish, making the pilgrimage to the Wailing Wall. It’s a very powerful experience, and it really puts life in perspective on many levels.

The mosque is an absolute architectural masterpiece … it is gargantuan in proportions, and the fine carvings all over the ceilings and the upper boundaries, the white washed pillars, the carpets, the sparkling white marble floors, the bigger than life chandeliers at every turn, the flowing concourses leading you into the main veranda with the Ka’aba in the middle. When you get to that point, the feeling is overpowering, overwhelming. It is the cornerstone of the Muslim faith, and to be so close to it is definitely an EVENT in your life. I envy the inhabitants of Makkah.

To give you an estimate of the size, the mosque has 94 gates or entryways leading you inwards. and it’s not like one gate is 10 steps from the other, it takes a good 1-2 minutes from gate to gate.

I went thru the rituals and by the time I made my way out, it was around 11:15. Right outside is a KFC, and I was famished. Ordered a nice crispy chicken strips meal and I was on my way. My feet were killing me from the walking during the process and I couldn’t wait to get to the car. I got down to the garage, quickly changed, ravaged the food and at around 12:00 I got back into Jeddah, and into my nizice hotel — Jeddah Crowne Plaze; in the off chance that any of you are ever in Jeddah, I’d recommend it for the well laid out buffets - for every meal. We were only able to partake in the breakfast buffet since that is all the company paid for, and being the cheap bastards that we are, we weren’t willing to spend out of pocket when we could eat cheaply on the town.

The work in Jeddah isn’t really worth a mention - work is always the same, it’s work. But I must say the city is very nice. I took Monday night to drive around, and visit the various shopping malls, and take in the beautiful water views. That evening we dined at a Thai place, and it was by far one of the most delicious Thai food I’ve ever had. The soup was JUST right and the noodles perfectly seasoned, with hearty portions of shrimp, not like our grand establishments in VA where you get 4 shrimp buried in oil and pasta!

The next night, I headed back to Makkah so I could attend the last two daily prayers and also get some shopping done for the prayer beads, and the prayer mats. I guess you could get the same things anywhere, probably for cheaper too, but it’s the thought that you bought it in Makkah that makes it worth it. I had planned to shop between the 2 prayers, but I ended up spending the entire time within the mosque and finally made my way to the souks around 8:30.

LET THE SHOPPING COMMENCE!

I scurried from shop to shop, haggling, pouting, throwing the item in disgust when the vendor would go down only 15%. Eventually, I had everything I needed and again, it was 11:20 by the time I left. Got to the hotel, watched some basketball games, and found out that even God was disgusted by the Terps, since my prayer to have them in the Tourney went unanswered. Who can blame him … they were an absolutely atrocious this year, and really didn’t deserve to make it in. I just wanted for Coach to get his 12th straight Tourney appearance. Oh well … there’s always next year.

On Wednesday night, we wrapped up work and headed back to Riyadh. The next few days I spent in a daze, tired and barely able to walk.

Last night was one of the best nights I’ve spent in the Kingdom so far. Not uncommon to my nature, I was this close to missing it. One of my bosses in the RSNF was promoted a few months back, and our company was throwing a bash in honor of him. We weren’t privy to all the details, just that we had to get back to the manager with a yes or no reply within office hours 2 days prior.

As usual, when it comes to social events, I was thinkin I’d be much better off on my own at home as compared to an evening mixing with other people, especially people I work with everyday. Besides, there was a pretty big per plate charge of 500 Riyals ($135) I know … it wasn’t like a Bush Fundraiser price tag, but come on … that is a pretty big chunk. The word within our circle was that it would be certain political suicide not to attend, and I finally relented, coughing up the money VERY reluctantly.

Two days passed, and details started to leak out about the location (well, it kinda had to so we’d know where to show up!) and the plans for the evening. We got emails telling us to bring frisbees and footballs and what not and I’m thinking WTF? This is a dinner and you’re gonna play football before that?!? I guess it helped to know that it wasn’t going to be too formal, otherwise I’d be the only freak decked out in a suit.

So we finally roll up to this deserted place in the middle of nowhere. It’s this big Arabian party place, with different common rooms replete with floor seating and ornate wall carvings, and lush carpets spread out all over. The buffet tables were set out in the green lawns, and a beautiful dark red carpet was spread on the grass for enjoying the quiet, breezy evening before we retired to the closed in comfier quarters.

As soon as I made my way in, I knew this was going to be fun … all the RSNF officers were dressed in their traditional garb and all were mucho relaxed, partaking in the various conversations going around in the compound. I was welcomed extravagantly by everyone, this being my first soiree. As we all sat down in the lawn, a waiter appeared from nowhere decked in the proper livery carrying a large tray with beautiful gold trimmed tea glasses and a large crystal decanter full of steaming tea. He made his rounds amongst everyone, and altho I don’t drink tea, it would’ve been very impolite to decline. Good thing, too! The tea was very delicious, with subtle hints of spices and a strong presence of saffron. We all lingered there until the sun had clearly set and then we moved into the biggest hall. This place was extremely gorgeous.

The carpets were as soft as a babys butt, and so extremely thick and lush, I could have lied down and gone to sleep. The room had a little nook in the far end with traditional artifacts - camel saddles, the incense burners, and a few other odds and ends. Traditional Arabian doors are very pretty, with bright colors and vivid markings adding to the beauty. A few small replicas of these doors were beautifully framed and hung around the room. The rooms are setup quite differently than what we’re used to back in the West. Instead of small clusters of sofas in a big lounge, this room was furnished with floor seats around the 4 walls, with nothing in the center. After every 2-3 seats, there were slight rises for people to rest their hands, or to place the empty tea glasses in the small openings below.

People started sifting in, and as every new person would enter, the entire group would stand up, shake hands, and if you were close to the person, or the person needed to be shown respect, there would be the 3 traditional kisses, one on the right cheek, followed by two on the left - each delivered with a stated pause. Then you sit down again. It was pretty good exercise, since after a while the room was overflowing with about 60-70 men. Once all the guests had arrived, the waiters made their rounds in full force. First they brought out these beautiful silver trays loaded with the most sumptuous of dates; the size of kiwis. Each one probably adding 10lbs to my shapely figure.

The waiters entered again with TWO types of teas … an extremely aromatic rose colored brew, and the regular green tea from earlier. I tried the rose colored tea, thinking I wouldn’t get the chance again. Boy, was I wrong. By the time dinner was served, I was in serious need of a Bladder Management System (sorry, a little geek humor … get it BMS hehehe*snort*hehe I crack myself up)

Oh man, I totally forgot the fruit cocktails served after the 5-6 rounds of tea. They came out with these gorgeous crystalware glasses filled with beautiful colors … reds, whites, greens, oranges. They had freshly squeezed the juices in the back and now we got to enjoy them. It was so refreshing … very nice and cool.

People had drawn into small groups, and sounds of idle chit-chat, mostly Arabic, filled the room. I spent the hour lamenting the sad state of Maryland basketball with the other Maryland alumni. All of us in disbelief that the Terps had just dropped a must-win game to Virginia Tech. From there the conversation turned to lighter topics and the joys of quarterly travel that this position affords you.

In the distance, a large gong was rung indication dinner was served. HOW COOL! The meal laid out in front of us was lavish to say the least. Arabs are notorious carnivores and there was every kind of meat here that you could imagine … well, ok maybe not, it was chicken, lamb, beef, camel, quail, and rabbit. Then there were all the dressings, the breads, the tasty veggies and on and on and on. I was glad I had gone to the gym earlier in the day and could really take this joint apart. The waiters were loading everyones plate and I was able to barely finish 3/4ths of my serving. I had to leave the rest … cuz, umm, dessert was also very intriguing. Man, so much sweets … chocolates, mousses, Arab pastries, pies … the works! When I finally saw my belt buckle sticking out, I knew it was time to stop.

We lingered around for another 40 minutes or so and then we just up and left. Apparently, in Arab society, there is no concept of saying goodbye … there is no goodbye. There are extended hellos and welcomes, but no goodbyes. You just kinda drift away from the group. I need to find out the real reason for this, although I have theories of my own.

Overall, it was an extremely memorable experience. From what I hear, there will be many more!