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was bought with its many volumes, which became the
foundation of the embassy’s library.
Thus in one way or another, everything was ready for
the official opening. Guests flocked in and the flag was
hoisted and the cinematographic camera was loaded . What
could be said other than that the moment was tense and
fraught with delightful emotions. It was the opening of the
first Azerbaijan embassy in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabias
The flag was hoisted high above and started fluttering in
the wind. This took place on the 4th of May 1994.
At first, our residence seemed very dreary. In the
process of cleaning the windows, I found that they were
blocked up to two thirds with wooden boards, which was a
necessary measure against the possible air raids of the war
that was raging in the Gulf region. When we finally moved
from the hotel, I suddenly felt that I was living in a house.
The shining wide windows overlooked a small delightful
garden that was surrounded by a high stone wall . In the
garden, there were small palm trees, lotus trees and one
pomegranate tree, which filled me with tenderness and
warmth as they reminded me of my far away home. From
the gate to the external door, there was a fence on which
grew small vine trees from which bunches of grapes were
hanging and casting a pleasant shade. There was also a
jasmine tree from which there emanated an intoxicating
pleasant smell. The glass wall in the reception room
provided abundant light. The flowers I had planted grew
quickly and created a pleasant impression on those who
saw them.
As it is the case with every woman, I busied myself
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with the pleasant task of organizing my home. On tree
branches, I hanged baskets which I filled with grains for
birds. I gradually trained a cat which was abandoned by
some people and bought a sea tortoise.
At the time, the mercury gage indicated rising
temperature, day after day, which made it almost
impossible for me to walk in the garden during day time,
indeed even at night, for the heat seemed almost not to
abate; the temperature merely fell by no more than 3 to
4 degrees. This was the beginning of a long and tortuous
summer.
Ever since my arrival in Saudi Arabia, all
communication with my relatives had been interrupted,
as communications between cities had not yet been
established. It was merely possible to contact the children
by telephone at the city’s trunk calls department, where
there was a long queue of people waiting for their turn
to make long distance calls. As I was always busy, I had
not thought I would so desperately need to communicate
with my relatives. But things were easier for Elman
Arasly. Thus on the first day of our residence, he called
Ali Tuwaiqan, the ambassador of Turkey and told him
that we would like him to visit us so that we may become
closely acquainted. The meeting took place on the same
day at the hotel and was the beginning of an intimate and
lasting friendship.
Let me hasten to say that Ali Tuwaiqan was a gentle
person and a skilful diplomat. He never hesitated to give
valuable advice and gave Elman Arasly practical assistance
that was very necessary, particularly during the first stage
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of the organization of our embassy.
The spouse of the Turkish ambassador was an attractive
and intelligent Canadian, who became my first friend in
Saudi Arabia. She introduced me to her many friends and
we used to spend many hours together. We understood
each other splendidly, although my English was poor at
the time. One day, I had a telephone call from the spouse
of the Russian ambassador, Trasov (only the Ambassador
of Russia had been accredited at the time and the second
to be accredited from the same region was the ambassador
of Azerbaijan). She told me that she and her husband
knew Elman Arasly by reputation and were among the
students who studied at the Official Moscow Institute for
international relations, which was affiliated to the Foreign
Ministry in Russia, for preparing diplomats, and that they
benefited from his writings. In addition, we discovered
that we had many common friends and orientalists. I was
also visited by the spouses of the ambassadors of many
countries as it is common practice according to diplomatic
protocol. Later on, I myself visited more than once the
newcomers to provide them with initial support, although
I knew that they would soon join intimate groups and
things would be easier for them. In any case, they were
grateful and thankful, for the care and attention given to
them.
In time, through attending many women meetings,
charity activities and art exhibitions, I became acquainted
with many Saudi women. I say in all honesty that I had
not expected to meet such beautiful, wonderful, educated
friendly and cultivated women. I contracted a special
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relationship with one of them and we became almost like
two sisters. She is still young and has a well known and
gorgeous family. I will certainly have occasion to talk of
her later on.
Thus I gradually cultivated friends and acquaintances.
After one year or a little more, the embassies of Uzbekistan,
Kazakhstan and Ukraine were opened. My husband had
previously met during his business activities in one way
or another with the ambassadors of these countries. Thus,
life became easier and more interesting. On April 18th
1994, two weeks after our arrival, Elman Arasly visited
the Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prince Saud Al-
Faisal, in order to deliver a full copy of his credentials,
the originals to be handed over to the head of State, King
Fahd bin Abdulaziz, but this was done only after some
time. During the recent years, the King was in the habit of
receiving the credentials twice a year: the first time was
before the Holy Month of Ramadan; the second, at the
beginning of the Hajj (pilgrimage) season. It is well known
that before handing over his credentials, an ambassador
is not effectively considered the official representative
of his country and does not always participate in
diplomatic functions. His name is not listed in the special
information registers. Until the time of our arrival, there
had accumulated a long queue of 15 ambassadors who
had previously arrived in the country and were awaiting
their turn to present their credentials. Luckily, the Hajj
season was close at hand.
At last, a day was designated for the presentation of
credentials. I propose to describe briefly these ceremonial
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