Sofas? Banned for Women

Just sent to my inbox this morning ...

The latest FATWA: women are not allowed to sit on sofa because they get relaxed and they may open their legs while relaxing and this will seduce the male in the room…..


28th July - update
this was written by a woman


اخر فتاوي :الجلوس على الكرسي حرام

الى اي مستوى قد ينزل التفكير ؟؟ والى اي مستوى نصل بالدين الى حد الأضحوكة
كان الرسول الاكرم وصحابته الكرام يجلسون على المنبر



فتوى (تحريم الجلوس على الكراسي) التي أصدرتها الدَّاعية أم أنس، على موقعها الإليكتروني، بعنوان (تنبيه إلى حرمة الكراسي وما أشبهها من مقاعد وأرائك، والله أكبر) وإليكم نص الفتوى:
"إن من أخطر المفاسد التي بُليت بها أمتنا العظيمة ما يُسمَّى بالكرسي، وما يشبهه من الكنبات وخلافها، ممَّا هو شرٌّ عظيم يخرج من الملة كما يخرج السَّهم من الرَّمية . و إن السَّلف الصالح وأوائل هذه الأمَّة، وهم خير خلق الله، كانوا يجلسون على الأرض، ولم يستخدموا الكراسي، ولم يجلسوا عليها، ولو فيها خير لفعله حبيبي، وقرة قلبي، وروح فؤادي، المصطفى عليه الصلاة والسَّلام ومن تبعه بإحسان. و إن هذه الكراسي وما شابهها صناعة غربيَّة، وفي استخدامها والإعجاب بها ما يوحي بالإعجاب بصانعها وهم الغرب، وهذا، والعياذ بالله، يهدم ركناً عظيماً من الإسلام وهو الولاء والبراء، نسأل اللــــه العافية . الأمر جلل يا أمَّة الإسلام، فكيف نرضى بالغرب ونعجب بهم وهم العدو . و ما يجلبه الكرسي أو الأريكة من راحة تجعل الجَّالس يسترخي، والمرأة تفتح رجليها، وفي هذا مدعاة للفتنة والتبرُّج، فالمرأة بهذا العمل، تمكن الرَّجل من نفسها لينكحها، وقد يكون الرَّجل من الجّنّ أو الإنس، والغالب أن الجّن ينكحون النساء وهنَّ على الكراسي. وكم من مرَّة شعرت المرأة بالهيجان والشَّبق الجّنسي المحرَّم، وذلك بعد جلوسها على الكرسي. ولكَمْ من مرَّة وجدت المرأة روائح قذرة في فرجها كما خبرت وكما حدثتني بذلك بعض الصَّالحات، التائبات من الجُّلوس على الكراسي، لذلك فالجُّلوس على الكرسي رذيلة وزنا لا شبهة فيه . و الجلوس على الأرض يُذكر المسلم بخالق الأرض وهذا يزيد في التعبُّد، والتهجُّد، والإقرار بعظمته سبحانه "

Fat Arabs: it's official

When I last visited America I was amazed at how slim everyone seemed to be.  At the time I put it down to being in San Fransico and being surrounded by a city of people who were simply healthy.  But then I got to Florida and it was the same.

I couldn't imagine, from everything I'd read and heard about America, the people I saw in the street were slimmer on average than the people I saw in the street in the Gulf.  Basically I didn't believe what I was seeing.

Turns out I was right; many Americans are slimmer, on average, than Gulfies. 

Each year the Economist publishes figures which include the percentage spending of GDP on health care, average figures for literacy and clean water supplies, as well as a list of the levels of obesity.

Scarily, of the top 9 places in this particular award, 4 members of the GCC make an appearance.  Only Oman and the UAE are not mentioned.  Thanks to LONDONGIRL for highlighting this idea. 

The cartoon below highlights changes in dress sizes before and after marriage:

Places were given as follows:


10th Place:  Cyprus

Joint 8th:  Bahrain
About 1 million people live in Bahrain, of which it is said 23.3% of men are obese and 34.1% of women. Overall it is thought 28.7% of the adult population is obese.

Joint 8th:  Kuwait
With a population of around 4 million, it is said 28.7% of Kuwaitis are obese. 29.9% of all women have a BMI of 30 or more, compared with 27.5% of men.

7th Place: Albania

6th Place: Mexico

5th Place: Panama

4th Place: USA

3rd Place:  Saudi Arabia
Population is estimated to be around 25 million people. Of these, 35.2% of adults are obese; 26.4% men and 44% women.

2nd Place:  Lebanon

1st Place:  Qatar
Qatar's estimated 1.5 million citizens very large indeed; 39.95% of adults are obese. 34.6% of men have a BMI of over 30 and nearly half of all women; 45.3% are obese.

How loud can you Shout?

We're in the middle of nowhere in Thailand and ahead of us are two men shouting into a public phone. 

Seriously, they would have given a vuvuzela a run for its money.  I turned to my husband and said, "They must be Arabs" . As we came up close enough to the two gentlemen to work out where they were from, it turned out they were Arabs. 

After 25 years of observation, the theory with shouting appears to be, 'the louder I shout the more likely it is I'm going to get my own way.  If the person being shouted out does not give me what I want I will shout louder and louder, and louder and louder, in a cresending noise until the other person bows to my wishes'.

At times it's like being sprayed with verbal paint stripper.  And hense the vuvuzela on the phone outside this rural 7-11 coldstore. 

Sure enough, as we walked up to the two men ahead of us we could translate the almost visible wall of screams.  The Bahraini wanted the bank to send him, immediately, now, not tomorrow, not yesterday, but NOW, "arr-baa-a wa kham-seen alf dollar".

Dressed for the World Cup?

Not sure if this is photoshop or for real, but in honour of the world cup, these three photos are doing the rounds:

Gift Giving

Gift giving can be a cross cultural nightmare; in the Arab world gifts are generous, large and given as often as possible.

Basic Overview
Gifts are always given when you go to someone's house, or visit someone in hospital. Sensible things to bring with you are flowers and/or chocolates and generiosity is the order of the day. Gifts are never given at weddings, but on return from honeymoon women will be expected to go around to the bride's house and present her with jewellery, gold preferably.

When a gift is given, the receiver will thank the giver but will never unwrap it in front of them.


Personal Recollection
My friend was at a loss as to how he could get visas for his holiday, the embassy was in a different country and getting them there with DHL was possible, but lots of hassle. I offered to take them with me as I was visiting the country three days later.

Having taken the passports with me and deposited them at the embassy, I arrived at work the next day to find the biggest gift I have ever seen on my desk.
When I mentioned how large it was my friend said,
“You saved me lots of time and trouble and money, it’s a small gift for your house to thank you for all your trouble.”

I asked if I could open the present there and then, and he said, “You must”. Before I could start removing the wrapping paper he was tearing at it himself, helping me to undo the parcel. Inside were 12 wine goblets, and this was from a man who doesn’t drink.

In this case all the rules were broken, but it was a very unusual situation.

Always & Forever: The Downside - Divorce [ta-laQ]

Talaq [taa-laQ] is the Islamic term for divorce and can be used by a man to end a marriage, but not by a woman.  All the man needs to do to end a marriage is to say the word, "TalaQ" three times to his wife, with either no witnesses present (Sunni), or with two witnesses present (Shi'ite, Shia).

The woman has no come back and can not use the triple TalaQ should she wish to divorce {see wgaw: THINGS TO THINK ABOUT BEFORE YOU MARRY and THINKING ABOUT DIVORCE}  However I did read in the paper once of a woman who swore her husband said the triple TalaQ whilst he was asleep and they were forced to divorce.

Please note, if you marry with a Muttah there is no such thing as a divorce settlement, simply because it is not thought of as a 'real' marriage in the first place {see wgaw: MUTTA}


Getting Divorced 
In the Islamic world there are two main formats when getting divorced; one for Shia's and another for Sunnis {see wgaw: DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SUNNI & SHIITE}


Shia
For Shia's the divorce is publically announced after which the couple can reconcile if they wish, (it's expected they attempt to reconcile within three months of the divorce annoucement). once the three month waiting period is completed the divorce is completed, as long as two witnesses agree.


Sunni
The couple divorces the moment the husband declares a triple Ta-laQ. Islamic tradition maintains a waiting period of three months, or three menstrual cycles to ensure the ex-wife is not pregnant.

Once the divorce is finalised the couple may remarry up to three times.  After the third divorce the wife must marry and then divorce another man before the couple can marry for a fourth time.

Minnie Mouse

Arabic Make-up [mac-kee-arge]

This round robin is entitled,
'Now I know why they Mention on the Wedding Invitation, No Children Allowed'
In addition to it being a bit over the top with the photoshop, it's difficult to imagine anyone not being invited to an Arabic Wedding (esp. children).

It's the lip liner I find most strange.

ماسألتم أ نفسكم في يوم من الأيام لماذا يكتبون في بطاقات دعوات الزواج
ممنوع اصطحاب الاطفال؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟
انا بصراحه الآن عرفت السبب انزل تحت وبتعرف السبب

هي حلوة شوي نص مصيبة

 

يع يع يع

يعني ما بيكفي علبة الألوان اللي زارعتها في عيونها

Why is the Weather so hot?

This was recently sent this from a friend in Yemen; is the weather hot and humid because of the weather reporter?


مهم جداً ............ قارن بين المنطقة العربية و الاجنبية


جوه تجيب المطر وكل الخير والبركة على البلاد والعباد وتخليك تتابع نشرة الاحوال الجوية ؟؟؟

لهذه ألأسباب موجود خير وبركه بوجوههم

وشوف تحت الوجه ببلادنا مقدمين النشره

ووجوه تجيب الغبار؟ والرطوبه؟ والسخونة ؟ وانفلونزا الحمير؟؟؟

Death by Driving

With just about everyone I know having lost someone in a road accident in Saudi Arabia (and we live in Bahrain) it comes as no surprise to find out Saudi Arabia has one of the highest rates of road accident deaths in the world.

However, Saudi Arabia is not the only GCC country with high death rates; Oman, the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain have rates which are almost as high.  Bahrain, for example, a country with just 1 million inhabitants looses one person every other day through road accidents.  These are the only places in the world I've seen barriers installed across pavements as a matter of course to prevent people driving on them.

Someone once suggested the hideously bad driving might improve if it were labelled, 'A Jewish Plot to Kill Arabs'

Here's a great video which explains just how many thousands of people die each year on the roads in Saudi.  Thank you and congratulations to Ala’a al-Maktoum for making such a thought provoking piece and to SAUDI JEANS for bringing it to my attention:

Bahrain's first sex shop owner appears in court

The female owner of Bahrain’s first sex shop has appeared in court accused of insulting a Customs officer during an argument over the import of sex aids and games.

Khadija Ahmed denied the charge at Lower Criminal Court on Monday and the case was adjourned to September 15, according to a report in the Gulf Daily News.

The mother-of-three told the paper her shop is a legitimate business that also helps save marriages by putting excitement back into couple’s lives

I established the store to help married couples, because the issue most Bahraini couples suffer from is the lack of interest in their intimate relationship,” she told the paper.

Ahmed opened Khadija Fashion House in 2008 selling lingerie, sex aids and games to a loyal and increasing customer base.

She has faced issues with Customs officials over some of the products she tried to import that they said were not authorised.

"The products I sell don't go against Islam. There is nothing that prohibits married couples from enjoying their sex lives, or preventing them from having a happy marriage," she told the paper.

"Customs staff confiscated some of my products, even though some are widely available in pharmacies and other stores.”

For the actual articles see:
arabianbusiness
maktoob.com

Kamaradeen & Apricots

Apricots [mish-mish] are a classic Middle Eastern taste and packets of dried apricots are sold like this,





Kamaradine [cam-a-rra-deen]
Another way of eating apricots is is an apricot juice drunk in Ramadan. Around Ramadan time you’ll see bright orange flat packets with pictures of apricots on the front in supermarkets. This is how you buy kamaradine. Once you get the paste home you break of a piece and put it in hot water so it dilutes with the water. Once it has collapsed it is mixed with your hands until the liquid is smooth. Kamaradine is only drunk in Ramadan, although you can buy the pulp in supermarkets throughout the year and is delicious eaten raw, as a sweet.

I make this recipe with apricots and then add it to plain yogurt or breakfast cereal:

250g dried apricots
2 cups peach juice, or cocktail juice
6 cardamoms
4 pieces of cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
6-8 cloves
4 stamens of saffron


All items are put into a saucepan and cooked on a very low heat for one or two hours, or until the dried apricots are softened. Remove from the heat, put in a container and add to dishes as you wish.

Habaytak Bisayf

Fayrooz, possibly the most famous Lebanese singer of all time, singing her most famous song, Habaytak Bisayf [ha-bay-tik bee-safe]:



When she played in Bahrain two years ago the tickets sold out in 5 minutes.

Oh to Visit Bahrain, now that Winter's here

Today's blog posting is taken directly from Saturday's Gulf Daily News, the English language newspaper in Bahrain:

"Royal Caribbean International, a leading company in cruise tourism, has expressed dissatisfaction as its largest cruise ship, Brilliance of the Seas, docked at the Khalifa bin Salman Port yesterday.

Royal Caribbean officials said there was a big melee as taxi drivers rushed madly upon tourists as they reached the port's main gate. They demanded exorbitant fares ranging between $300 and $400 ~it takes 10 minutes~ to take them to Manama for shopping, reports Akhbar Al Khaleej.

Company administrative director Abdulaziz Al Oshban said more than 50 tourists went back to the ship and refused to visit Manama for fear of being exploited.

Bahrain-based company agent Ali Al Qaidi said the incident had created a bad impression about Bahrain, particularly after the captain and crew were denied entry to Bahrain like tourists, a common practice in all Gulf countries the ship had visited.

What made things worse was the way Culture and Information Ministry's Tourism Sector Under-Secretary Ahmed Al Nawakhida welcomed the management of the world's largest cruise tourism company, dressed casually in jeans and T-shirt, reflecting carelessness and indifference, adds Akhbar Al Khaleej.

Nothing to pay on the Phone Bill this Month

This month, January 2010, it seems there will be no telephone bills issued in Saudi Arabia. The government had removed the previous IT co-ordinating company and apparently before they left a bug was planted in to the system.

People whose bills were normally about US$ 50 a month received bills of US$ 800 and those with bills of US$ 800 recieved bills for US$ 50. This applies to an entire country with 20 million mobile lines, (2007 figures); and 3 million land lines, (2002 figures).

To sort out the mess, no telephone bills will be issued for January 2010 and apparently the entire nation is sending each other endless video text messages for free.

Multiple Marriages

Islam permits a man to marry up to four wives. This custom still occurs and (as a generalisation) many families will have at least one man who has two or more wives.

This practice is endorsed by the Koran (4:2 & 4:3) which says,
“Give orphans the property which belongs to them. Do not exchange their valuables of worthless things or cheat them of their possessions; for this would surely be a great sin. If you fear that you cannot treat orphan (girls) with fairness, then you may marry other women who seem good to you; two, three or four of them. But if you fear that you cannot maintain equality among them, marry one only or any slave-girls you may own. This will make it easier for you to avoid injustice.”

I remember watching one man who had two wives being shuttled between the two houses and feeling sorry for him; I couldn't imagine what it must be like to have no where he could call his own home. That was my European perspective on his situation, he seemed genuinely happy with the situation ...


Example
The following poetry quote is about the difficulty of taking more than one wife and comes from, ‘The Perfumed Garden’. This is an Arabic erotic book which is thought to have been written in the 1500’s and translated into English by the explorer Richard Burton in the late 1800’s.

“By reason of my ignorance I have married two wives - and why do you complain, O husband of two wives?  I said to myself, I shall be like a lamb between them; I shall take my pleasure upon the bosoms of my two sheep, and I have become like a ram between two female jackals, days follow upon days, and nights upon nights, and their yoke bears me down during both days and nights.  If I am kind to one, the other gets vexed.  And so I cannot escape from these two furies.  If you want to live well and with a free heart, and with your hands unclenched, then do not marry.  If you must wed, then marry one wife only: One alone is enough to satisfy two armies.”


Urban Legend
Two Saudi women married to the same man and living in the same house, lived next door to another couple and had become friends with the wife. When next door neighbour died the woman begged their husband to marry the neighbour’s widow. After some discussion and thought their husband agreed and so did the widow next door and now all three live together in one house.

How to Find a Marriage Partner

Within the Arab world there are at least five different methods of finding a marriage partner; arranged, search, dial-a-bride, hourly and love.

Having written about the hourly /daily/weekly/monthly marriages in an earlier post {see wgaw blog archive: misiyar} this post describes four other ways of finding a partner.


1. Arranged Marriages
An arranged marriage occurs when the parents of the bride and groom decide their offspring are old enough to get married. With this system the children have no say in the process what-so-ever and it is precisely this lack of choice which makes it an arranged marriage.

Should the bride or groom be asked what they want, or who they want, then it’s no longer an arranged marriage. The Arabic saying [as s-qoot al-a-mat al il-red-ha] translates as, ‘your silence is a symbol of your acceptance’ comes from the expectation a girl will remain quiet if she decides she wants to marry the man offered to her by her family.


2. Search Marriages
Search marriages occur when someone decides they want to get married and enlist the help of their parents, or a matchmaking friend, to help search for a suitable partner.

The person wanting to get married announces they are ready to get married and are looking for someone. This is quite a common place event and I’ve often been asked if I know of anyone. It is at this point that the matchmakers start looking in earnest for a suitable person.

The matchmakers all have a network of people they use to find a possible match and this will include relatives and friends, their friend’s friends, and their friend’s friend’s friends. Once someone suitable has been found the couple start to get to know each, often over the telephone and this part serves as a useful catch all, even if the person is approved by all, it allows for a ‘spark’ to occur.

Whilst the couple are getting to know each other each family will be asking lots of questions about the other person’s family, the person themselves, their job and their aims and objectives in life. In many cases the person wanting to get married will reject three or four candidates before an acceptable mate is found.


3 – Dial-a-Bride
The dial-a-bride service is a recent innovation to the Gulf and started in Saudi a couple of years ago. It seems to be growing in popularity and this example below outlines the process someone goes through if they choose to take up dial-a-bride services;

“A new dial-a-bride service has been launched for the first time in Bahrain. It allows couples to find their match over the telephone. The service, called Marriage Line, will be supervised by Shari’a judges and clergymen. Users will be given a choice of partners - either a, b or c - and a meeting will be arranged by a committee. If the couple gets along they will be married according to normal procedures.

"This service will allow us to use new technology while abiding by Islamic rules and regulations. Everyone has the right to leave if not satisfied with their choice when they meet. No-one is forced to marry."


4. Love Marriages
Love marriages, those things we think of as marriage in the west, usually happen through the bride and groom meeting at work, or through studies at university.


Urban Legend
Two Saudi women married to the same man and living in the same house, lived next door to another couple and had become friends with the wife. When next door neighbour died the woman begged their husband to marry the neighbour’s widow. After some discussion and thought their husband agreed and so did the widow next door and now all three live together in one house.

Mr Smooth

Meet Gulzar, the infamous traffic attendant at Bahrain City Centre. Previously a member of the Pakistani army, he now directs traffic with a, 'Gulzar Bow' and a smile:




Update: 18th January, 2010
Having just returned from visiting Japan and China, Gulzar's bows now seem a wee bit tame. We saw various policemen and women, at many of the large junctions, carrying out what could only be described as a, 'dance form' whilst directing the traffic.

Hussain al Jasmi

Hussain al Jasmi, a Saudi national, often releases singles and at discos when his songs come on, the dance floor always fills up.

Love, love, love this:

These are the Camels That Sunbathe

all say "aahhh"

Old Bahrain

Here are some more photos of old Bahrain:

F1 & an Aeroplane

This feels like a great Youtube video for the start of a new year:

'Alf Lyala wa Layla' or 1001 Nights

Image taken from: this website  
(if you click on the link you'll be able to hear the music from the film)


Today's post is simply a story: the start of the 1001 nights and a recalling of events which happened in Syria and Egypt between 1260 and 1517

It's thought the original stories were written in Sanskit about 1,000 years ago and were translated into Persian between 1100 and 1400 AD and then into Arabic. They were only translated into English about 120 years ago (Andrew Lang, 1898; Edward Lane, 1841 and Malcolm Lyons, 2008).

A full explanation of the history, translation and relevance can be found here For me it's simply the experience of reading and imagining or listening to someone telling a story which makes them so enchanting.

Image taken from: this website 


1,001 Nights
In the chronicles of the ancient dynasty of the Sassanidae [sass-san-nee-day], who reigned for about four hundred years, from Persia to the borders of China, beyond the great river Ganges itself, we read the praises of one of the kings of this race, who was said to be the best monarch of his time.

His subjects loved him, and his neighbors feared him, and when he died he left his kingdom in a more prosperous and powerful condition than any king had done before him.

The two sons who survived him loved each other tenderly, and it was a real grief to the elder, Schahriar, [scar-ah-ha- ree-arr] that the laws of the empire forbade him to share his dominions with his brother Schahzeman [scar-haa-zee-man].

Indeed, after ten years, during which this state of things had not ceased to trouble him, Schahriar cut off the country of Great Tartary from the Persian Empire and made his brother king.

Now the Sultan Schahriar had a wife whom he loved more than all the world, and his greatest happiness was to surround her with splendour, and to give her the finest dresses and the most beautiful jewels.

It was therefore with the deepest shame and sorrow that he accidentally discovered, after several years, that she had deceived him completely, and her whole conduct turned out to have been so bad, that he felt himself obliged to carry out the law of the land, and order the grand-vizir to put her to death.

The blow was so heavy that his mind almost gave way, and he declared that he was quite sure that at bottom all women were as wicked as the sultana, if you could only find them out, and that the fewer the world contained the better.

Image taken from: this website

So every evening he married a fresh wife and had her strangled the following morning before the grand-vizir, whose duty it was to provide these unhappy brides for the Sultan. The poor man fulfilled his task with reluctance, but there was no escape, and every day saw a girl married and a wife dead.

This behaviour caused the greatest horror in the town, where nothing was heard but cries and lamentations. In one house was a father weeping for the loss of his daughter, in another perhaps a mother trembling for the fate of her child; and instead of the blessings that had formerly been heaped on the Sultan’s head, the air was now full of curses.

The grand-vizir himself was the father of two daughters, of whom the elder was called Scheherazade [sh-har-er-ree-zad], and the younger Dinarzade [dee-na-ra-zad].

Dinarzade had no particular gifts to distinguish her from other girls, but her sister was clever and courageous in the highest degree. Her father had given her the best masters in philosophy, medicine, history and the fine arts, and besides all this, her beauty excelled that of any girl in the kingdom of Persia.

Image taken from: this website 

One day, when the grand-vizir was talking to his eldest daughter, who was his delight and pride, Scheherazade said to him,
“Father, I have a favour to ask of you. Will you grant it to me?”

“I can refuse you nothing,” replied he, “that is just and reasonable.”

“Then listen,” said Scheherazade.
“I am determined to stop this barbarous practice of the Sultan’s, and to deliver the girls and mothers from the awful fate that hangs over them.”

“It would be an excellent thing to do,” returned the grand-vizir,
“but how do you propose to accomplish it?”

“My father,” answered Scheherazade,
“it is you who have to provide the Sultan daily with a fresh wife, and I implore you, by all the affection you bear me, to allow the honour to fall upon me.”

“Have you lost your senses?” cried the grand-vizir, starting back in horror.
“What has put such a thing into your head? You ought to know by this time what it means to be the sultan’s bride!”

Image taken from:  this website 


“Yes, my father, I know it well,” replied she,
“and I am not afraid to think of it. If I fail, my death will be a glorious one, and if I succeed I shall have done a great service to my country.”

“It is of no use,” said the grand-vizir,
“I shall never consent. If the Sultan was to order me to plunge a dagger in your heart, I should have to obey. What a task for a father! Ah, if you do not fear death, fear at any rate the anguish you would cause me.”

“Once again, my father,” said Scheherazade,
“will you grant me what I ask?"

“What, are you still so obstinate?” exclaimed the grand-vizir.
“Why are you so resolved upon your own ruin?”

Image taken from: this website 


But the maiden absolutely refused to attend to her father’s words, and at length, in despair, the grand-vizir was obliged to give way, and went sadly to the palace to tell the Sultan that the following evening he would bring him Scheherazade.

The Sultan received this news with the greatest astonishment.

“How have you made up your mind,” he asked,
“to sacrifice your own daughter to me?”

“Sire,” answered the grand-vizir,
“it is her own wish. Even the sad fate that awaits her could not hold her back.”

“Let there be no mistake, vizir,” said the Sultan.
“Remember you will have to take her life yourself. If you refuse, I swear that your head shall pay forfeit.”

“Sire,” returned the vizir.
“Whatever the cost, I will obey you. Though a father, I am also your subject.”

So the Sultan told the grand-vizir he might bring his daughter as soon as he liked.

The vizir took back this news to Scheherazade, who received it as if it had been the most pleasant thing in the world. She thanked her father warmly for yielding to her wishes, and, seeing him still bowed down with grief, told him that she hoped he would never repent having allowed her to marry the Sultan.

Then she went to prepare herself for the marriage, and begged that her sister Dinarzade should be sent for to speak to her.

Image taken from: this website 



When they were alone, Scheherazade addressed her thus:

“My dear sister; I want your help in a very important affair. My father is going to take me to the palace to celebrate my marriage with the Sultan. When his Highness receives me, I shall beg him, as a last favour, to let you sleep in our chamber, so that I may have your company during the last night I am alive.  If, as I hope, he grants me my wish, be sure that you wake me an hour before the dawn, and speak to me in these words:

“My sister, if you are not asleep, I beg you, before the sun rises, to tell me one of your charming stories.  Then I shall begin, and I hope by this means to deliver the people from the terror that reigns over them.”

Dinarzade replied that she would do with pleasure what her sister wished.

When the usual hour arrived the grand-vizir conducted Scheherazade to the palace, and left her alone with the Sultan, who bade her raise her veil and was amazed at her beauty. But seeing her eyes full of tears, he asked what was the matter.

“Sire,” replied Scheherazade,
“I have a sister who loves me as tenderly as I love her. Grant me the favour of allowing her to sleep this night in the same room, as it is the last we shall be together.”

Schahriar consented to Scheherazade’s petition and Dinarzade was sent for.

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An hour before daybreak Dinarzade awoke, and exclaimed, as she had promised,
“My dear sister, if you are not asleep, tell me I pray you, before the sun rises, one of your charming stories. It is the last time that I shall have the pleasure of hearing you.”

Scheherazade did not answer her sister, but turned to the Sultan.
“Will your highness permit me to do as my sister asks?” said she.

“Willingly,” he answered. So Scheherazade began ...

Lies and Damn Lies

I think this one speaks for itself ....

Old Bahrain