Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Seen by a Diplomat's Spouse
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- Bu səhifədəki naviqasiya:
- TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Arrival in the Country... Tirst Years
| All Rights Reserved for Publisher Ghainaa Publications Fax:+966 (1) 2295019 ghainaabook@hotmail.com Second Edition, 2008 5 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Seen by a Diplomat’s Spouse TABLE OF CONTENTS Arrival in the country... First Years ................................. 7 The State Foundation Centenary ....................................... 26 Physical Characteristics .................................................................. 50 The Bedouins .................................................................................................. 65 Riyadh, the Capital of the Kingdom .............................. 77 The Fauna ............................................................................................................ 108 The Gold Market and a Tour in the Desert ........ 138 A Wedding Ceremony ....................................................................... 147 The First Saudi State ............................................................................. 160 Customs and Traditions .................................................................. 176 Hajj (Pilgrimage) ...................................................................................... 196 The Story of Two Families ...................................................... 206 The Governorate of Hijaz ............................................................ 221 The Eastern Province ......................................................................... 250 Diplomatic Life ........................................................................................... 261 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 281 7 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Seen by a Diplomat’s Spouse Arrival in the Country... Tirst Years In the Spring of 1994 we arrived in the Arabian Peninsula. My husband Elman Arasli was appointed extraordinary plenipotentiary ambassador representing the Azerbaijan Republic at the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We had to establish the first embassy for our newly independent state in this country. To tell the truth, I was not at all willing to travel to any place, as this meant parting again with the children and leaving home. After living abroad for a long time one would prefer to finally settle down at home. At this time, my husband had spent about twenty years in the diplomatic service in the Arab countries. However, I realized that we had to travel for many reasons, or at least for two main reasons. On the one hand, my husband could not imagine himself isolated from active work under the uncertain conditions of that period of time. He was always ready to serve the state that was being born before all to see. On the other hand, and I say this without affected modesty, the new State was in need of specialists of this 8 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Seen by a Diplomat’s Spouse high-ranking level. The month of April at Baku was exceedingly beautiful that year. I roamed through the narrow streets of the old city and inhaled the spring odors that had dwindled into oblivion, enjoyed the pleasure of warmth under the rays of the sun which had not yet become too hot, in an attempt to record this impression on the pages of my memory. I visualized the spectacle of the yet invisible phase of our life. I was not keen on foretelling the future and predicting what is in store for us, as I knew that this matter is not warranted nowadays. Surrounded by a gathering of friends and relatives who came to bid us farewell and who wished us happiness and safe landing, we climbed up the aircraft steps and seated ourselves in the parlor of a Turkish airline plane. The noise of the engine, together with the fretting associated with the initial phase of travel, have triggered a series of ideas in my mind. I could not but think that this new embassy beyond our borders is radically and amazingly different from all previous ones, not only in respect of the country of destination, but also because my husband’s activities this time will have a different significance. It is as it were a pioneering one and would be directly linked with the history of our state. Whether we like it or not, it is going to be a distinctive phase, albeit not a big one, of this history. At this juncture, it dawned on me that I must prepare a diary book which could serve as the basis of a book in the future. Who else could do this if not myself, a living witness of such events. For us, the Middle East region was not a remote and Yüklə 0,95 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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