Awake at 5:30 I joined God on the balcony where I soaked in the richness of Is. 40. I didn’t even need the sticker in the bedside drawer to orient me toward Mecca! The health club provided all my favorite equipment for a workout before the most exotic breakfast I’ve ever had. I decided not to eat familiar food (omelets, pastries, fruit, etc.) but to try new things. Something that was labeled “Foul Medame” was anything but foul: it tasted something like pinto beans with onion, cumin, tomato, tabouleh, garlic and lemon—YUM! There were seeds, pods, olives, chesses, hummus & Arabic flatbread. The halal (like Kosher for Muslims) beef bacon looked disgusting.
Bob met us for breakfast then took Robert to get our rental car: a Tahoe with 3 rows of seats with a remarkable crash record. Robert was a star at reading the map & cracking the code on road signs…this was fortunate at the GPS was no help. The city is sectioned off into numbered areas like Paris. On the way, we passed a crumpled up car off the side of the road, abandoned like a piece of highway litter, left to remind others of the looming threat.
Our first outing was to see the house we’ve been assigned to. Our joy over getting a “villa” and not an apartment was tempered by the discovery of the 3 story monstrosity that we saw. The enormous marble floored living spaces are great but it is not a very user friendly house for someone who plans to cook their own meals. The layout is challenging and there is NO storage space. There are 4 bedrooms and EIGHT bathrooms all equipped with the standard hygiene hose by the toilets with enough water pressure to pin you to the ceiling! This is a curious apparatus which seems to be essential equipment in every toilet we have visited so far. The master bedroom had the standard issue reinforced security door with peephole where if instructed, the entire family would retreat to. Ethan immediately figured out that our bedroom would be just the perfect place to store the MRE’S (meals ready to eat like soldiers get in war zones) which are also “standard issue!”
Heat and jetlag drove me to my bed for an afternoon nap just like the locals enjoy. Afternoon temperature was 116 F. The air was so gritty the hotel guards were wearing green surgical type mask…unless there is an outbreak of Swine Flu and no one told us??? Emily felt faint & sick when we tried to walk the beach mid day. I bought rafts so we could relax in the water.
Dinner is served from 7-11 and by the time we ate at 1930 the air outside was pleasant, so we dined seaside under a full moon. Around 1900, it seemed like someone switched off the light outside—so suddenly without the usual twilight. Must find out why this happens here. Sipping ginger tea & various “mocktails” we inhaled the sweet scent of the shisha pipes around us. These coal burning contraptions are as big as a table lamp and robed attendants re-fill them with hot coals every 10 minutes while diners inhale from long tubes and blow clouds of smoke around them. The food is comparable to cruise ship cuisine in its variety and presentation with the added flair of Oriental flavors. After eating, Ethan bravely approached some boys playing beach volley ball and asked to join them. With limited English they acknowledged him & the group of 3 immediately doubled to 6 as other curious boys joined in. We were very proud of his willingness to jump in but his participation was short lived when he hurt his wrist.
It’s near midnight and I must get my body clock re-programmed.
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