The newly developed and revamped Jeddah Corniche

This latest development project in Jeddah was inaugurated by the governor of Makkah, Prince Khalid Al Faisal a few weeks ago, with a smaller inauguration ceremony held on Wednesday night in what was said to be a glitterati event. Close friends of ours residing in Jeddah attended the event and also made their way to the Corniche yesterday afternoon to get a glimpse of the area during the day.Jeddah has always been my favourite city in the Kingdom and I certainly can not wait to hop onto a flight and see this latest Saudi development project and of course meet all my friends who are near and dear to me especially my best friend Faraz and the Najdi family.

An American woman's perspective on the Boston Marathon Bombings

It is quite ironical that after having a lengthy discussion with regards to the Boston marathon bombings on a friends facebook page, I landed up having guests from the USA for lunch on Sunday afternoon. One of the woman in the group was highly qualified with a masters in higher education. Whilst discussing various topics, the subject about the Boston marathon came up and without voicing my opinion, this is what the lady said ( I wish I taped it), ' I am an American citizen but I'm sorry to say that what happened at the Marathon was definitely staged. The American people do not trust the government and the media any longer. The fact that they implicated Americans of Cechnyan origin is just ludicrous for the following reason. The young Chechnyan men who were apprehended for the blasts came into the USA under refugee status fleeing the war in Bosnia years ago. They were very young when they left Bosnia and hence their mindset and ideologies are that of a typical American child. Why would you bomb people that have granted you a place to stay. As a refugee in the USA your moves and daily activities are traced and tracked. Are you a productive member of society, are you working, studying etc. If these young men were involved with Chechnyan militants as the news reports claim why were their activities not picked up earlier. She further mentioned quite correctly that whilst all the mainstream news channels reported about the incident throughout the week over and over again, none of the news channels reported about the USA army "mistakenly" bombing a wedding gathering in Afghanistan on April 17th killing 30 innocent civilians. The idiotic soldiers without gathering the correct information supposedly thought that the celebratory gunfire which usually occurs at all Afghani weddings was in actual fact a gathering for a military operation and bombed the wedding killing 30 people. Why wasn't this reported in the mainstream media? North Korea has been threatening the USA for some time now and so over the last few months the American people are questioning their government about their safety. Will the government be able to defend its people if Korea strikes.. In order to divert the peoples attention, they staged a terror attack and within a few hours, voila the criminals are caught. Well done boys.. We can defend the country thereby reinforcing the idea that the government can protect its people thereby allowing harsher laws and policies to be imposed onto the American people thereby stripping American citizens of their independence and autonomy." She further mentioned that being a Muslim in America is difficult. During her trip to South Africa out of a whole long queue of people only she and her mom were asked to step aside for a full body pat search simply because she wore a hijaab and was a Muslim. She said America talks about discrimination, racism to other countries, yet as a Muslim you are being discriminated against on a daily basis. I was shocked at a story she related to us. She said that if you are a Muslim don't be surprised if the FBI or the CIA knock at your door without a search warrant, arrest you and torture you to confess to crimes you did not commit. A community doctor residing in her neighourhood was an American citizen. He was however, a Muslim too. The FBI raided his home without a search warrant, took him away for over a year without his family knowing where he was. They had no evidence or proof to charge him against anything. So finally they charged him with providing money to a terrorist organization on the grounds that they found three thousand dollars in his home. After one and half years they released him but also stripped him of his professional licence.

Islam has always been a religion of peace. It does not condone the killing of innocent people at the hands of suicide bombers. Sadly though the majority of people in the world have no idea how the intelligence agencies work. These agencies are dogged with carrying out undercover operations that have affected the lives of thousands of people whilst shifting the blame onto someone else in order to enhance a political objective. I knew of people involved in the intelligence who are no more. There was a Syrian man who is actually a school friend of a colleague of mine. He was the head of a military operation in Syria a good few years ago. Whilst in Moscow he was introduced to a Jewish woman and within a period of time she became his wife. As a member of the Syrian military, he is not allowed to marry a non Syrian woman due to security reasons. Hence he built a home in Moscow and traveled between Syria and Russia. He also told his wife that he will only accept her if she became a Muslim. He was married to the woman for 20 years and had two kids with her. One day when he returned to Moscow, he found that his house was empty. He found a note from his wife saying that she has returned to Israel and that she was in fact a spy for Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency. She was assigned to access information about Syria's military operations and also be involved with planting bombs at strategic places which was not mentioned. She was not a Muslim but rather a devout Jew and her kids were also roped into the Mossad at a later stage. After realizing that his wife had betrayed him, and knowing that he has indirectly betrayed his own country, the man committed suicide...

I suggest to all my blog readers, to please view this brilliant video below by Anthony Lawson for those of you who wish to understand the dynamics of the world we are living in today. Why is there war, loss of life, why are innocent people being killed and murdered by the thousands? Who is behind all of this? I urge all of you to please watch this video and share it with all your friends....TO HELL WITH ZIONISM..

Homemade Oven Fresh Bread Rolls

A step by step pictorial recipe

                                1. Add 4 cups flour to the mixing bowl

                                2. Add 1 tsp salt

                                3. Add 1 egg

                               4. Add 2 tablespoons sugar

                               5. Add 2 ounces butter

                               6. Add 1 sachet of  dry anchor yeast

                               7. Then take 250 ml of water and add it to 250 ml of milk.
                                Heat the mixture in the microwave until hot. Pour in the mixture
                                and knead into a soft dough, OR        
                             

                                If you have an electric mixer, add the milk/water mixture
                                slowly whilst the machine kneads the dough

                                8. The end result of the dough after kneading.

                                9. Cover the dough with a cloth. Wait for it to rise until it is
                                    double in size.

                                          10. The above two videos will illustrate a step by step
                                           method on how to fold the dough into dainty bread
                                           rolls

11. Brush a beaten egg over the individual rolls

12. Sprinkle til seeds over the rolls and allow the rolls to rise for a 

                                few minutes. Then bake rolls at 220 degrees until golden brown.

                                 13. VOILA!!! The end result.. Freshly baked homemade rolls.

                                 Enjoy it plain with a cup of tea or have it with butter and cheese or 

                                 stack them up in a beautiful bread basket to impress your guests 

                                 at the dinner table :))))))

                                     

The Boston Marathon Bombings - An Inside Job

So I guess I am not the only one who sees a different picture with regards to the Boston Marathon bombings. Thanks Muhammed Bikhoo for sharing this video with me. It highlights many of the issues that I have discussed on Ismail Mahomed's facebook page earlier this morning.

I believe that the Boston marathon was a staged terror attack carried out by the American government, the CIA and FBI. There are just too many coincidences and reports that don't make any sense. Strange that CNN, SKY and BBC reported a Saudi national as the initial suspect less than two hours after the blast..They have utilized the very same tactics as the 9/11 attacks which has now been proven through hundreds of books and video publications as being a staged terror attack carried out by the American government..The ruthless American regime will stop at nothing to achieve their goals to further enhance their Islamophobic agenda and secure oil wealth..However, what they fail to understand is that it is not America who is in charge of this universe, it is God Almighty and hence with time the truth always prevails and good always triumphs over evil..

So at first they blamed a Saudi national, a poor student who was in the country to learn English. He was basically at the wrong place at the wrong time. Now they have shifted the blame to two American citizens of Chechnyan Muslim descent and have linked their activities to Islamic Militant groups in Chechnya. I am hundred percent sure that the two brothers were either set up by the FBI, were working as spies or were informants within the CIA just like Mr. Bin Laden who miraculously disappeared and is of course now sitting in the tummy of a fish. They dropped his body at sea remember... What rubbish. Do the Americans honestly believe that the world will believe their crap blindly...

As the journalist in the video states, " The American government will murder innocent civilians, Barack Obama and his administration, the Bushes before him, they will murder you; they will murder Americans, they will murder men, women and children to achieve their political objectives. Take a look at what they have been doing in Iraq and Afghanistan in the past decade. Look at the invasion in Iraq. Remember September 11th, it was supposedly Saudi nationals who flew those planes into the world trade center. If you believe that official/unofficial story or propaganda. Yet we didn't invade Saudi Arabia, one of our allies; No, we invaded Iran on a false pretense, lie, a premise that Iran had weapons of mass destruction."

ICC Pepsi WCL Tournament - Botswana 2013

International Cricket Match Referee Devdas Govindjee, who is the official travel correspondent for this blog, was in Botswana at the beginning of this month to officiate games for the ICC Pepsi World Cricket League Tournament. The tournament commenced on the 6th of April and continued up until April 13th with teams from Vanuatu, Germany, Ghana, Nigeria and the host country Botswana participating in the event. I would like to thank Devdas for sending me an update on the events that have occurred in that part of the world during the tournament. It is always such a delight reading his emails. Take note that this update was sent to me on April 13th, the final day of the tournament.

After almost 2 weeks of enjoying wonderful sunshine and hospitality, the final day arrives and with it comes much needed rain ( for the country but not for the cricketers!).

Rain greeted us at both venues- in Lobatsi there was overnight rain and it continued this morning whereas here in Gaberone the early morning rain has persisted resulting in the match being stopped after a few overs- the weather now seems to be clearing so it will probably mean teams taking the field shortly.

Just thought I should update you- this week has gone by with us being consumed by invitations to suppers and functions and it has all been most wonderful- so much so that not one evening was left for individual free time- tonight being the final awards evening at the hotel. The officials and the community here have been so generous in their warm hospitality that it has been an experience totally unique for me.

During the week we managed to visit a nature reserve on our free day and then had an invite to the home of the Ambassador of Germany who invited the German team and tournament officials for a reception- was really lovely relaxed around the pool of her home.

Also had an invite from the Botswana Cricket Association who took us out to dinner at Rodizios- a Brazilian restaurant.

Then the supporters of Botswana cricket invited us to the cricket club for a Biryani evening and finally last night the ICC tournament director invited us out and we went to Cappucinos which is a lovely Italian restaurant at the Airport Junction Mall.

At least on the Tuesday free day I was taken to a Balaji Temple- a totally new experience for me as well and then managed to visit a few places to get my usual souvenirs and fridge magnets! (Ok there is not much place left on the fridge!!!)

Tomorrow I leave for Johannesburg- My other half is already there spending two days with the kids- we then leave tomorrow for Windhoek for the 2 ODI's (One day internationals) between Holland and Namibia to be played in the week.

We shall return home towards the end of the month and I really do hope for a long break before my next cricket appointment- thanks for just being there with me during this trip again and it is always nice to be followed and my pleasure to provide updates and insights of places I am privileged to be in as part of my cricket duties.

Until I get back to PE I shall not promise any updates but facebook postings should continue as per usual.

Take lots of care always

Best wishes

Dev

The very impressive Lobatse Sports complex with the Soccer Stadium as the main feature is alongside the cricket ground. — at Gaberone & Lobatse.

The poolside area at the very spacious Gaberone Sun — at Gaberone & Lobatse.

Hosts - The Botswana Cricket Team at the official opening ceremony

The ICC Flag and the flags of the participating countries flutter in the gentle breeze as Traditional dancers perform on the BCA oval during the welcome function

Adekunie Adegbola (Nigeria) and Josefa Rika (Fiji) exchange gifts at the toss on Day 1 of the ICC Pepsi World Cricket League Div 7 tournament. This match was played at the BCA No.1 Oval in Gaberone.

A closer look at the Man of the match award for each game during the tournament.

These locals opted to cheer for the colourful Vanuatu team at the BCA 2 Oval.

Nice pic of the coin toss!

Vanuatu batting against Germany at the BCA 2 Oval.

For his 3/22 and 82 runs Vanuatu's Nalin Nipiko was presented with the MoM award by ICC's Development and Event's manager Edward Fitzgibbon.

Enjoyed a 2 hour game drive at the Mokolodi Nature Reserve in Gaberone. — at Mokolodi Game Reserve.

Snack time- these vegetarians are really not fussy! — at Mokolodi Game Reserve.

Ah! got you! He or she?> — at Mokolodi Game Reserve.

The impressive Balaji Temple in Gaberone- paid my first ever visit to a Balaji temple.

Another view of the Balaji Temple- must confess that I know very little of the way in which devotees practice this form of Hinduism,

The home of the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, Annett Gunther. Welcome reception for the German team and match officials

Enjoying the company of a very friendly and articulate ambassador

The tournament referee asked to pose with the winning team, Nigeria - proud moment for all.

The manager of the Botswana Cricket team Faz Sheriff giving me a token of appreciation.

Saudi Arabia's crazy religious police - My personal encounters with them

                                                                              Picture - www.abna.ir

It seems to me that the Saudi religious police are becoming crazier with each passing year at the annual Janadriya festival held on the outskirts of Riyadh city. Last year they were up in arms that the festival was opened to families instead of females and males frequenting the event on totally different days. This year a member of the feared religious police went into the UAE stand to protest some of its contents but was forced to leave by national guards who are in charge of security at the week-long festivities. As he was chased out of the event hundreds of people cheered and applauded especially the women present at the event. A more bizarre incident has taken place at the festival this year when three Emirati men were forced out of the event on the grounds that they are extremely handsome, and will cause the young women at the event to fall for them. LOLOLOL. Absolutely crazy in my opinion. Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder so how can anyone justify that a person is way too handsome or beautiful to be present at a  public event. I had a request from brother Fuaad, who asked me to write a personal account on my experiences with the hai'a, (aka the mutawwa) or the religious police. In total I had around four altercations with them during my stay in the Kingdom. The first time I encountered them was during a trip to the Diera Souq to collect some clothes that I had purchased. The headquarters for the religious police is located down the road from the Diera Souq and hence they are always doing their rounds at the souq harassing customers and shop owners, in particular the abaya shop keepers who sell beautifully embellished, embroidered and bejeweled abayas. As soon as the mutawwa enter the souq area, the abaya shops close and the owners runaway. According to the religious police an abaya should be plain black with no beads or fancy cut work. Nevertheless whenever I frequented the souq I always came across the most stunning abayas with a variety of styles, designs and patterns to choose from. Getting back to my first altercation, the two robed gentlemen came up behind me whilst in the store. They greeted me and then said " Gatty wajhak" which means cover your face. I replied by saying that I am not a Saudi woman but rather a South African woman to which the one gentleman replied that I am a liar. He assumed that my father was Saudi and my mother was of another nationality. Then I took out my Iqama that had all my details and after both of them scrutinized the information on the iqama card closely, they simply walked away. My second altercation with the religious police was at the Janadriya festival whilst I was accompanied by my mom. As we walked through the main gate of the festival area, two members of the hai'a walked beside us and asked us to cover our faces. We pretended that we did not understand what they saying and simply continued walking on. Eventually they couldn't follow us any longer and thus disappeared. During a shopping trip to Hayat Mall we were approached by a group of religious police who insisted that I cover my face. Once again mom and I pretended that we did not understand what they are saying and continued doing our shopping. An hour or so later we bumped into them again in an accessory shop. We thought they came into the store to harass us again however, they came into the store to harass the Filipino gentleman who works in the store. They asked the man to close his top most shirt button as his chest hair is slightly exposed and will cause females to be attracted to him...What nonsense... Absolute rubbish in my opinion. When the robed men left the store the friendly Filipino man told us that almost everyday he was being harassed by the same group of religious police. The owner of the store has apparently filed many complaints with the management of the mall but no action has been taken thus far.

On another occasion I was in the Viss store in Hayat mall doing shoe shopping prior to my vacation abroad. I was the only female  in the store along with the shop manager who I knew on a personal level. Suddenly I heard a man saying " Assalamu3alaykum". The shop manager replied. I was too engrossed in choosing my perfect pair of shoes and I never thought  that the man was actually speaking to me. Again I heard a man saying " Assalamu3alaykum" in a louder or harsher tone of voice. So naturally I turned around and there they were , two tall bearded and robed gentlemen accompanied with a member of the police force. I greeted them and then the man started yelling at me, saying that I should cover my eyes completely by pulling my scarf over it as my eyes are an attraction for men to stare at me. He was also highly upset that my head scarf had a pink beaded border. Take note that on this occasion I was fully veiled from head to toe with the exception of just my eyes showing. The younger of the two gentlemen spoke perfect English. So I switched from Arabic to English and yelled back at him saying the following," In which hadith is it written that I should be covering my eyes completely. How do you expect me to see where I'm walking. Also I am fully clothed and no where is it written that I can not wear a pink bordered scarf.  I am a Muslim woman doing my shopping in peace and you have no business to follow me around the mall. Why are you staring into my eyes in the first place. Lower your gaze." He then instructed the policeman to take me down town to the police station. I said," I am not afraid to go down town to the police station. Come lets go." Then I called up the head of the security department at the hospital I worked at and handed over the phone to the policeman. Within a few seconds, all three gentleman simply disappeared. A friend of mine residing in Jeddah related a story to me about  the hai'a who always harassed his friend at his shop during salaah. Sometimes whilst the call for prayer is being announced customers are still paying for their belongings as they do not wish to wait as all shops in the Kingdom close during the times of prayer. A member of the religious police would then go to this shop to threaten the man with jail for not closing the shop promptly. So one day the shop owner was friendly towards the religious police and asked him if he had a wife and daughter to which the man replied in the affirmative. The shop owner gave the bearded man a dress for his wife and daughter and after that all the harassment and threatening stopped. However, whenever there was a function and the wife and daughter required a new dress, the bearded man would miraculously pop up again to get free clothing from the shopkeeper. The hospital environment I worked in was of course a normal western orientated facility where the hai'a were not allowed to carry out their bizarre behavioural activities. Having said that on a few occasions I had patients that were members of the religious police and they refused to take any help from me. They would stand on the side of the window where I could not see them and they would insist that I call a male pharmacist to assist them. There were many occasions where there were no male staff present on the shift. I always adorn the headscarf, but many of these men would preach to me urging me to cover my face completely. One man said that I should not wear nail polish. As a Muslim I know that nail polish is not a part of my culture from a religious perspective. I always adorn henna. So I then landed up arguing with the man for a good few minutes explaining to him  that I am wearing henna and not nail polish. Personally I do not agree with the concept of the religious police in Saudi. Many of them are uneducated and clueless with regards to an Islamic way of life. There were also numerous reports that I came across stating that many members of the religious police are in actual fact ex prisoners or men who were convicted of some crime during  their life time. The Prophet Muhammed (saw) never forced people into Islam. He advised them but not badgered and harassed them. Religion is purely individualistic. Your level of faith and belief is solely between you and your Creator.Forcing someone to do anything produces no results. Guidance comes from God Almighty and when a person wishes to change themselves from within voluntarily then only can change be brought about. Whilst it is valuable to have lectures and talks on Islamic literature, it is downright ridiculous to have a group of men controlling the way society, dresses, thinks and functions in totality. It is equally bizarre to implement a set of rules that has no basis in Islam in the first place.