I stopped today and took some photos of the flamingos feeding in the mud flats. There were several colonies near the Sitra Bridge right outside of the capital city of Manama. They seemed quite content despite the large number of cars whizzing by them. We stopped the car and I got out and crossed through a construction area to get these images. The Bahrainis don’t seem to develop their water fronts. I couldn’t believe more people were not out watching these beautiful birds. They turned out to be Greater Flamingos (Phoenicopterus roseus).
Flamingos are very cool birds. They wade through the water with their heads upside down, filtering for food. When I went down to the rocks on the shore, I could smell and see a stream of black effluent moving through the water. I wonder if this affects the birds? Reef-Egret as well a thousands of seagulls.(http://www.hawar-islands.com/) Here is an amazing web site about the bird life on the islands of Bahrain. After looking at AJ’s photos, I need to get a better lens and camera.
I finally got around to reading Greg Mortenson’s book about his work in Pakistan. The book was on the New York Times Bestseller’s list for a long time. I won’t give a summary of the book but a few of my impressions. It was a good time to read the book to coincide with my trip to the Middle East. Mortenson is an “global nomad” having grown up in Tanzania and it shows in his ability to easily adapt to a foreign culture. He is being touted by the US media as the foremost authority of life in Pakistan and Afghanistan and the US military commanders are consulting with him. Is it that hard to take time to learn the language and customs of a country. He dives right into the culture of the Kashmir / Himalaya region by learning Pashtun, wearing the traditional costumes and figuring out the power hierarchy in the villages where he is trying to build schools. I think his global background gave him the mind set to do this very quickly, having grown up in a culture different to his own parents.
My Father-in-Law Buys Dates in a Market in Manama, Bahrain (December 2010)
I just don’t understand why the US foreign service and military doesn’t have an army of Greg Mortensons. It should be mandatory to use long-time in-country expats to understand how the US government form its policies and relationships with other nations. The US should be putting more effort and resources into developing people like him. I feel strongly about maintaining a strong military, but the US should put more into money into programs like Mortenson’s, like building schools in areas that need them. I feel sorry for those kids in the US Armed Forces that have never left the US, being thrown into situations where they need to interact with local civilians. We are going about it all wrong.
My visit to Bahrain the past two weeks has changed my perspective to the Middle East. I know that Bahrain is only a small part of the region, and is known for its tolerance, but this is a region that we can do much more to help, other than military intervention. They Muslims are ordinary people with normal hopes, dreams, fears, emotions, etc. Greg Mortenson has found this out, why don’t more Americans do so also?
We ended 2010 with a round of golf at the Royal Golf Club at the Riffa View Estates here in Bahrain. Owen and I played 11 holes against my nephew Sebey and his father, Diego. We played on the “Wee Monty” course, a par-3 short course especially designed for kids.
The Royal Golf Club is a private club located in the gated community of Riffa Views where my sister-in-law Alejandra lives. To have a lush, green golf course in the middle of the desert takes a lot of money and the membership fee for a one-year individual costs over $8,000. The main course was designed by Scottish professional Colin Montgomery. We got a teacher discount and had a fantastic day of camaraderie and spirited competition. It was Owen’s first time golfing and I want to thank Diego for helping him out and inviting us for a great day out.
For the record, on the 11 hole par 33 course we played, Owen shot an 83, Bill 65, Sebey 64, and Diego 42. We lost by two points in match play, with a four-shot handicap. I’ll be watching Euro Sport later this month, when the first stop on the PGA European Tour comes to the Royal Golf Club with the Volvo Championships.
We also said goodbye to Diego last night as he flew back to Ghana. Hermes leaves this evening. We still have a few more days here. It was great to see both of them again.
Hermes, Diego and I at the City Center Food Court in Manama
Yesterday I took the kids to several tourist attractions in Bahrain. I had all of the kids because Nadia and Ale were judging an art competition at a local school and Diego had some correspondence to complete. I loaded up the car with all four kids, took out the map, packed drinks and snacks, and set out to explore the island.
We first went to the Bahrain Fort. The fort rests on top of a “tell” which is an archeological term meaning an area that has been built up to a mound because of through the centuries it has been occupied. The tell around the fort is only partially excavated and it would be a good project to excavate and document the entire site. Bahrain was a trading post since antiquity, first being occupied by the Dilmuns. The Persians (Iranians) controlled the islands for a long time, probably longer than the Arabs, hence the name, the Persian Gulf. A fortress was built on the site by the Portuguese. Bahrain has long been known as a site for the processing of pearls. The site is located near to the water which makes sense. The kids loved playing hide and seek and running through the arches, steps, and corridors of the fort. We spent a couple hours exploring every nook and cranny of the place.
Oliver Collecting Shells
We then drove down to the nearby beach and collected shells. I’ll do a blog post on the items we found later, which I’ll need help deciphering several messages we found from any Arabic readers out there. We ended our morning excursion with a tour of the Al Fateh Mosque.
Ocean Dancing in the Courtyard of the Al Fateh Mosque
The mosque was very impressive. It is huge and magnificent! The place can fit 7,000 worshippers and the amount of money that went into the mosque, from meters and meters of Italian marble in the courtyard, to the main chandelier of the great dome in the hall – the government must have spent millions of dollars. I think it is really nice that it is open to the “infidels” and they have it set up to teach foreigners about Islam. The woman at the desk was quite helpful and gave us complimentary books about Islam for children and in Spanish for Popa. They had signs explaining how to pray and do ablutions (ritual washing before prayer). I taught the kids about Mecca, Allah, etc. We also heard the call to prayer from the two huge towers outside the mosque. I hope to upload it to my flickr account, but am struggling with the internet speed here.
We then met up with the rest of the family for a late lunch in “American Alley.” This is a street just outside the US Naval base downtown that features dozens of US and international fast food chain restaurants. We ate Mediterranean Grill, a restaurant similar to TGIF or Applebees. We stopped in the harbor and took photos of the sunset of the Manama skyline. There are many beautiful skyscrapers on reclaimed land near the harbor. Below on the left of the photo is the Bahrain Financial Harbor building designed to reflect the colors of the sunset.
The kids had a great time camping last night Bahraini style. Driving around the Bahraini desert a couple of days ago, I saw these makeshift compounds in the oil fields circling the Mountain of Smoke. It turns out that Bahrain has an official camping season from November to March to coincide with the fresh winter weather. Their idea of camping is to set up a fence with mesh or palm leaves and set up tents and common areas inside. We were invited by a friend of Marita’s last night to her camp for a BBQ. They had a really nice set up for a social gathering. There was a fire pit, tents with carpeting and couches, a fire pit, soccer pitch, bouncy castle, etc. Marita’s friend rents out her camp site for a variety of groups.The evening was catered and we enjoyed a BBQ with shawarmas. My highlight was walking above the camp to a hill with a view of the sunset.
I think this tradition of camping comes from the time the Arabs were a nomadic people in the desert. If I lived in Bahrain, I would definitely set up a camp. I would choose a site near the beach, however.
Yesterday I took the kids on a summit climb to the top of Jebel Al Dukhan, which means the Mountain of Smoke. It is the highest point in Bahrain. It certainly not K2, but the kids loved it! They scrambled up the rocks and had pretend adventures. It was surrounded by oil wells and a military base so they could pretend they were James Bond spies.
I read later where the place is now off limits to tourists due to the military camp. No one bothered us however. It is December and the best weather for doing outdoor things in Bahrain. It would be sad if this area was prohibited because it is one of the few outdoor things to do in Bahrain. You can see our rental car below in the back ground of the photo of Oliver.
Kids take to climbing quite easily. I was a bit nervous on the top when Oliver approached the cliff. It is really safe however and perfect for kids. They found a bunch old tools and waste from some construction workers. I wonder why it is called the Mountain of Smoke.
In the morning we organized our clothes and de-cluttered Marita’s apartment. I spent most of the time attacking an Acacia tree in her back garden. I cut off some branches near the ground to allow the plants underneath to flourish as well as make it look more like a tree and less like a bush. We also cleaned out a lot of the dead vegetation. I asked why she didn’t develop her back garden more and put some picnic tables and chairs out there. She replied that December is about the only time of the year that one can spend quality time outside as it is extremely hot and dusty most of the year. The backyard does look much nicer and I’ll finish up tomorrow.
We went out for a big lunch at a restaurant called Al Abraaj. The food was spectacular! I highly recommend the restaurant, and there are five of them on the island. I had the stuffed “hammour” fillet, which I believe was catfish. The typical Middle Eastern starters and salads were also great. The Turkish bread with the dips labnah, hommos, and mutabal were delicious.The most interesting thing about the restaurant were the curtains in front of each booth. They have curtains so the Bahraini women can take off their head dress and eat without other men seeing them. This does not include the Indian and Bangladeshi waiters.
Nadia and Ale Posing in Front of the Al Fateh Mosque in Manama
In the late afternoon my brother-in-law and I played tennis on the hard courts of the Riffa Views International School. I haven’t played a tough opponent in years and it showed. I enjoyed the workout however, and want to play more while I am here.
My Christmas spirit has completely gone. In Serbia with the snow, cold, and the live Christmas tree, I was totally into it. But with coming to the Persian Gulf desert, the Christmas spirit has fizzled out. I hope to regain a bit as we approach Christmas day. Still no internet and I’m dying without it.
After 2 and ½ years of living in Serbia, I am finally getting decent with my Serbian. I’ve made a commitment to myself to complete my studies in Serbian and to be as fluent as possible. I know I will never be totally fluent because most of my day is in English at work and at home it is Spanish and English. My opportunities to speak Serbian are few. I am speaking with Serbian colleagues in Serbian now and going to the super market , gas station, etc. trying to do the transactions in Serbians.
I am devoting time to the study of Serbian because I like the intellectual challenge, it gives me more understanding of my surroundings and makes my experience here in Serbia richer. I am in unit 10 of the Teach Yourself Serbian by Vladislava Ribnikar and David Norris. It is published in the USA by Contemporary Books, a division of the educational giant McGraw-Hill. I’ll be reinforcing my learning by blogging from time to time in a humorous manner.
Uncle / Aunt – In English this concept is quite easy. There are only two words for the siblings of your parents, and you call them either your aunt or uncle depending on their sex. But in Serbian, the title changes depending on what side of the family the sibling is on, as well as a different name for the spouse of the sibling. I guess the title give more information to everyone in the room, but I am not sure why that is important, because in most families, everyone knows what the exact relationship an aunt or uncle has within the family. It does complicate it for the foreigner trying to learn the language.
Let me see if I got this straight. On your father’s side of the family, the “uncle” can either be a stric or a teča, depending on if it is the father’s brother, or brother-in-law. On the mother’s side, the “uncle” can either be an ujak or once again teča. In summary, the stric & ujakare the brothers of your parents, while teča is the brother-in-law of one of your parents.
On the father’s side of the family, the “aunt” is known as a tetka if she is the sister of your father, and if she is the brother-in-law of your father, then she is known as the strina. On the mother’s side of the family, the sister is known once again as the tetka and her husband, or your mother’s brother-in-law, is known as the teča again. The sister-in-law of the mother is known as the ujna, who is married to the ujak.
The Serbs also take this differentiation as step further with the next generation; the cousins. There is not a separate word for „cousin“ in Serbian. They are known as brat od …strica/teča/ujaka. The term brat od means „brother from…” Could they also be referred to the brat od…tetka/strina/ujna also? Especially is the uncle is divorced or deceased? Why do they do this only with uncles and aunts and not grandparents who are known as deda or baba, regardless of what side of the family they are on?
Now, what do you call brother-in-law and sister-in-law? I know that the godparents are known as kum or kuma.
I went through my family tree and attached titles to the various to our children’s uncles and aunts to help me learn the various new terms.
On our second day on the island, we got outside of Manama. We are staying in the area known as Riffa, which is one of the southern suburbs of Manama. After a morning of skateboarding on the streets of the Riffa Views gated community, we took the kids to Al Jazayer Beach. The beach is located on the south west coast of the island. We was a decent beach for kids. The water was clear and shallow, perfect for kids. There was plenty of playground equipment and the beach was generally free of litter. There were also shade structures and trees to set up a picnic area.
It was strange to see women on the beach in their full “ninja”, or black robes. The only people swimming were foreigners, besides us there was a British family. The closet the locals came to swimming, were two women getting their feet wet. I also saw a family stop what they were doing, face Mecca and pray into the setting sun. No one bothered us and we had a spirited game of beach soccer followed by rock throwing into the water. It was my first time swimming in the Persian Gulf. The water was cold and salty. It must be refreshing in the Bahrain summer. Yesterday tempertures were in 70’s.
Last night, my brother-in-law and I went for drinks in downtown Manama. We went to the Hard Rock Café and a club known as F1. The Hard Rock was exactly what they are all over the world. There were no women in the place, however, and a couple of Bahrainis in their robes and headdress drinking beer. There was a live band in the F1, playing covers ranging from Metalllica to Lady Gaga. There were close to hundred “professional” girls, mostly from China. Several approached our tables to offer their services, which we politely refused. They were charging anywhere from 100 to 300 dollars per night. It was very sad that they had to do this to make a living.
There certainly a lot of money around here with Cadillac and BMW dealerships galore and spectacular sky scrapers. I’m still trying to understand the traditional clothes of Arabs. I associated the robes with the desert, camels, and tents, not driving Hummers and walking through air-conditioned malls. I also see some Bahrainis dressed “western” and others in traditional gear. I want to know if there are certain days or occasions that they were the robes.
My father-in-law, Hermes and I are shown above in our new Arabian outfits. We purchased these our first day in the Persian Gulf Sheikdom of Bahrain. I wore mine around the mall and received many positive comments from the Bahrainis. One gentleman fixed my head dress and two women approached me in the traditional black and raised her eyebrows (it was all I could see of them) and said “nice.”
I’ve had problems connecting to the internet, but will try to post more photos and commentary during my time here in Bahrain. Below is an introduction to the country I wrote and my Day One journal.
The Sheik's Camel Ranch
I am spending the Christmas and New Year’s Holiday in Bahrain. Bahrain is a small, flat, sandy island, about 3 times larger than Washington DC, located just off the coast of Saudi Arabia in the Persian Gulf. It is one of the “Gulf Sheikdoms” which are small island nation-states ruled by a separate ruling families. All of the sheikdoms are Arabs that have close ties to the Saudi Arabia.
Bahrain differs from the others in that it is considered the poor sister, when compared to Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. Although it is poorer than its neighbors, it is still very rich compared to other parts of the world. Oil was first discovered on the island 80 years ago, but has now run out. They have moved to more of a service industry, they now rely on financiers, developers, retirees, and tourists which they have tried to attract. They also have a large US military base on the north part of the island which also probably brings in significant income. They host one of the races on the Formula One circuit.
It is tough at times to actually see a Bahraini on the island. There are thousands of imported workers from India, Bangladesh, China, and Nepal. They are the contractors, accountants, domestic employees, manual laborers, etc. who basically do everything. I do see Bahrainis driving really nice cars, talking on cell phones, and sitting around drinking coffee.
Compared to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain is quite liberal. In Saudi, the citizens adhere to a type of Islam called “Wahhabism.” Wahhabism began in the 1700s by a puritanical preacher by the same name. He believed that Islam was degenerating and should become more strict and conservative. His family had strong ties to the ruling Saud family, as they still do today. With the influx of petrol dollars and increased communication, there creates an impossible choice for them between the fundamentalism of Wahhabism and a total Western lifestyle. The Bahrainis have done it better by being more open and accepting of foreign influences than the Saudis. The Saudis come to Bahrain to have some fun and it is sometimes known as the Las Vegas of the Gulf. It is still quite conservative here however, and you see all of women covered in black, some including the face except the eyes. I even saw one completely covered, even gloves and only two small holes for the eyes.
We are staying with my sister-in-law who works at the Riffa Views International School. Riffa Views is one of the many gated communities on the island. It is one of the most exclusive with a golf course designed by Colin Montgomery and beautiful homes. The school is spectacular with a swimming pool, tennis courts, a huge gymnasium, and modern classrooms and common areas.
Bahrain however, is not an Arizona in the gulf. They do have their issues with the royal family being Sunni and the majority of the population being Shiite. Oil has run out and with the global recession, they have taken a step backwards. It is an interesting place to have a holiday and a part of the world I’ve never been to. It is also good to know many of the locals to get an insight into the culture. I’ll be blogging from here the next several weeks.
Bahrain Journal – Day One
We are having a wonderful time! It is nice to see my sister-in-law, nephew, father-in-law and a former roommate. It is nice to be around extended family during Christmas. We are staying in the Riffa Views gated community. The desert light and landscape were a shock to my system coming from a snowy and tree-filled Belgrade. We arrived at 3:00 AM so we slept in a bit. Nadia, Marita and I went for a run about the compound and the kids played at the school.
In the afternoon we visited the Sheik’s camel farm. He owns 450 camels and the stables are open to the public. I’ve never seen that many camels before. I observed a couple of strange behaviors with the camels and if there are any experts out there, please comment on this post. The first was they would make a strange gurgling sound and a bladder of some sort would come out of their mouth like a balloon. They also spent a lot of time chewing on the knee joint of their front legs. Why do they do this? There was a large team of Indians taking care of the camels and it looked like they lived on the site in some makeshift sheds in the back. The stables are open to the public and one can easily approach the camels. In one corral, I approached a 4-day old camel, and mom quickly came over and gave me a warning grunt and stared me down. I quickly removed myself from the situation, understanding loud and clear, not to be a target of a mother’s wrath. It must be expensive to feed and care for that many camels. I wonder what they are used for? I read where they do have camel races. The camels also had only one hump, (look on google the species name and habitat)
We also went to one of the shopping malls in the city. Hermes and I bought the local traditional dress (look more up on this>) I kept it on and walked around the mall. I received several unsolicited comments from Bahrainis. They were very complimentary, even two women approached me and said “nice” when I was in the food court. One guy even stopped and helped me adjust the head dress properly, so I looked like the “big boss” who is the head of Bahrain. It felt strange to wear the outfit in public, but it also felt elegant. One carries themselves differently when dress in a robe. I was a bit tentative to do this, because I wasn’t sure it was a sign of disrespect. It turned out to be very respectful and the locals appreciated my attempt to understand and participate in Arab culture. I am not sure if I’ll get another chance to wear it. I cannot wear it in Europe or America. I’ll have to put in on a couple more times while I am here.
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