Geoff arrived looking fit and tanned, but tired after his long flight from Perth. The boys were, and still are, so excited to see their father. We had a few things planned over the next few days and decided that the first night Geoff arrived was the only time we could go out and celebrate Eid in style. We all tucked ourselves up for a nap during the afternoon so that we could enjoy a long evening of food and entertainment at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. All except Leo, who decided that he didn't need to do that.
Geoff and the boys
This was Leo's evening
He slept through the entire meal
He did get to see the falcon that was with his young Qatari owner
But he missed seeing the Derwish dancer, who whirled on the spot for so long, I don't know how he didn't collapse. The dance was originally a form of worship by a Muslim sect and the whirling put the dancers into a trance state. The version we saw was accompanied by a Muslim song of praise, but was nonetheless more geared to entertainment. It was spectacular.
We had a Lebanese band which sang some rousing songs and a lovely meal in a setting that was really like 1001 nights. A lot of locals were there eating and smoking shisha. A small group of sheikhs sat like mountains on a platform at one end of the room. Our waiter told us that they had come to the hotel every night for the month of Ramadan.
I can only guess how surreal it must have felt for Geoff who has come from working in the outback of Western Australia and cooking in a camp oven.
1 comment:
I would imagine for Geoff it must have been pretty bizarre. You probably haven't heard, but Tame Iti and a group of Bay of Plenty bros have been arrested for making napalm bombs, molotov cocktails and possessing automatic weapons. We need that like a hole in the head.
Seamus O'Haua.
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