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desalination plant in the Kingdom, which is isolated from
the residential areas. It was so well protected that we were
under the impression that this was a comfortable summer
resort (in the desert!). We were shown the exquisite local
park which has a pond and a resting building, where we
could listen to the singing of birds. Then we were shown a
miniature of the city and the developments that had taken
place therein and its future industrial development. There
were so many water jets and arbored streets along the sea
shore. Then they took us to the desert coast where all this
would be done in the near future. At the time, I could not
believe that the time designated for completion of all this
would be enough. I haven’t visited the place yet, by I have
heard that the work is about to be completed.
On another occasion we visited Assir, which I will talk
about in detail below. As I have already said many times,
we have attended several weddings of the members of
the Royal Family. They are joyful occasions which are
never forgotten. The last of such weddings I attended in
the year 2001 on the occasion of the marriage of the son
of the Crown Prince Abdullah to the grand daughter of
the son of King Abdulaziz. The wedding took place at
an exquisite palace to which thousands of guests of the
fair sex were invited. It was an exceptional exhibition of
luxurious modes, exotic hair-dos, unique jewelry worn
by the beautiful guests who were keen on showing their
dresses with long queues.
The bride was 21 years old. She was dressed in a snow-
white, white dress. Elegantly dressed children carried the
long tail of her wedding dress watched by curious and
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joyful eyes, while exotic perfumes filled the whole place.
When the bride finally sat on her canopy, soft silver papers
began to fall from the ceiling in honor of the bride. After
watching this beautiful spectacle, I decided to take a look
at the palace. The wide passages and the vast halls were
covered with colorful carpets; the canopies and sofas were
decorated with golden strings and edges; the cushions were
covered with silk brocade. Behind the crystal glass of the
cabinets which were made of decorated wood, exquisite
decorative pieces, old silver items and lacework boxes
were exhibited. Over all the doors there hung decorated
curtains that ended with golden tufts. The walls were
decorated with all sorts of beautiful tableaus, pictures
of horses, which are dear to the hearts of all Saudis, and
mirrors enclosed in precious frames. The faucets in the
bathrooms were also decorated in fine taste. The faint
lamps threw light not only on the perfume vials which
were placed on marble and heaps of pepper mint, chewing
gum, cardamom and carnation that filled beautiful vases,
but also make beautiful reflections of the ladies in the
mirrors because they hide the wrinkles on their faces.
When I returned to the hall, where all the activities
were taking place, I noticed that it was decorated in refined
taste. (At first my attention was focused on the dresses of
the guests). From the ceiling there hung soft white palm
trees that were intermittently lit with colored lights. The
latral raised floors were decorated with exquisite flower
bouquets. Round the hall were huge bouquets in huge
vases brought from Holland on that same day.
The bridegroom was an elegant youth who stood beside
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the bride, wearing a typical white tunic. On his shoulders
was a transparent cloak with golden edges. The couple
constituted a beautiful sight and all eyes were focused on
them.
I was subsequently acquainted with two sisters of the
bride, who were just as pretty. I noticed that they looked
like our Azerbaijan girls. I was also introduced to a very
elegant lady, the spouse of Prince Khaled bin Sultan, who
had played a very important role in the victory of the Gulf
War and who had subsequently written a book on this
serious experiment of his country, which book was later
on translated into Russian.
I could not stay till the end of the wedding and left
the palace at 3 a.m. But my more persistent friends had
subsequently tasted all the sumptuous dishes and dispersed
with all the guests in the morning.
In the context of the Twentieth Anniversary of the
rule of King Fahd bin Abdulaziz many celebrations
were organized in which the ambassadors’ spouses
had participated under the supervision of the King’s
spouse. Films were shown and exhibitions were staged
commemorating the occasion, in which Saudi women did a
wonderful job. On this occasion, we also visited the Shora
(Consultative) Council, which is a consultative body akin
to parliament and occupies an important position in the
structure of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We watched a
meeting of the Council from the spectators’ balcony, at the
end of which we met with the speaker and some members
in the circular meeting hall, who talked to us about the
function of this body and answered our questions. Then
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