Where Have I Been?

Bismillah,

In a short answer: everywhere!!!

Let me expand. Since I last posted on my blog, it seems as if my life here in KSA got slightly hectic and interesting! Well, to be more accurate, you can say that I actually have a bit of a social life now, and just since last week, I seem to have landed myself a job as well. So Alhamdulillah things are moving forward in the right direction!

I've been travelling a little this past month. It all started with a road trip (YAY!)

I luv road trips, especially those that involve me being in the driver's seat for a while. So this road trip was my first "official" vacation as a married woman, n lemme tell u, it was AWESOME! Alhamdulilah.

My husband had a 1 week spring break holiday in the last week of April, so we decided we would drive down to Oman, via UAE.

We started off driving East, through Riyadh until we reached the Saudi-UAE border, which took about 5 hours. At the border we switched places and I got behind the wheel (much to the horror of all the other Saudi cars in my vicinity!), we set off then, heading straight for Dubai. After reaching Dubai, which must've taken another 3 hours approximately, we checked into a hotel, freshened up, and then navigated our way (via our handy GPS) to Dubai Mall for some long needed chilling/lounging. At the mall, we ate, drank coffee in a NON-segregated Second Cup (i luv lounging in those couches) and then walked around the place to check out the swanky stores. Of course, we had to check out the Aquarium and the wildlife center, which was lots of fun. The next day we took a quick tour of the Palm Jumeira, Ibn Battuta, and in the evening ended up at Mall of the Emirates where we caught dinner and a movie on the big screen.

The next day, we set off, bright and early in the direction of Oman. We reached Oman in about an hour, but then the drive from the border to Muscat took about 4 more hours. We reached my parents' place in time for lunch, and after a quick reunion we fell asleep there. In the evening, my parents took us out for a bit of shopping and dinner. The next day my mom, sis, husband and I went to the Muscat Marina and took a speed boat out for some dolphin watching, which i must say, was absolutely amazing. Subhanallah, I've never seen such friendly and adorable sea life. The next day we went on a private tour of the Interior of Oman - mainly the Nizwa area, and we also drove up the tallest mountain in Oman - Jebal Shams. It was truly spectacular and awe inspiring. We saw some old ruins, falaj (irrigation) systems that were originally invented by Omanis and we also visited an old Fort in Nizwa. That trip took up most of the day and we were pretty exhausted by the time we got home. We left Oman at the end of the week and headed back through the UAE. This time we decided we'd drive through Abu Dhabi instead of Dubai, so we could check out the city. We did see quite a lot, although there was a dust storm blowing through so our visibility was reduced. We spent the night there and the next day, began the drive back to KSA. I remember not wanting to give up the wheel to my husband, so I drove right up to the UAE - Saudi Border and waited to see if someone would say anything... No one did, but i did get some angry glares from Saudi bound cars that were behind me in the line. I had to give up my spot after the border crossing, but by then I was tired so I fell asleep on the drive home.

When I got back, I received a halaqa invitation, which was lots of fun and it allowed me to meet a lot of sisters, mainly reverts, who've been living in KSA for a very long time. It was through them that last week, I received an email about a teaching position. When I called to inquire about it, I was promptly called in for an interview at the school, and was then given the job of teaching Grade 9 and 10 Physics for the American high school diploma program. Alhamdulilah its going quite well so far and Inshallah I hope to continue in the school next academic year, probably teaching other subjects as well as Physics.

Last weekend, my husband surprised me by booking 2 tickets fr Jeddah, for our long awaited Umrah trip. And so we set off on Wednesday night and flew to Jeddah, then drove to Makkah. Masha'allah it was the most amazing trip ever, especially since this was my first Umrah as an adult, and it was really the most spiritually uplifting experience I've ever had. We spent the entire weekend in Makkah, mainly in the Haram area, just sitting, reading Quran, making dua, dhikr and salah. I've never been so happy and so content before. I felt like i could just sit and stare at the Ka'ba all day long... subhanallah I can't wait to go back. Alhamdulilah we completed our Umrah and we returned to Riyadh on Friday night.

So I'm back! And now we're planning for our summer vacation, which will be commencing in the first week of July. Insha'allah we're planning a trip to Canada, via a week's stay in Morocco, so it should be good.

I have tons of pictures to post, of both trips so Insha'allaah you can see for yourself.

I do apologise for the delay in this post, I've just been busy, unpacking, packing and planning... and now working along side my normal household stuff.
I also know that there are a lot of comments that I haven't replied to, Insha'allah now that I'm back on track, I can get back to everyone whose been commenting on my blog.


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Muttawas and Marriages
Bismillah,

The following is a really intersting article that I found online about happenings in Saudi... At first, after reading it, I laughed!
To be honest, I've heard some really over-the-top stories about the Hai'a, or as they're more "affectionately" termed, the Muttawwa! And I've also witnessed some of their "da'wah" techniques in malls and other public places that are not so pleasant to describe.
So after laughing hard for about 20 seconds, I thought to myself, awwwww, how sweet mashAllah! I especially loved the last part of the article.
I'm still quite shocked at the outcome, and I guess it just proves that you can't slap a general label on a group of people without realising that there is khayr (good) in everything.
I don't want to keep you in suspense any longer, so read on and do let me know what you think!!!


Hai’a nabs young couple – and leaves them happier than ever!

Baha – A young Saudi couple out on a date and caught in illegal seclusion by the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice was clearly in for some serious trouble. But, as it transpired, the officials of the Commission, commonly known as the Hai’a, not only gave them a patient hearing but also got them married off on the same evening here in the Baha region, southwest of the Kingdom.
“I never expected to get married just like that, so easily,” said the groom who is unemployed. The Hai’a officials were moved by the young couple’s love and plight – they had no money to finalize their marriage ceremony – and so offered to help. They called the girl’s father who approved of the marriage and even offered to bear some of the expenses.
That settled, the Hai’a then got the two to take and clear the mandatory pre-marital tests for hereditary and life-threatening diseases such as AIDS, and conducted the wedding ceremony that very evening.
Sheikh Abdulmohsin Al-Qarni, chief of the Hai’a Office in Al-Irdiya Al-Junoubiya in the Baha region, donated the dowry amount.
“Had not the Hai’a offered to help me, I would have never got married,” the groom said. Okaz/SG

Taken from the Saudi Gazette
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Exciting news!
Bismillah,
I've been incredibly busy these days and am now at a point where i can share my news with you!
*deep breath...*

After the overwhelming response to my abaya collection, I've decided to take the responses to a new level.

I am launching a new website business, Insha'Allah, that will showcase my abayas to the world!

Anyone can order any of my abayas from my website, and I will be able to ship them directly to the person.
All of the abayas on my blog will be featured on the website, as well as others that I've collected since then.

Customers will have the option to customise the abayas, according to their specifications.

My email will also be available to everyone so that they can contact me with special requests or anything else that they might need.

Sooo, my website will be up and running, Inshallah in about 3 weeks, all going well!

I will keep you updated, and ofcourse, I'll be posting up the link as soon as I get it!

Sisters in Canada, if you'd prefer to save on the cost of shipping, then you might like to wait till this summer, when I make a trip to Toronto!

Non-Muslims are all welcome and I know a lot of Western women in the Gulf like to wear trendy abayas, regardless of their religion.

Please make dua for me, Insha'Allah this business venture goes well. By the Mercy and Blessings of Allah (swt), I would like to be able to expand my business to a larger product portfolio.
Keep your comments, requests and input coming... I'm making a list of all of those who have contacted me "you know who you are!" and I will be contacting you personally, as soon as my website is up!

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Adventures in rainy Riyadh!

Bismillah,

It started raining in Riyadh on Wednesday. At first it was light, but then yesterday it started pouring and slowly the streets started filling up. The road outside our building turned into a river of fast moving water, and I watched in fascination as it thundered and poured all afternoon and evening. People from the surrounding buildings were all standing outside, watching the rain come down and roads that were slowly turning into deep lakes and rivers. My husband's friend had come over for lunch after Juma, and he stayed with us until Ishaa. Around 9pm, we decided to drop him home and we drove to his building, which is only a 5 min drive from our place. That drive slowly turned into a moving disaster. Getting to his place wasn't too much of a hassle, as the main highway was clear. After dropping him off, we drove back in the direction of our building, unfortunately we couldn't take the highway back, so we decided to go through the side streets. It got much worse as we tried to navigate through the water-filled roads that were about 1 and 1/2 feet deep in certain places, and yes, we have a sedan so we weren't happy campers at all!

The worst happened when we tried to drive by a construction site, and due to the high water level, we didn't know what the road underneath looked like. All of a sudden, we heard a horrible grinding noise, and the front-left side of the car sunk into the water, at a freakishly steep angle; we were properly stuck... We then noticed smoke rising from our hood, so my husband turned off the engine, switched on the hazard lights, and tried to figure out what to do. We had apparently driven into an unmarked ditch of some sort. We tried opening our doors and exiting the car, but the water was too deep, so we couldn't go anywhere. My husband started calling various co-workers and family, but strangely enough, no one was answering their phone. After about 20 minutes of sitting and trying to figure things out, a car passed by and slowed to take a look. The car had about 5 young Saudi youth who were in their early 20's, dressed in traditional white thobes and shemaghs. They spoke to my husband in Arabic and he explained that he was stuck in a ditch and the car wasn't moving. They immediately pulled over on higher ground, got out of their car and took off their sandals, pulled up their thobes and held it in their teeth, rolled up their underpants and started wading into the muddy, dirty water towards us! At this point I was feeling a mixture of embarrassment and relief.

My husband remarked to me in the car, "these guys are too skinny, they won't be able to pull the car out, we need a tow truck." In any case, they instructed him to put the car in reverse and they tried pulling from the back, lifting and pushing from the front, and a variety of other tactics that included all five of them, at one point, climbing into the trunk of the car and jumping in it...
Luckily, their presence was extremely beneficial, as an SUV happened to drive by with towing capabilities and a tow rope, and they were able to stop him and ask him for his services. He pulled us out of the ditch and didn't even wait for our thank you, just drove away as if it were a normal turn of events!
And when we tried to thank the Saudi guys, they were too busy wading in the water and trying to cover up the ditch in order to prevent others from suffering the same fate!
We did manage yell out a thank you, which they promptly waved off and quickly returned to the water to finish off their job.

We reversed out of the lane and drove back onto the main road, in an attempt to return home with minimal problems. Just when we thought we were in the clear, we noticed that the only road that leads to our building, was now full of water, almost about 2 feet deep and that all the traffic that was attempting to drive down the road had two wheels on the sidewalk, and two wheels in the water. It is also important to mention that all of the traffic were either SUVS, pickups or passenger vans.
My husband maneuvered the car towards the side of the road, right next to the sidewalk, where the water level was the lowest, and we slowly tried driving through the water. We passed a few cars that had gotten stuck and had turned off in the water, and we slowly reached the end of the road.
Thankfully we made it home without any problems and our car was alright, but it was an extremely close call. I keep on wondering what would've happened if it wasn't for the Saudi youth that were so eager and quick in their desire to help us, regardless of their own circumstances. Alhamdulilah, I'm really grateful to them for their help and it is really comforting to know that there are people like them in this country.

Apart from our latest mis-adventure, things are really starting to settle down and are looking good in Riyadh. I do have other interesting topics to discuss soon, and I am hunting down a good tailor these days, so that I can start answering lots of those abaya requests that are waiting for me!
That's it for now
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I'M BAAACK!!!!!!!
Bismillah,
I'm up and blogging again from Riyadh, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia!

The past two months have been super hectic and completely crazy, but now that the dust has settled (literally and figuratively speaking), I've finally got hi speed Internet at home, and I'm really excited to be back in the blogger world.

Important achievements:

- I survived the wedding and all the post-wedding parties without too much trouble!
- I managed to haul all my belongings across the globe without any loss or damage!
- I have set up my place and it looks mash'allah very nice!
- I am thoroughly enjoying married life!


Alhamdulillah for the many blessings of Allah (swt) on myself and my family, if it wasn't by His decree, none of this would have been possible.

I am contemplating posting pictures of my new home, but I am not quite comfortable with the idea yet, maybe later inshallah.


About Riyadh:

I landed in Riyadh on a Friday afternoon, after the Juma Salah, so it was quite peaceful in the city at the time. Our home is close to the airport and it was only a 15 min drive to our place, which was of course completely empty and covered in dust when we entered, due to the prevalence of sand storms in Riyadh, and the fact that its a ground floor apartment, and has huge gaps under the doors, perfect for dust and lil creepy crawly creatures.

The following week, we started driving around the city and ordering our furniture and other necessities. I guess the first thing that hit me was the "no women driving" policy that i found absolutely absurd in the beginning. The second thing that hit me was the vastness of the city. I'm from Muscat, Oman... which by comparison, is just a lil town. Riyadh is a huge sprawling city, similar to Toronto in size and population. After maghrib, the city comes alive with people, lights and lots of traffic. There's a perpetual rush-hour situation on the roads in certain areas of the city, and compared to Oman, everything in Riyadh is "super-sized".

There were times when my husband would have to close my jaw coz it was hanging open at the size of the buildings, malls and grocery stores.

Another thing that i appreciate about Riyadh is that everything closes for Salah, which is fantastic coz it forces you to go to the masjid and pray, even if that wasn't the first thing on your agenda at the time.

I've prayed in many different masajid in the city, from the biggest masjid in Riyadh, to the smallest neighbourhood ones. I've found that the Imams in Riyadh have a very beautiful and passionate recitation style that moves me in a way I've never really experienced. There is a beauty and rhythm in their voice that hits my soul and there are times I've experienced such an imaan high, I've felt like I could just stand and listen to the recitation all night long. During such times, there's a peace and tranquility that descends upon the members of the congregation; it's a very beautiful and spiritual experience. My husband and I make a point of praying at least 1 salah in the masjid everyday, mainly the Isha salah, and I guess I owe it to him coz he knows where all the good reciters are, so we always end up in their masaajids.

Another aspect of Riyadh that I have experienced and loved, is the quantity and variety of their restaurants. Since I'm not the world's best cook, and also since my husband doesn't want to burden me with the prospect of cooking on weekends and when I'm tired, we've been dining out quite a lot! There are some really nice and classy places on Tahliya Street, which is like Riyadh's version of downtown Toronto. The food has always been scrumptious and the waiters are well mannered and very respectful towards women.

I have lots more to say but I'm gonna save it for another post soon. Topics that I'll be discussing are: my views on gender segregation in restaurants and food courts in malls, as well as dress codes in the city, and the answer to the question people have been asking me quite often, "so how is married life treating you?"

All that and more, insha'allah soon.

I'm putting up some pics of Riyadh, not taken by me. I will be uploading my pics of Riyadh, inshaallah soon.
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