PILGRIMAGE TO THE DESERT

Recently, after a Friday worship service, Edna & I joined two Brits to tackle the Doha desert.  We have known Kevin Armstrong for a year and have had great times of food and fellowship with him.  He is a frequent traveler to the desert, where he enjoys serenity, peace, and nature.  Frequently, he camps out in the desert.  He has been suggesting that Edna & I join him for a trip to the desert for quite some time.  Finally, everything worked out a few weeks ago.  Kevin is a free-lance photographer.  He introduced to us a fourth companion on the trip, a fellow Brit living & working in Doha, Brian Candy, who along with several other talents, is also a photographer whose works have been published in several national and world releases. He is a wonderful man, who also publishes a blog.  We are using his photos for the most part, and many of his ideas, because his photography is great.  He not only took great pictures, he would explain to Edna and me why he was taking different pictures and what his angle was attempting to bring out. 

Our day began in worship.  We then met in the fellowship room for some lunch.  As we walked to Kevin’s vehicle, we were surprised to be greeted by an unseasonable rain that would last for a few hours as we journeyed southward.  I am grateful for Brian’s map, which allowed us to appreciate our journey to the inland sea.  Kevin drove in his all-terrain SUV.  This was Brian’s first journey into the desert in the six years that he has lived in Doha.  We had been there three times on our first visit in 2004, but had not been there since we returned. 

Our trip began in the heavy rain, followed by a strong wind, a sandstorm and lightening and loud thunder.  Driving became treacherous, but Kevin was a master at navigating in the dark, sandy conditions. It was as if nature wanted us to know that the desert was no place for sissies.  We were up for the challenge.  

We drove to Mesaieed & pulled into a Woqod petrol station where Kevin not only refueled, but also let air out of his tires so that we could better travel in the sand of the desert.  We used this time to pick up some snacks, but also to change from our church clothes, to something more appropriate for the desert.  After grabbing the items that we needed, we proceeded down to Sealine, where the road ends and the desert begins.  We were fortunate that the rains stopped as well and the rest of our trip was dry. 

We began our trip in the salt flats. Even though it is a desert, we were far from being deserted.  Many others used the nice weekend day to travel to the desert, which is a usual sight.  Kevin took a ton of pictures, many of them action shots, and several as vehicles passed us.  The pictures that are most noteworthy are those of the sand dunes. 

An interesting sight is to see the experienced drivers approach the dunes from angles.  He appreciated the sun glistening down on the sand and tried to capture those moments. 

As we drove further south towards the Inland Sea, we came across one of the most fascinating sights, a ‘Dune Bashing’ casualty. Drivers of 4X4’s love to climb the sand dunes and then make their descent.  The desert is filled with vehicles racing away on weekends.   But sometimes they overestimate their driving abilities and they pay the price with their cars, and a few with their lives.

We came across two guys shortly after getting their collision with the sand. Kevin explained that this particular dune is actually named ‘The Stopper’. Weather can change the base of the dune into a shape that will stop drivers in their tracks if they come down too fast. These guys learned this lesson the hard way.

We came upon them immediately after their crash landing.  Kevin asked them if they needed help and they acknowledged that they did not, that they had made a phone call for help.  He later got to wondering if they were dazed or in shock.  As you can see from the picture, the vehicle went airborne as it came over the top, based on the absence of tire marks in the sand.  I’m guessing that for a few moments, they wondered if they hadn’t bitten off more than they could chew.  They would soon find out that they had.  From the sand marks on the hill side it becomes evident that they landed in the middle of the dune, only to come down hard on the front tires, blowing them both in a single band, which likely sent them airborne more.  Now they are lucky that they didn’t flip, because even their front grill and bumper took quite a bit of force and sent them flying.  When they finally came to a stop, they likely learned that they had no front tires to drive forward. Talk about letting air out of the tires.  From the heavy ruts in front of them it stands to reason that they then put their vehicle in reverse and attempted to back out of their predicament.  However, all they accomplished was the deep ruts of driving in reverse on their rims.  They basically were going nowhere.  We learned from Kevin that frequently these types of SUV’s will allow the driver to disconnect the anti-lock brakes, which both saves them, but also causes the accident to begin with.  

They were fortunate to be alive.  In 1998, four American women were killed on the same sand dune, because they had been told that to drive in the sand they needed to give the car extra gas, which is true going up.  However, if you go too fast coming down, this and worse are the results.  One needs to almost creep down to make it down in one piece.  We witnessed parts of cars strewn throughout the sand from prior wrecks.  As the old commercial used to say, “You don’t mess with Mother Nature,” and you don’t skirt the laws of creation.

Several drivers passed us throughout the day.  Kevin has driven this area so often that he has the map of the place sketched in his memory.  Good for us.  Had we left it up to me, we’d still be there, but our weight would be down.

We stopped near the inlet to witness the view of the inland sea that separates Qatar from Saudi Arabia.  It’s a beautiful sight, made even more beautiful by the beautiful sun coming down.

We stopped at the salt flats near the Inland Sea. Again, because Brian was the photographer, he is in none of the pictures. 

We saw the equivalent of modern day caravans.

The view was stunning. People set up places to camp, cook and swim.  Except for the sound of cars from time to time, the setting was most peaceful.  Our view was from the top of a dune.

 Finally, we set up a place where we could sit out, heat up food and drinks, and watch the desert sun go down in all of its majesty.

As day turned into evening, we found ourselves telling stories and corny jokes.  Since I’m the only one of the men to come from cornfields, I’ll let our friends guess whose stories and jokes were most corny!

As the evening set in, peace prevailed.  Edna didn’t find our “guy talk” as exciting as reading her email and searching websites.  It was amazing that even in the heart of the Qatari desert, she could still find reception.  Our friendship grew within the majesty of God’s great creation, as we took it all in.

We owe a special thanks to Kevin, whose suggestion and expertise made our trip possible.  Also, to Brian, who not only became a new friend, but also a wonderful photographer.  Who knew that the Middle East desert would seal a friendship between two Brits and two Americans?  

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RETURN TO QATAR

We arrived back from the U.S. On August 7th.  We had a wonderful time seeing our family and many of you.  The time went by very quickly.  It was so good to do some special things with each of our grandchildren.  We know we miss a lot being gone but having those homecoming hugs and kisses as well as undivided attention help to make up for it.   

We are glad to be getting back into the swing of things.  Freshmen orientation was last week.  Classes start Sunday.  As with all beginnings, there is always new dreams, new relationships and new things to experience.  It is an exciting time.   

Many of you ask about the heat.  Make no mistake--it's HOT.  It seems the average heat index is130 degrees.  Needless to say, you don't see many people outside unless they are working.  We look forward to October when it cools down.   

One hard thing about being an expat is people coming and going.  On one hand you hesitate to get too close to people knowing it's a short, changing relationship.  On the other hand, you are lonely and want to make new friends.  I've decided it's worth the risk. We are fortunate some of our friends from eleven years ago are still here.  With those friends, it is as if we never left.   

One thing has changed while we were gone over the summer.  Security is much tighter. The Qatar government seems tower on the side of caution which makes me very grateful. When something bad happens in the gulf region, Qatar immediately has a change in place for us.  One such thing has happened in the religious city.  You may recall that Religious Complex is the land that the Father Emir donated and designated for churches to build their own buildings.  There are four current buildings with another one in process.  You can't imagine how big the area is.  It is completely "walled in" but, of course, has parking and entrances at each facility.  This summer, they closed all the parking within the compound.  They erected fences and anti-tank hedge hogs around the entrances and placed police guards there at all times.  Everyone must enter the compound through a single gate where you walk through metal detectors and your bags are scanned. We have been told this is in response to a mosque being bombed in Kuwait this summer, as well as three others in Saudi Arabia, but we aren't sure.  (The Roman Catholic Church was bombed in Yemen, but worship there was halted when the war outbreak began.). What we know is that the powers that be here in Qatar are doing everything in their power to protect us.  We are very fortunate. Yesterday, as Bob and I were walking in the heat because our driver can only get us so close, I was especially mindful of the large crowds coming and going.  We are the lucky ones--we get dropped off and it's about 2000 steps to the building (I know because I wear a Fitbit.). I'm guessing that depending on which church building you are going to, you may be walking up to two miles from the back of the parking lot.  We saw people with umbrellas, women walking side by side holding pashminas over them (you can get three ladies under one!), babies covered in strollers and men with wet clothes on their heads.  What I noticed most was that everyone seemed happy.  No one was grumbling and there was no anger or complaining--just joy at the opportunity to worship.  Keep in ,ind, it felt like 130 degrees outside.  I hope I never complain again about driving to church in the rain or snow and getting from the car to the building.   

We still have our good friend Joseph as our driver.  It was a great homecoming for the three of us to see each other again.  His daughter who was married this summer sent us a USB with wedding pictures for us to see.  Of course, she was a beautiful bride.  She had three different dresses and the flowers were amazing.  Joseph was very proud to have us see his priest and church.  I was able to print out the pictures for him, so we had a good time seeing pictures of his family together.  He was happy to have the pictures to show his co-workers. 

Speaking of co-workers, our colleagues seemed happy to see us.  The ten ladies who traveled with us to the U.S. for a week in June gave us homecoming embraces.  What a difference a year makes as we know co-workers name and they ours.  Many were excited to hear how our travels went and how our family members are.  Some were bored with the slow pace of the university in the summer and considered our return as their escape from boredom.  We have seen everyone yet, many will be returning within the next week.   

We think of you often and as the new school year starts for many of your families, may it be a year of new beginnings, new relationships and new experiences. 

 Love,  Bob and Edna 

SOMEBODY'S GETTING MARRIED

"Was yours a love marriage?"  That’s a question I've heard asked countless times here; never to me though.  I knew what they meant, did you marry because you fell in love or was it arranged.  Recently we've learned of two upcoming weddings, one of each.

Our driver Joseph, who is from Sri Lanka, proudly told us that his 2nd daughter is getting married.  After the congratulations we began asking him questions.  Here is what we learned:  This is indeed an arranged marriage.  A man has asked for her.  Joseph said that he is a good man, a hard-working carpenter currently living in Malaysia.  He and his family were "checking me out," Joseph said.  If they like me and approve, things will move forward.  Joseph has to pay for the wedding and give a dowry.  We asked, “If it was not too personal, what do you give?”  He quickly replied, “Gold!”  He told us even the amount of grams he would need.  Bob and I did the math and that is  $2500-3000 USD depending on the gold prices when he buys it.  Now keep in mind that his base salary is around 400 USD per month.  In addition he has to pay for his airline ticket home and miss one month of work.  Since he doesn't have any brothers or sisters he has to go a week or two before the wedding to get everything ready.  Most families could even help with the dowry, but he is on his own.  We asked how he would manage (he is the father of three daughters)?  With a huge smile on his face, he answered, "I will manage.   What to do?"  We learned a few days later that he "checked out" and the wedding is set for mid-July.

JOSEPH

Another young woman I know confided in me a few months ago that she was hoping to get married soon.  She quickly told me it was for love.  They had a huge obstacle to overcome.  She was Pakistani and he was Indian.  Those two nationalities, although neighbors on a map, hardly every marry each other.  Would their parents and families approve?  Would the families be able to get visas to come to the wedding in Qatar?  Would they be granted the legal documents here to get married?  So many questions and issues were beyond their control.  But they hoped and prayed that God would allow all of these things and more to work out and one day, Insha’Allah, it would work. (Insha’Allah means “If God wills.”  It is a common, but serious phrase, similar to when Bob says, “Lord willing!”) Without their families’ blessings, it would never happen.  She would never disobey her parents and I'm guessing neither would he.  Privately, I would ask her how things were progressing and she would tell me, with hope in her eyes, it's moving along.  One morning before most people arrived at work, she came to my desk.  I knew immediately!  She had just gotten the news that she and her "best friend," the man she loved, could get married!  The date was chosen already (just in case!) and now she could continue with the plans for her special day.  I've never seen a happier face.  She talked a mile a minute about everything from dresses, to henna, to the legal and religious parts, to the party.  And quickly she added, "Of course, you and Bob will be invited."  I felt tears well up in my eyes.  Tears not only for her act of kindness in inviting us, but for the joy she had.  All her dreams were coming true in that moment.

I've since reflected a lot about these two new brides and compared it to our way of life in America. I'm eager to hear your thoughts.  Would we, as head strong young women, submit to our parents?  As parents, would we be willing to start our children off with the type of sacrifice Joseph is making? Have we ever considered the different types of "mixed marriages," whether they were nationality, religious, political or other differences?  Would you want the festivities to last three days?

I'm hopeful to post some pictures after the wedding here in Qatar.  Joseph has promised pictures from his daughter's wedding in July.  Keep both of these special families in your thoughts and prayers. These are exciting and hopeful times for all of them.

Recent World Events

Dear Friends and family, Greetings from Doha, Qatar, where we are experiencing summer like weather, that is, summer in America.  We are sorry that winter’s blast has hit so much of the USA with such an icy blast—that is except for the cheaters who won the Super Bowl.  They deserve all the winter they get!!  Just kidding.

Blue Mosque, Katara

We’ve experienced some troubles receiving email from Verizon, due to the enormous amount of spam Verizon was receiving from Middle East and European countries.  Therefore, Verizon blocked the servers.  We went several days without receiving our emails through Verizon.  However, they finally gave us a way of bypassing the blockage and we finally received our email messages.  Our close friends asked us a week ago if the folks in Qatar speak at all about the Jordanian pilot who was burned alive by the ISIS creeps.  Since the question was asked, many other things have happened in world events.  So I gave a lengthy answer to the question, but wouldn’t you know, in attempting to send it, the message evaporated.  This was annoying and disturbing.  But I decided that maybe others would like to know the answer as well, since it deals with Qatar, Arabs, Muslims and the Middle East. 

The question posed was in light of the burning of the Jordanian pilot by the vicious people of ISIS, do people of Qatar talk about it.  The general answer is, not much.  Most Qatari’s and Middle East folks do not talk about what we’d call, world events or Foreign Policy with us.  A few do.  And these were graphic.  When I asked a Jordanian lady about it, she first exclaimed, “it makes me sick and I don’t want to talk about it!”  But then she went on.  She said that everything they are doing goes contrary to what the Qur’an teaches.   She then went on to ask, “Where did these folks come from?  How did they get so dominant so fast?  Who funds them?” and the like.  Of course, since then the situation in Yemen has occurred.  That is a country where some of our friends are from right next to Oman, where several recently vacationed and swear is the most beautiful.  At the same time, three Arab Muslims were murdered point blank by being shot in the head in North Carolina.  CMUQ is going to have a vigil tomorrow, at Her Highness Sheikha Mozah’s request.  Most of my American friends would not want our people in USA to be judged by this evil, lunatic’s action.  That is how the Arab, Muslims would want us to treat the crazies who do things in the name of the Islam religion.  Americans should know that not all Muslims are Arabs and not all Arabs are Muslim.  They should also know that most Muslims do not want to harm anyone at all, much less Americans, for whom they have a healthy respect. In my interviews with Arab, Muslim prospective students, generally ages 17, 18, I ask them whether they would like to spend a semester in Pittsburgh if they get accepted by CMUQ.  I wish Americans could see their faces light up as they excitedly say, “Oh, yes, that would be so great.  I would cherish the opportunity to study in and visit America”  I cringe inwardly a bit, hoping that no crazies would harm them or say offensive things at them that would make them feel uncomfortable due to their nationality, religion or dress. 

So what do the ones who express themselves say about the people causing trouble?  One close friend told Edna that the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt are crazy, the Al Qaeda are terrorists and ISIS are an offshoot of Al Qaeda or Taliban.  These last folks have killed more Muslims in savage ways than they have Westerners, but our news didn’t cover it until they killed Americans, British and Japanese. 

I will say more about some of the issues in times to come.  I continue to read and study issues and don’t want to give historical answers just yet, although I know some of the historical things.

But Qatar itself is safe.  There is no crime.  I know that’s hard to believe, but basically it is true.  People are here on work visas  To commit a crime lands one in jail and then deported and for the most part, people are earning more than they ever could in their home lands, so they largely don’t commit crimes  Additionally, the police system here is the best that money can buy.  My understanding is that there are cameras everywhere, so by and large people don’t know when they are being watched.  When we were here a decade ago, a cleaning worker stole a bottle of water from CMUQ and was caught in the night shift.  He was on a plane out of the country by morning.  It was a shame, but if we left water out for them, the first one would take the waters and sell them to others, so it’s hard to know what to do.  Despite there being no crime, that doesn’t mean that everyone is honest.  If you offer to give someone money, you will find out how bad things are in their family and homeland, until you have to stop.

There is another side to the original question.  Folks who are not from America and Europe are not prone to complain.  One goes to jail for publicly criticizing the Emir or royal family.  It’s the same for these folks no matter where they come from.  When you think about it, Americans complain just to complain sometimes.  These folks act like it doesn’t do any good, so why bother.  Additionally, they believe that most things, if not all things, are God’s will.  So they bear the injustices with little complaint, particularly when they are not happening to them.

Having said that, I want to say that I don’t think generally most people have a complaint about the Emir or His Royal family.  He is pretty good and favorable.  He donated the land for the churches to build on, despite being a Muslim himself.  When injustices are brought to his attention, he acts to rectify the situation.  Two cases in point: First, The small African children who rode the camels in the camel races often to their deaths that I mentioned in the last blog.  He outlawed the practice and robots ride the camels now.  Second, “inhumane” fishing practices of dynamiting or putting lights in the seas that drew all sorts of fish to the light, including mothering and baby fish, was outlawed.  His Highness (the meaning of “HH") has brought this country far.  It still has a ways to go, but I believe that he is addressing those issues.  This country was a third world country before he took over.  It is quite beautiful and progressive now.  It’s not a finished product, but it’s come a long way.  We may be biased, because we love these folks, but it is how we see it. 

When we come home in June, ten Middle Eastern ladies who work for CMUQ are coming with us for their first visit to America.  I wish folks could see their excitement.  If Americans knew how much they are appreciated by the vast majority we might have fewer questions of “why do they hate us?” and more of “why do they love and respect us?”  

FEBRUARY IN THE DESERT

Greetings friends and family.

 It’s been a while since we last wrote.  This is partly because we have been very busy, both personally and professionally with the university.  We enjoyed our four week visit to the States in December-January.  Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t kind us.  It was freezing in Pennsylvania, which is to be expected.  But it was downright cold in California during our visit there, too.  Even our children’s friends were sorry that we were there during such an expanded cold spell, as there was actually snow near LA, on the mountains.  Southern Californians don’t have heaters in their homes.  But the cold weather could not dampen the joy we had in visiting with our children, grandchildren and the friends with whom we spent time.  Our visit was in a word: delightful.

We arrived back in Qatar after tearful goodbyes with our children and grandchildren, particularly.  We found it more than chilly in the desert.  Nevertheless, I swam our first weekday back.  The pool worker was wearing a coat, winter hat and gloves and astounded that I was in the pool at daybreak.  CMU’s associate dean was impressed (Edna says that “impressed” is a synonym for thinking that I’m a nut!).  I later struggled for a couple weeks with a cold.  Edna was sick while we were in the states.  The weather changed recently and has been picturesque, sunny and warm with blue skies, as our Pennsylvania family and friends have unfortunately been hit with snow storms for the ages.

It is an especially busy time for the Admission department as we gear up for a March 1 deadline for applications with myriads of interviews, phone calls to prospective students, and a Winter Institute for prospective Computer Science students.  Edna has helped the dean with personnel changes, dinners and the like. We’ve also had a couple dinners with the Admission folks, co-workers, visitors from the USA, as well as a lunch with the tax experts.  As you might know, USA workers in foreign countries have different tax rules.  While I hate taxes more than death, I’m happy for these folks who make it their life’s calling to know the rules and keep us lawful.   Life in Qatar has been busy but rewarding.  We’ve been enjoying our worship experiences.  We are also hosting a study for the Anglican Church.

We brought my Mom back with us to Qatar.  She is appreciating the desert weather for a couple months.  Our daughter-in-law is coming for a week at the end of the month for work with CMU.  They will fly back together. We have taken Mom to several malls and outings.  A friend has taken her to a few Christian ladies outings.  We have done a couple of city tours, one to the middle of the country and desert.  She’s experienced new foods,   met all types of people, and seen animals she’d never seen before.  Our driver from Sri Lanka treats her like his own grandmother. 

I thought that I’d stick with a theme this time, an aspect of Middle East life that elicits more of a question and response than nearly any other from our Western friends; CAMELS!  We have learned that there are two kinds of camels.  The “dromedary” camels are the ones with one hump.  They are the only kind in Qatar and all of the Middle East.  The “bactrianus” camels are the ones with two humps.  They are found in Central Asia, Pakistan, India and other parts, and are much more of a pack animal for labor purposes.  From what I gather, archeologists wonder if historically, there were camels with more than two humps or less than one.  Camels are related to llamas and other animals, and share similar faces from what I’ve seen. 

In the desert of Qatar, there is actually camel race track that we recently observed.  During races, the riders are robots, after many years of being small African children who frequently were killed in the line of their work.  Our Father Emir banned the children drivers and a few years ago, robots replaced them.   

Evidently, camels can race up to 40 mph.  Additionally, they can live up to 40-50 years if given the opportunity.  Most aren’t given the opportunity.  For the races, which are major international events, the drivers and trainers are Sudanese.  As a guide told us, Sri Lankans have a natural gift to train elephants, Qataris have a natural way with falcons and Sudanese have a gift with camels.  A camel’s racing career is between the ages of 3-5 generally.  Because it is not their nature to naturally run, they are trained to run, as a string of trainers run experienced mother camels, as the babies, up to ages 3-5, run beside their mothers, with reigns and blankets, running.  Often these camels wear masks which prevent the camels from eating sand (which they would do as they failed to decipher the plant from the sand).  Sand is not good for the camel’s digestive track.  The best (and therefore only) racing camels are white females.  The Emir Cup is the big race that draws people and owners of camels from many countries.  No one watches an entire race, because it is quite long in distance.  Therefore, the only seats are at the finish line and are reserved for the royal family.  The winning camel receives a Lamborghini.    Second place is a Ferrari.  Every camel that makes the field wins a vehicle.  They range from Land Rovers to small pickup trucks.  Last year, the winner of the Lamborghini was Qatari.  34 Land Rovers were shipped to Dubai winners. 

 I posed with the winning cars.  Now, I’ve got to figure out how to get my own racing camel!  BTW, racing camels can cost $1 million or more.  (Do you think my friends in the USA could pass a hat?  It’s for a good cause!  I’ll let you ride in my Lamborghini!).  Mother camels are 12 years old.  After their racing and breeding careers, camels are used for butchering and food.  BTW, gambling is forbidden by Islam Quran, meaning that it is under the table.

Camels are domesticated by Sudanese Bedouins who live on camel farms in the desert.  During our stay a decade ago, I learned that the Sudanese farmer makes a certain noise with his mouth to get camels to lie down.  He makes another distinct noise with his mouth to get them to rise back up. There are other distinct noises that they make to get them to run and the like.  I learned to make the noise that commands them to lie down and was especially impressed with myself that the camel obeyed my noise.  I couldn’t make the sound to get them to rise back up.  I pondered that it was a gift from God to the camel that kept them from a perpetual motion of up and down to amuse myself with my newfound “talent!”    The camel also obeys the sound of the crack of the whip that the farmer makes.  I wasn’t able to duplicate this either, but a high school student in our party could.  I referred to the high schooler as, (wait for it…, wait for it…) “a young whipper-snapper!” 

Now if you’ve picked yourself off of the floor and dried your eyes from your tears of laughter, I’ll tell you a little more (note: I get a charge out of my own humor even when others bear a look of pain!).  In Qatar, camels also have other purposes aside from their benefits as working animals that transport heavy loads (and racing!).  First, they are used for milk.  Yes, Middle Eastern people drink camel’s milk.  I haven’t yet, but some have told me that it is sweet, while a Sri Lankan guide told me that it is nasty, because it is over the top creamy.  I’ll probably believe the latter.  A decade ago, a prospective student’s mother told me that Middle East folks use camel’s milk as an aphrodisiac.  I was floored.  However, when I shared this conversation point with one of our Qatari female friends and Edna, our friend was angry and told me that she’d never heard of it.  Further, she surmised that the lady was flirting with me in order to get her high school daughter, who was present at the time of the conversation, into the university.  Our friend became very protective of me. I don’t know.  (Hey, I’m just reporting what I witnessed). 

Second, and I’m sorry to offend some of you, and as I’ve alluded, camels are used in the Middle East for their meat.  (Orthodox Jews do not eat them).  I am told that they taste like lamb. Qataris use different seasonings and mixes to make them taste good.  I’m told that the hump is the best part, because it is the fatty part.  Folks don’t eat the stomach and the like.  Families buy the entire butchered camel for their families.  Even more, the Quran permits a male to have four wives (and thus families) at a time.  A camel will go to feed all four families.  The camels can be slaughtered at any time and I am told that there is a special delight in baby camels.  While the racing camels are smaller, the mothers can get very large (no going through an eye of the needle there!).  Some chefs and hosts like to play games with Westerners and tell them that they’ve just had their first camel meat, despite the fact that they didn’t, just to get a reaction, from turning sickly, to actually vomiting.  My son-in-law, upon seeing a picture of camel meat that we took at a market, said that he didn’t want lumps in his camel meat.

Camel Souks are markets.  They have the smell of the farms that we grew up around.  We visited the Camel Souk in Doha.  There we learned that camels come in three colors, brown means that they are from Sudan, white means that they are from Saudi Arabia, and black means that they are from Oman.  We also saw baby camels.  One camel was loose, but our guide advised against my approaching it for fear that i might “spook” it and be in danger.  The white females are the ones used for milk (I know you guessed the female aspect, and yes, I passed my high school biology!).  The others will be used in time for meat.  

In the autumn, Edna and I rode on our bus and passed a small truck with a camel lying in the bed of the truck, looking back at traffic as we passed it.  Our driver asked us to guess where it was going (the Green Mile). 

A decade ago, we visited a camel farm in the Qatar desert.  One particular camel was tied to a stake and blurting out a constant noise that nearly sounded as if it was wailing.  Other camels were within viewing distance of the ranch in the desert standing free without a fence (this is where the rancher snapped the whip and the camels in the wilderness came).  The “wailing” noise was constant and loud, unmistakable.  An American suggested that maybe the camel was in heat (is that an appropriate phrase for the desert?).  But the Sudanese farmer (expert) told us that the camel was a mother and her baby camel had died earlier that morning.  The “wailing” sound truly was mourning and the camel was segregated and tied up for her own protection, to keep her from harming itself.  Suddenly, we realized that this breed of animal shared an emotion akin to humans. 

Blessings to all of you, Bob & Edna