Here's another interesting thing. Tom was showing some of his old fishing photos from Kwaj around his office one day and one of his Kuwaiti counterparts said that he should come fishing with him and Prince Ali. Well who exactly is going to turn down an offer like that? So Tom said he'd love to go along. He was also told that he should come by for Diwaniya on Mondays.
Diwaniya is a long-standing tradition in this country. Back in the day, there used to be a special tent where the men, particularly the heads of their households would get together and talk story, forge alliances and govern. Today, most traditional families have at least some benches outside where the men will get together and talk at the end of the day. Some of the wealthier families will have a beautiful plush tent or a building with pillows all over that serves the same purpose.
So Tom's friend from work asked if he was coming to Diwaniya with Prince Ali on Monday. He said that he'd love to. Then he was asked if he was bringing his wife. I can't even tell you how unusual that is. Then Ali called Tom personally to make sure he was coming and to re-extend the invitation to me as well. I don't know how often local royalty invites women to their Diwaniyas, but it's not really something that one should turn down! So we went.
Tom and I were totally keyed up. And when I say keyed up, I mean nervous as hell. When we got there, Tom called the prince, or Sheik as male members of the royal family are called here. He sent his man up to escort us in. Sheik Ali's diwaniya is a huge room in his home, or at least one of his homes. He said he owned six of them in the neighborhood. The room was as big as my entire flat and was simply but beautifully appointed with blue and gold Persian carpets, satin curtains and long couches that took up every wall.
As we walked in, my heart hit my throat. I was the only woman there. Everyone else was a local male in the long white dishdasha and the red and white head scarf. Sheik Ali walked right up to us and indicated that we should sit right next to him, which we did after greeting each person in the room. They were all very gracious and Ali is an excellent conversationalist. We talked about everything from the wildlife in Kuwait to the hurricane season in Florida. He put me right at ease and we had an absolutely wonderful time. A nice man kept coming around and offering us tea, juice, water, coffee and all manner of little snacky-treats. This was all before dinner was supposed to be served. There was a nice old man who didn't speak but maybe 50 words of English who came and sat next to me and tried to chat me up. He was a very handsome, distinguished man with a bright smile and I just didn't care that I couldn't understand him and he couldn't understand me, I just wanted for he and I to grin at each other all night.
Tom had to work the next day and I had been up since 3:00AM, so we begged out after a few hours at about 10:00, which was before dinner was served! Sheik Ali walked us out himself and we stood around talking outside for a while before he'd let us go. What a nice man. What a nice night. What a privilage to have been included in such a distinctly local tradition!
Well we fly out tonight thank goodness. The emotional intesity of this tour is definitely taking it out of Tom and I and we need a break.
