Four Weddings.. And more weddings...!
Everyone loves weddings right? People are happy, free food, and maybe getting a chance to dance. Yeah all that is great, but not when weddings last till 3 or 4 AM! And here is the thing, weddings in Saudi Arabia are actually NOT mixed! So what you have is that you and your wife (or sister, mother, whatever) are attending the same wedding, but ironically the men's side usually finishes around 11 PM or midnight, while the lady's side doesn't finish till dawn...!
So what happens is that I finish dinner, then tea, then some "mingling" with people I may not like, and I am done with all that by 11! I call up my lady (of course barely hearing her over the screaming loud speakers) and she usually informs me that the bride and groom actually haven't started the ceremony yet (which they call here in Arabic "Zaffa" ). So I am stuck having to mingle some more here and there, maybe fiddle a bit with my mobile phone, deleting those unwanted numbers and editing others, or maybe I just try to wonder away with my thoughts.
Even with all that done, I look at my watch and its still 2 AM... "Honey, are you done?" ... "No sweety, they just served dinner now!" ... Excuse me? Dinner at 2 AM?? I think if you try to explain to Europeans or Americans that there is actually a "dinner" served after midnight, you would probably be labeled insane... And now I have to wait for another hour or two and drive back home half awake, which is dangerous since sometimes weddings occur in Makkah which is an one hour drive from Jeddah where we live.
Why cant we just have normal weddings where everything wraps up at midnight max? Why are Saudi families competing with each other who has the longest weddings? The problem is that women usually don't have a problem, they got the Sound system and maybe a female singer inside, plus they consider talking as their favorite sport. Its us husbands, sons, and brothers who have to mingle and fiddle with our mobiles till the crack of dawn...
Pimp My Ride!
The first day of the vacation witnessed my first event photoshoot for "Layalina" magazine. Actually it happened by chance while I was driving by the sea and spotted a large number of teens grouped around something.. Turns out its a show for pimped up cars!
I called up my editor and asked her if she is interested, then set up my gear (which luckily I had in my car trunk) and started shooting my heart out! I really had fun, and its not just cause I LOVE photography, but also cause this actually gave me a large boost in my self confidence. I mean there you are, carrying this huge sophisticated camera around your neck and shooting at everything, plus you are getting to stand in front of all the other viewers and granted special access, with a society like we have here you are bound to get a stupid remark or more from someone. Also I got to work on my conversation skills where I had to talk to the sponsors and organizers of the show, not to mention making what I call "cigarette buddies" which are basically people you ask/they ask you for a smoke.
I took over 100 photos that day, not to mention a few videos for my channel on youtube.com , have a look at one of them:
Let's Hit the Beach...!
The second day of my vacation wasn't so bad either, went out for lunch then some bowling with my wife and sisters. But deep down I was worried about the rest of my vacation and how there is not much to do in little ol' Jeddah. Just then I got a phone call from a good client of mine which went something like this:
Him: Hey Ahmed, I want you to fix me a flight to Cairo.
Me: Ok sure, sms me the details and I will tell the guys to work on it
Him: Great! By the way how's your vacation?
Me: Starting to get boring man
Him: OK why don't you hit the beach? Rent a beach house or something... Or tell you what, did you know that I own the "Canary Resort" by the sea?
Me: Yeah I heard something like that...
Him: Well take your family and head out there, pick whichever cabin you like and its yours till Friday!
Me: That's great man, thanks! But how much?
Him: Oh shut up!
So the vacation turned out well after all..! Seems a bit of PR really goes a long way!
Everyone loves weddings right? People are happy, free food, and maybe getting a chance to dance. Yeah all that is great, but not when weddings last till 3 or 4 AM! And here is the thing, weddings in Saudi Arabia are actually NOT mixed! So what you have is that you and your wife (or sister, mother, whatever) are attending the same wedding, but ironically the men's side usually finishes around 11 PM or midnight, while the lady's side doesn't finish till dawn...!
So what happens is that I finish dinner, then tea, then some "mingling" with people I may not like, and I am done with all that by 11! I call up my lady (of course barely hearing her over the screaming loud speakers) and she usually informs me that the bride and groom actually haven't started the ceremony yet (which they call here in Arabic "Zaffa" ). So I am stuck having to mingle some more here and there, maybe fiddle a bit with my mobile phone, deleting those unwanted numbers and editing others, or maybe I just try to wonder away with my thoughts.
Even with all that done, I look at my watch and its still 2 AM... "Honey, are you done?" ... "No sweety, they just served dinner now!" ... Excuse me? Dinner at 2 AM?? I think if you try to explain to Europeans or Americans that there is actually a "dinner" served after midnight, you would probably be labeled insane... And now I have to wait for another hour or two and drive back home half awake, which is dangerous since sometimes weddings occur in Makkah which is an one hour drive from Jeddah where we live.
Why cant we just have normal weddings where everything wraps up at midnight max? Why are Saudi families competing with each other who has the longest weddings? The problem is that women usually don't have a problem, they got the Sound system and maybe a female singer inside, plus they consider talking as their favorite sport. Its us husbands, sons, and brothers who have to mingle and fiddle with our mobiles till the crack of dawn...
Pimp My Ride!
The first day of the vacation witnessed my first event photoshoot for "Layalina" magazine. Actually it happened by chance while I was driving by the sea and spotted a large number of teens grouped around something.. Turns out its a show for pimped up cars!
I called up my editor and asked her if she is interested, then set up my gear (which luckily I had in my car trunk) and started shooting my heart out! I really had fun, and its not just cause I LOVE photography, but also cause this actually gave me a large boost in my self confidence. I mean there you are, carrying this huge sophisticated camera around your neck and shooting at everything, plus you are getting to stand in front of all the other viewers and granted special access, with a society like we have here you are bound to get a stupid remark or more from someone. Also I got to work on my conversation skills where I had to talk to the sponsors and organizers of the show, not to mention making what I call "cigarette buddies" which are basically people you ask/they ask you for a smoke.
I took over 100 photos that day, not to mention a few videos for my channel on youtube.com , have a look at one of them:
Let's Hit the Beach...!
The second day of my vacation wasn't so bad either, went out for lunch then some bowling with my wife and sisters. But deep down I was worried about the rest of my vacation and how there is not much to do in little ol' Jeddah. Just then I got a phone call from a good client of mine which went something like this:
Him: Hey Ahmed, I want you to fix me a flight to Cairo.
Me: Ok sure, sms me the details and I will tell the guys to work on it
Him: Great! By the way how's your vacation?
Me: Starting to get boring man
Him: OK why don't you hit the beach? Rent a beach house or something... Or tell you what, did you know that I own the "Canary Resort" by the sea?
Me: Yeah I heard something like that...
Him: Well take your family and head out there, pick whichever cabin you like and its yours till Friday!
Me: That's great man, thanks! But how much?
Him: Oh shut up!
So the vacation turned out well after all..! Seems a bit of PR really goes a long way!
4 comments:
Not insane but.... dinner at 2AM???
I'd be asleep by midnight! :-)
I would be an interesting experience, though.
lol beleive me its boring as hell! plus you feel you wana sleep cause most dinners in weddings are rice and meat, VERY heavy!
I'll be visiting Alexandria in march, any suggestions? (I think you're half egyptian if I'm not mistaken?)
actually I am Egyptian with Roots back to Makkah, but its ok :-)
Alexandria is amazing in March, not too cold and the weather is very nice.
Post a Comment