Saturday, September 29, 2012

The man behind the "REAL TALK BLOG"

From quirky comments to describing strange and hilarious day to day scenarios, to tackling hard hitting employment, law, job market, passport and other issues, Desert Moon brings to you the man behind the "REAL TALK BLOG". This blog is definitely  one of my favourite blogs within the Saudi blogosphere. I am always taken aback by the wisdom and message that each article conveys to the reader. Such wisdom and depth can only be generated from an individual who has a pure heart with noble intentions. Read on to find out more about the blog in his own words.

Nationality:
Citizen of Earth

Education background:
Bachelors in Business, a waste of time!

Drink I always order at a coffee shop:
Coffee

Pet Peeve:
Nails on blackboard

1. Firstly, thank you very much for agreeing to be interviewed despite your very hectic lifestyle.So tell me, who is the man behind the 'Real Talk Blog'? Tell me a little bit about your background. Where were you born? Basically a brief synopsis of your  life from childhood up until university.

I was born in Karachi in Oct of 69. I was raised in Riyadh because my father came here 4 years before I was born. I am from the  Hashemite lineage , 40th generation direct decendent of Ali ibn Abi Talib.
My whole life, from early childhood has been spent in understanding the word of God and I feel I will be complete the day I know myself totally. All other aspects of my life revolve around this goal. I own my business so that I burden no one with my views and can exercise my policy, my way. Thus, I have never  worked for anyone. I went to Manarat Al Riyadh school here and graduated from Cyprus College.

2. Why did you decide to start writing a blog? How did it come about?

I have been writing for as far as I can remember. Expression of thought is growth of mind and thus the development of man. I write my blog to gain knowledge and share views. Human interaction can unite people and through each other we learn.

3. How many hours a week do you spend blogging?

No timing. I write anytime and as a thought insists on being expressed through words:)

4. Has the Saudi government ever clamped down on some of the sensitive issues you have written about?

Never. I don't write about sensitive issues because I don't know what sensitive issues are. I have a policy to deter any attack on any government or national security.

5. What do you think is the secret to success? Define success. What does success mean to you?

Honesty and Courage. Success means being granted Jannah on the Last day. Because success should be final and eternal otherwise it is not success, just a temporary condition.

6. Have you ever lost friends or have you ever been threatened due to a viewpoint you expressed on your blog?

No. Never.

7. In your opinion, what are the positives or negatives of blogging?

Adds to information available. Negatives can range from hurting oneself to causing chaos depending on popularity.

8. What topics and subjects are you the most passionate about?

People and all that concerns them.

9. If someone could grant you one wish and you could choose to have one skill or talent in the world, what would it be?

To be able to unite all humans and achieve world peace.

10. What are your favourite websites?

www.booking.com looool

11. Where do you draw your inspiration from? Who or what inspires you to write?

My heart which is inspired by Quran.

12. Do you consider yourself to be a spiritual person? What are your thoughts on religion and faith?

Faith and religion is the essence of all life. We are born to understand our existence through worship of our creator.

13. Some time back, an article I read mentioned that  the Saudi government wanted all blogs to be registered and licensed. What are your thoughts on this?

No problems with that as there are many anti Islam and anti Ksa bloggers on Earth.

14. Should bloggers within the Kingdom be allowed total freedom of expression or do you think the government has a right to arrest and clamp down on bloggers whose opinions are incongruent to government policy?

Freedom of speech should not cross the limit and become abuse.  If you do not agree with KSA policies, leave. Every country has a right to decide what to allow and what not. If you write a blog praising saddam hussain, osama and hitler in the west, you Would get areested!

15. What advise would you give to people out there who are thinking about starting up their own blog?

Go right ahead folks. Write what you feel. A blog is about you, not others.

16. What makes a blog successful? What are some of the qualities or features that a blog requires in order for it to become successful?

Sincerity, originality.

17. Are there any other internet websites or publications that you write for?

Saudi life, Riyadh Connect, Chowk

18. Can you provide the readers with a few blogging tips?

If you are not good at expressing yourself through writing, find the medium that does justice to your heart and express through it. Never do what others do.

19. Are there any additional comments you'd like to add for the blog readers?

I love all of you and am grateful you read my blogs. God bless you all.

Once again, thank you very much Sir, for taking the time to answer these questions. Desert Moon wishes you the very best in your career and beyond!!!! I strongly recommend all my fans, friends and family to please visit  the "REAL TALK BLOG". Kindly provide me with feedback and your thoughts regarding the blog.



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Friday, September 28, 2012

His Cruising Experience - Part 1

I received this email in the early hours of the morning a few days ago from Mr. Devdas Govindjee who is an international cricket match referee. Follow this link to read my exclusive interview with this humble, vivacious and goodhearted soul. Mr. Govindjee accompanied his wife Urmila, on a recent ten day exotic trip aboard the super luxury Celebrity Equinox cruise liner.I made mention to him during one of our online conversations some time back that I am not the type of person who likes traveling by sea. Whilst I do enjoy swimming in a pool, I am terrified of the vast ocean. I must admit though that after reading his email, I thought to my self, " WOWWWW....what a well written email and what an amazing experience. I need to experience this as well." After seeking permission from Mr. Govindjee, I decided to share this email with all my blog readers. I am sure that you will equally enjoy reading his travel experience as much as I have. I would also like to take this opportunity in thanking Mr. Govindjee for sharing his sentimental and priceless pictures with all my blog readers.

The Eastern Mediterranean Sea is dotted with so many incredibly beautiful Islands and the 10 day cruise aboard the majestic Celebrity Equinox gave me the opportunity to have a taste of splendid scenery steeped in rich history and also to gaze in wonder at geographical phenomena which has resulted in some of these places coming into being.

On the 14th we landed in Rome and made our way courtesy of the Celebrity Equinox staff at the airport directly to the port at Civitavecchia which is about over an hour away from the Leonardo da Vinci airport.

During the 10 ensuing days the cruise liner called on the Sicily( Italy), Athens (Greece), Kusadasi (Turkey), Rhodes, Mykonos, Santorini (Greece) and finally to Naples in Italy before returning to Rome on the 24th.

To try to convey the spirit and splendour of the places visited in this mail would probably require descriptive skills that I doubt I possess but safe to say that sailing the calm blue eastern Mediterranean is a most soul uplifting experience and each of the ports of call and places visited confirmed my initial impressions that the postcards and travel brochures were certainly in no way exaggerations!

I shall not even attempt to go into too much detail but let me just say that the liner itself had 3000 passangers with a staff of close onto 2000 and that in itself was a daily lesson in what we tend to refer to as "a well oiled machine!"- the staff and the levels of service and devotion to duty in the middle of seemingly nowhere is a lesson of how a business ought to be run- provide a servie to clients and make sure you carry out your specific task- no matter how menial it might be as it all adds up to a complete ultimate experience in the end.

The ship has every imaginable luxury to keep the most discerning passenger satisfied -from a magnificent Equinox theatere that put on high class shows of different varieties twice each evening- gropus of musicians and singers, instrumentalists in diff parts of the ship providing entetnainment, shopping areas of note, a casino, lawn areas on the upper decks,a jogging track, 3 swimming pools and numerous jacuzzis, outstanding Health and Beauty Spa facilities, fully fitted gym with trainers, library, card rooms, internet areas, specialised restaurants for those not wanting to daily eat in the huge buffet areas where food was avialable at most hours, etc etc

Shore excursions are optional when at a port and these are well organised and one chooses a tour from a variety of options- most of the time i chose the 4-5 hour tours with walking and visits to historical sights preferable. Everynoe merely met at the theatre and got numbers to move down to the shore and board the waiting bus to take you to your place of interest and the local tour guide was on hand to control the days activity. Much time was always allowed for one to wander around to get a personal feel of the place before meeting again at the bus at an appointed time.

There were 2 formal evenings of dining when the captain joined in at one of the two sittings for supper- on these evenings everyone dressed up and made a special night of it and naturally filter away to whichever entertainment option appealed to them. 

There were two days of the 10 when pure sailing was done with no stopping and these days gave passangers an opportunity to laze around the pool or do shopping or whatever they felt like- it is actually amazing that after ten days you probably still did not get to see a certain part of the ship and one at times never sees the same person twice during the entire cruise.

Of the places visited I loved Santorini with the cable car ride into the top section of the island which provided breathtaking views of the many huge liners docked out in the nearby areas- they cannot dock at the Island so little tender boats ferry the passengers onto the Island - we were bold  enough to actually decide to walk down a circuitous route back and competed with tourists on donkeys making their way up or down ( an option I decided not to use!) - the walk was almost 1 hour and one had to be careful as it was over cobbled areas and naturally the donkey debris had to be circumvented!

The visit to the Acropolis and to be there and look at the Parthenon was quite special- as one who lectured History these places only featured in a syllabus and the true immensity of the period comes home only when witnessed personally - the same can be said with the visit to Ephesus in Kusadasi in turkey and then the ruins of Pompeii in Naples!

The blue domes and white structures on the Islands of Mykonos and Santorini leave indelible impressions and the narrow alleys of shopping splendour in places such as Taormina in Sicily become just as unforgettable.

Whilst the economic woes of the World is a cause for concern and the people at our ports of call are not oblivious to the hard times that could be around every corner- they rely on tourists and in some cases a not too long tourist season- efforts are doubled to secure a living and my mind now goes back to my chats with some of the staff on board the liner- young girls from Rumania or Serbia at the serving points or clearing the tables all the time and cabin attendants from Sri Lanka the West Indies and Malaysia- singers from Sweden and the USA, and croupiers in the Casino from SA! All work long hours with a few half days off per week! some told me that they would be back home at the end of the cruise to spend 6 weeks with family before being sent to a new liner for the next assignment!
A guest relations lady on the liner from Germany spoke 6 languages and completed her tourism degree and she spent one of her half days off by coming into Naples and doing the same excursion to Pompeii as us.  

Hopefully my facebook pics will bring some of these images to life and the big problem is to decide which of the over 600 pics I should use!

Now it is back to home soil and no rest as I prepare to leave for Namibia on Tues- better get this mind into cricket mode quickly.

Trust that this at least provided a small idea of a special 10 days that I have been blessed to experience- 

Do hope that you have been well and look forward to getting some news and views in return.

dev

Mykonos- picturesque white painted villages, hundreds of little churches, windmills and golden sandy beaches of the Cyclades. 

From Santorini the magniificence of the Celebrity Equinox is clearly seen. A 600 plus climb down from Fira connects to the landing area of Skala.

six cable cars going up crossed at this precise point by six going down - Fira to the Skala. Taken as we climbed slowly down to the bottom -took the cable car up to Fira.

Santorini- just too beautiful and romantic an Island. Spectacular views all round.

No wonder it is considered to be one of the most beautiful of all the Greek Islands- with views such as this! Two major cruiseliners and other vessels made for this stunning postcard shot! — at Santorini.

Through the Straits of Messina in Sicily as the Celebrity Equinox docks at our 1st port of call out of Rome.Sun 15 Sept 2012

Sicily is the largest of the Mediterranean Islands about 320 kms long and 210 kms wide situated off the toe of the Italian "boot" and separated from the mainland by the Strait of Messina. The active Mt Etna forms the highest point of Sicily.

About 50 kms from Messina is the beautiful little town of Taormina perched on high cliffs between Catatania and Messina. It has a medieval atmosphere despite it's Greek and Roman past.

Through cobblestone streets one gets to the Greek Theatre- Wonderful sights from here of the surrounds .Taormina village is full of medieval charm and character.

Views of the surrounding areas in Taormina. Next stop after a day at sea will be Athens in Greece.

From the Acropolis- Athens- a city steeped in History- during the golden ages of Greek culture names such as Aeschylus,Sophocles, Euripides as well as Aristophanes, Socrates and Plato influenced the Western World not to mention Herodotus and Hippocrates in other spheres.

One oif the great wonders of thw world, the Acropolis actually consists of four ancient buildings- the Parthenon, Temple of Athena, Nike and the Erechtheion & the Propylaea. Built during the 5th century BC

Just below the Acropolis Hill is located the Dionysos and the Odeon Theatres. Amphitheatres reconstructed and hosts Athens Festival performances in Summer

The Turkish flag flutters as the Celebrity Equinox sails into harbour at Kusadasi. Note the buses waiting to take the tourists from different cruise liners to the resepctive shore excursions.

Ephesus is the showpiece of Agegean archaeology. The ruins seen are that of the city established by one of the generals ofd Alexander the Great -Lyssimachos.

Ephesus. Kusadasi Turkey

As the cruise liner docks- the first sight of the medieval walled city of Rhodes.

Rhodes is the 4th largest of the Greek Isles. The Knights of the Order of St John of Jerusalem fortified the city protecting it for Turkish invaders.

Rhodes offers much along it's cobbled stoned pathways for tourists- there are network of pedestrian streets and ancient alleyweays and is home to souvenir shops, gold smiths and small cafes.

The Mosque of Suleyman is an early 19th century structure that stands on the site of the original mosque built in 1522. Non of the mosques on the island are now in use and are closed to the public

time for a breather after visiting the hospital of the Knights, the Palace of the Knights of St john, & The Byzantine, the Temple of Aphrodite

From the harbour a view of the city of Naples which is the capital of the Campania Region. A 2800 year old rich history.

Buried by the volcanic eruptions of 79AD - the ruins of Pompeii give a fascinating insight into the advanced mode of living and trading during that era.

Mount Vesuvius, an active Volcano is seen in the background in the this pic from Pompeii

The ruins of Pompeii.

A street sign in Pompeii- well not much has changed- no neon lights or red lights flashing- just a simple symbol carved into the building- can you see it?

The vast and impressive Pompeii.

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Thursday, September 27, 2012

Desert Moon's Diary Plagiarized

Whilst surfing the internet a few days ago, I was quite surprised to find some pictures and articles from my blog that have appeared on another blog. Whilst I honestly do not mind if anyone out there utilizes any of the information from my blog I wanted to warn the blogger about the fact that copyrights and infringement laws do exist on the internet as well. Next time, she may encounter the wrath of another blogger or an author who may disapprove of the fact that their intellectual property has been stolen.She could land up being in serious trouble with the law. We had quite a friendly chat on facebook . Excerpts below:


I would also like to send out a strong message to all my friends who simply copy and paste articles, pictures,poems and quotes randomly from the net on to their facebook pages. I use to be also equally guilty of doing this but not any more.Now that I have the proper information regarding copyright and infringement laws I am more aware about the concept of plagiarism and how to avoid it. Please friends let us all refrain from plagiarism. Always check the source of the article and acknowledge the person who has written the article. Remember that it is intellectual property and belongs to someone else who has probably spent long hours putting it all together.From an Islamic perspective as reported in an authentic hadith, the Prophet Muhammed (saw) mentioned the following: "He who credits himself with what was not given to him is like one who wears a double cloak of deception."(ibn abd al-barr Jami al Tahsil (1/98).
Ibn al-Manzûr commented on this hadîth saying:
The one who credits himself with what was not given to him is one who says he was given something which was never really his or who attributes to himself talents that he really does not possess, implying that Allah had bestowed him with these things or that people accredited him with what was never specifically his.
In this way, he has perpetrated a double lie: Firstly, he attributes to himself what does not truly apply to him or makes claims to possess what he really does not possess. Secondly, he lies regarding the giver – either Allah or other people. [Lisân al-`Arab(1/247)]
Hence from the above hadith or saying of the Prophet Muhammed (saw), plagiarism or copying other peoples work is considered to be a sin. Always ask the author if the article can be re - posted or utilized or use the article but make sure that you include the authors name as well as a link  that shows the original source of the article so that credit can be given where it is due. On that note, I encourage everyone out there to please visit the women24 facebook page as well as their website. I can assure you that you will come across some pretty interesting, thought provoking as well as entertaining reading material.

 As a side note, I was quite surprised to find my pictures that were taken during our Malawi trip in the Laudium Sun newspaper. I personally have no issue with anyone utilizing my pictures if they are going to be used in a good way to promote a good cause. It would have been courteous though if they asked first.

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Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Pakistani Bravo Forum "2nd Arts Exhibition & Culture Event”

A few weeks prior to Ramadhaan, I had the opportunity of being a guest at the Pakistani Bravo Forum "2nd Arts Exhibition & Culture Event” . It was a really fantastic and overwhelming feeling being in the company of a warm and friendly Pakistani Community who welcomed me with open arms and made me feel a part of their society. The function showcased the artistic work of young and upcoming Pakistani artists like Manal Furqan whose paintings left me mesmerized and astounded at their sheer beauty and depth.I had a brief conversation with Manal and she informed me that art has always been in her family as her dad is also an avid artist. He has done numerous oil paintings on canvas. Art is something that she grew up with. She has not completed any formal training in the field. She reiterated that it was simply a God given gift.The evening also highlighted the importance of nurturing young Pakistani talent in the field of song and dance. The youth put together an impressive dance show along with two short plays. There was also a tribute to the late Mehdi Hassan Saap with Ustaad Mushtaaq Khan rendering a few songs of the legend. The ambience of the function reminded me of a proper "mehfil" gathering that occurs in Pakistan.There was also a singing competition for the kids as well as the adults. I also sang in the competition and landed up winning. It was quite a pleasant surprise. The function was also graced by teachers from the Pakistani International School who rendered their full support to the students as well as the organizing committee. Overall it was an extremely fun filled evening....





















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