Greed!!!!

Staying on the subject of weddings, these are pictures from a mass wedding in the USA, the company that organised the wedding told the happy couples that they hid presents inside the huge wedding cake including one cheques to the value of $50,000, the idea was that when the married couple cut the cake, each might find a present which could be that nice fat cheques!

But what happened shows how greedy humans can be, the ladies as soon as they heard about the cheques, the forgot about their husbands and forgot about their beautiful white wedding dresses and attacked the huge cake just to find that cheque:

These ladies found some presents but clearly they are not happy!

The winner with the $50,000 cheque, I wonder if she dumped her husband!

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One more picture

It seems somebody forgot to take his hat off inside the mosque lol :o)

Big Fat Gypsy Weddings.....

My favourite programs on TV are usually reality TV programs so when I saw an advert about gypsy weddings in the UK I thought that sounded interesting and so I watched it when it was on and it really was an amazing program.

Most people including British people know very little about the gypsies which in turn are a private community that do not mix a lot with everyone else, here in the UK there are 2 types or groups of gypsies, the Romani Gypsies and the Travellers which originally came from Ireland but have been here for many generations, the program I watched was about the Travellers community which still holds a very strong Irish accent even though they have been here for so long which can only mean that they do keep together and hardly mix with the rest of us.

Most people think of Gypsies as low class people with no morals what so ever, to be honest some gypsies are to blame for this bad reputation but in general good and bad are in every community, this program showed a rare insight into the Traveller community, it showed the prejudice they sometimes encounter but one thing for sure, it showed that when it comes to glitter, tack and over the top taste they are by far the best.

Someone on the program said that she never met any group of people with a higher moral values than the gypsies, obviously she hadn't met many people but there is some truth to what she said, even though the program showed many teenage gypsy girls dressed in very skimpy clothes that barely covered them yet this was their way of attracting men, according to gypsy moral laws, girls are not allowed to have a boyfriend and therefore end up getting married at a very young age usually before their 18th birthday and until then they live at their parents house and are not allowed to sleep with men out of wedding lock, that was something I never knew and they seem to believe strongly in it.

Most gypsy girls start saving for their wedding at a very young age and they have this obsession about the size of their wedding dresses, the bigger the better, the size of these dresses are amazing and unlike anything I have ever seen in my life, some of the dresses weight about 170 KG! yes!! in fact the dress maker said most girls end up with permanent scars on their hips due to the massive weight of their dresses yet they will not go for anything else! it was very weird seeing them trying to get into their wedding carriages with these dresses.

The weddings and clothes are out of this world, talk about tacky but that is the way they like it, not every ones idea of a perfect wedding but each to their own....

These videos show some clips of the program, if you can get the full program then do watch it, very strange and an eye opener:

Here is a link to another short clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2XuqGS1fm8

The full program can be watched her but I am not sure if it is available outside of the UK

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXrEyWIX-rw

The Israeli / Arab Food War.....

Many have heard or read about the Israeli / Arab food war, this began when Israel decided that some popular Middle Eastern dishes are Israeli dishes and they went as far as calling them Israeli traditional food ignoring the fact that some of these dishes have been served in the Middle East for many centuries.

In the news in recent months they reported about the biggest Humus and Tabouleh dishes prepared by Lebanese chefs to enter the Guinness World Of Records and to be registered as Lebanese traditional food dishes and not Israeli, as far as I remember Lebanon succeeded in their bid.

While I understand that many Jews that lived in Arab/Middle Eastern countries may have taken with them these dishes when they immigrated to Israel but I do not think that this changes the identity of the food too!

In Libya there are food dishes that were associated with the Libyan Jewish community such as Haraimi but at the end this is a Libyan dish and not Israeli so can you imagine my surprise when I discovered that the Israeli/Arab food war has actually reached Libya!

The following pictures are from a flight magazine where they had an article about Israeli food, the article lists some "Popular Israeli Dishes" that are all very traditional Arab dishes including Schawarma and Falafel but wait for it: SHAKSHUKA! yes our very own Libyan Shakshuka has become a Popular Israeli Dish!!

click on picture for a bigger view

The article to be fair, did mention that Libyan Jews brought this dish to Israel when they immigrated yet still its listed under popular Israeli dishes, I wonder where else the fact that this is a Libyan dish is listed! soon it will become as a traditional Israeli dish as they have claimed Humus, Tabouleh and Falafel are.

Here is what the article says:

This ultra basic combination of eggs, tomatoes, garlic and spices cooked over high heat arrived in Israel from Libya in the 1950s. Originally a staple of the urban lower classes, today shakshuka can be found nationwide and has become a true culinary icon.

Blue Eye Syndrome

It has been a long time since I blogged, I am not sure why! but this is life, at times you just do not feel like doing certain things, I am not sure if this means I will be blogging normally but here it goes....

I meant to write about this experience for sometime but kept postponing it, this happened on my way back from a trip to Egypt although what happened is not only exclusive to Egypt, I had sort of similar experiences in other countries such as Tunisia and Jordan and always with their customs people but not the general population.

I was standing at the front of the que to board the plane coming back to London, there was another que for fast boarding this is where people pay extra to be boarded first, so my que we were waiting to be told we can board, there was a British (white) man standing in front of me, a customs officer then came over and said we can board, he checked the passport of the guy in front of me and told him to proceed, he then did the same with me, as I walked forward I saw other custom men talk to the guy in front of me, they told him that they have not started boarding other passengers yet and only fast boarding were allowed in, he told them that their colleague said he can go but no problem and stood there then I came forward and instead of telling the same politely just as they did with the other passenger, they actually started shouting at me, about 4 or 5 people just shouting at me that I can not board the plane like if I was a stupid person pushing in, everyone looked at me and I was so embarrassed that I thought no I am not going to let them do that to me, I started shouting back at them and told them why are you shouting at me? I am not pushing and that they should talk to their colleague who told me to go, they became very rude to me and their colleague who was shaking now because he knew he made a mistake suddenly told them in Arabic that I pushed my passport to him and forced him to let me in! then one of them who is just an employee at the check in desk tried to show off and to scare me, he said that I am not allowed to board the plane and that they will cancel my ticket, I told him to go and play away from me that he had no authority to do anything like that, I lived most of my life in a democratic free country that respects its citizens and that I am not scared of of nonsense like that, then the guy in front of me who is British and white and more of a man than all of them put together said to them that they had no right to shout at me and threaten me because it means he has to face the same threat, guess what???? they told him that he did not do anything wrong and he is free to board the plane! the problem was me pushing to board, he reminded them that he was in front of me but that they treated him differently, this fell on silent ears, he actually refused to board the plane and stood by me, I told him in Arabic we call this The Blue Eye Syndrome, which means if you are white then you are right but if you are dark then you can not be right!! he told me that he heard of such thing but thought it was a myth until now, he stood there listening to them threatening to rip my ticket and lock me up while I continued to tell them to stop talking rubbish and that I would only talk to their superior.

Eventually their superior came over and asked what was going on, straight away they told him that I spoke Arabic and pulled him to the side and started whispering in his ear, then I shouted to them and said be honest, do not lie like you have been doing for the last 15 minutes. Their boss came over to me few minutes later and actually was descent and polite, he asked me about what happened, before I said anything the other guy said to him that he was at the top of the que and basically told him the truth, I then gave my side of the story and since the brave British man supported me to him there was no doubt that they treated me badly, he apologised and told me to board the plane and asked me if I had any problem or a complaint, I said yes I do have a big problem with the way they treated me which obviously was because I am of an Arabic origin but that I just wanted to get back home to London where I am always respected for who I am and that I didn't want to delay the passengers any more.

I thanked the gentleman who stood by me just because he saw how badly they treated me, they made a fool of themselves in front of all the passengers and I was proud of myself for not letting little people think they can control me and scare me with their dictator attitude.

Again as I mentioned before this seems to happen to a lot people that hold European/USA passports but are not of white origin and happens all over our so called not racist Arab world, if this attitude continuous then obviously Arab countries still have a very long way before they are even half civilised.

Seasons Greetings....

Wishing all people that celebrate it a Happy & Peaceful Christmas

Just come back from the supermarket which was like a mad house, crowds of people buying anything and everything even though supermarkets are only closed for one day which is tomorrow Christmas day, I suppose people are the same everywhere when ever the thought of no shops open then they have to stock up!

The fact that Britain is going through a recession did not put people off shopping actually the truth is that I haven't seen better prices for a long time, there are many discounts and offers to entice people to buy, sales have started already in many shops and many goods are affordable, bless Britain a country that knows how to look after its people a lesson to many countries out there that have no respect what so ever to their own people.

Here is the fabulous voice of Fairouz singing the Arabic version of "Silent Night":

Yes Eid......No Eid!!

After days of confusion in Libya about which day to celebrate Eid, the authorities did not disappoint! they took the ridiculous decision of deciding that Eid is on Thursday 26/11 while the whole world celebrates Eid today 27/11.

As far as I know most Libyans ignored the Libyan decision and are celebrating Eid today, any way my family are having their Eid today, many people in Libya showed their frustration by making a lot jokes about Eid... is this enough? are people in Libya so used to being controlled that they will do nothing!! have they not had enough.......

Eid Mubarak to all Muslims and Allah bless Libya and her People

Wedding Wish

My younger brother got married in Tripoli 2 days ago, I thought long and hard about going back to attend the wedding but it didn't happen, the children wanted to go too but they had school and it is not easy to take time off school here, we all felt a bit upset that we couldn't be with the family at this happy occasion, I wish my brother and his wife the best inshaAllah.
Sometimes I think that if going back to Libya for a short visit was straight forward then I would do it but I am worried about the delays and obstacles that might be thrown at me while there which could keep me stuck in the country for weeks when I really need to get back here and be with my family, I have friends from other countries that go back and forward between the UK and their country of origin with no questions asked and can stay for as long or as short as they want, perhaps when this is what it would be like in Libya then I will take the big step and go back for a short visit.

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Remember Susan Boyle? I wrote about this talented lady here, after disappearing for months, she has made a come back and is releasing an album next week titled I Dreamed A Dream, which is the song that made her the most famous woman on earth over night.
Here is Susan singing at her best "I dreamed a dream" a week ago at the Dancing with the Stars TV program:

Here is the link if video does not work: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5C8xCDzEdr4

Digital Photography

I have just bought one of these Digital Photo Frames, the kids have been asking me for a while to get one, I am not sure if everyone is like me but since digital cameras came out it seems we print less photos than when we used to have normal cameras with films (that seems like a very long time ago!) now computers and camera phones are jammed full with pictures that we seem to forget about, I downloaded 100s of photos into the new digital frame but after few minutes of viewing them I got really bored, I might be old fashioned but you cant beat proper printed photographs, viewing them on computers and these digital photo frames is just not the same, photos seem like they have lost their magic, technology isn't always that great or maybe my age is catching up with me and I am becoming an old boring man!

Get Stuffed!!

In a area in north London called Angel, I usually drive by a weird shop that sells or hires stuffed animals! its a grubby shop and usually when driving by I can spot large animals inside such as ostrich and zebra, the other day as I was driving by, Amir my son spotted the shop and asked me if we can stop and have a look so I thought why not, I too always wanted to have a look and this was my chance, we parked the car and walked over to the shop but unfortunately it was closed, I am not sure if it is closed for good or just for the day, the shutters were down which made looking inside the shop and taking pictures difficult but still we managed to spot many animals inside and just about managed to take few photos through the shutters, that is why pictures are not clear, they had a sign saying no photography was allowed but there was no one there to stop me!

(Click on pictures for a bigger view)

in this picture there is a lion and a hippo's head!

Unsurprisingly the name of this is... yes you guessed it right:

Taxidermy (stuffing animals) must be a dying tradition and the truth is that these animals do look quite freaky and there is no way that I would put one in my house, I think this shop mainly hire their animals as props for movies and shows and so on......

Staying on the subject of stuffed animals, yesterday (Saturday) I took the kids to the Natural History Museum we travelled by train which added fun to the day, the museum was very busy being a Saturday and school's half term holiday, there was a long Que outside and once we were inside, the place was jammed even though we got there early, we only managed to go through half of the museum in 3 hours, it has been many years since I went there and it had changed a lot, the most popular exhibit was the Dinosaurs area but there was a Que of few hundred people trying to get in, by then we were tired and the kids didn't want to stand in the Que so we gave it a miss, hopefully we will come back another time when its quieter.

The last of the Dodo which has been extinct for hundreds of years

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The X Factor which has taken over British TV as it does every year at this time is in full swing, from what I have watched so far there aren't many talents this year but I do like 2 girls that seem to be talented and do have a good voice, one of them is Lucy Jones who comes from Wales, she has given good performances so far and I think she has a chance of winning the x factor this year, here she is singing My Funny Valentine on last night's show, very classy:

Here is the link to the song in case the above video does not work

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kblg2qV9Vmo

Halal Food!!

Halal food is becoming more and more the norm in London, where ever you go there are shops and restaurants selling halal food, even most primary schools now offer only halal food as standard and it is becoming acceptable by most people, in fact many people I know have admitted that they do prefer the taste of halal meat and appreciate the fact that it doesn't contain blood.
Many well known food outlets now offer halal branches, halal Nando's and Subway are every where in London, I actually think that the halal branches are more than non halal branches and I think it wont be long before most places here will offer halal food.
On the other hand I myself do occasionally go to some fast food restaurants for a non-halal burger like the Angus burger at Burger King which is not available in a halal version and I believe since Britain is officially a Christian country then we have a licence to say Besmellah (in the name of Allah) and eat non halal meat, many years ago I was at some one's house and one of London's highest Islamic clerics was there, I asked him if it was OK to eat non halal food, he told me that while preference is for halal food that if I fancy something that wasn't available as halal then I should go ahead and eat it and that's what I do sometimes, it is common sense, for example in an area called Wood Green in London there are 2 Subway restaurants within 100 meters of each other, one is halal the other is not, in this case I wouldn't go to the non halal Subway when the other one is only few minutes away.

So the other day I had a discussion with friends who weren't convinced that I should eat non halal food and they thought I should only stick to halal food and so on...
The day after I was in a busy high street here in London, at lunch time I felt hungry and fancied a burger at Burger King, as I was walking towards the restaurant I noticed this new hut selling burgers and hot dogs, all food was advertised as Halal, it looked clean so I thought I will try it, I went there and saw a man inside cooking burgers on a hot plate, I stood there trying to get his attention but instead of serving me he was looking at a girl who was wearing a muffin top, he kept whistling at her and doing funny things with his eyes with no respect for me what so ever, he looked north African and was young enough to be my son, I thought to myself this is not going well but kept myself calm and waited for him to serve me, eventually he turned to me and asked what I wanted! since it has been many years since I had hot dog, I ordered a hot dog even though I wasn't sure if I really wanted it, he put the hot dog in a bun and I told him to put some mustard on it, by then a friend of his passed and they both spoke in Arabic/Algerian, as he handed me the hot dog an old English lady came over and ordered something, I paid him and walked off. I took a bite of the hot dog and it was stone cold and really disgusting, I got angry but still kept calm and thought no I am not going to let it go, I walked back to the hut and spoke to the guy in Arabic so to be discreet, I told him the food was cold, he became angry and started shouting so I said to him, listen I am speaking to you in Arabic so that I don't put off your customers, by then there was a Que of about 6 or 7 people and told him to taste the food that it was stone cold but no he wouldn't accept it and kept shouting and saying his food is good and that I was nasty to him and so on that's when I told him that perhaps if he wasn't ogling the girl and paid attention to cooking then his food would be hot (still speaking in Arabic to him) he continued shouting back in English and said he didn't want my custom so I said in English, fine just give me back my money which he did while swearing at me, that's when I really had enough of him, I turned to the people queuing and told them not to buy anything from him that his food was cold and disgusting and that is why I got my money back, they all looked at me and walked off so fast! he went mad and was screaming abuse at me in the middle of a busy high street, I smiled at him and walked away, I don't think someone like him would become successful, he had no customer service or any manners, me! I went to Burger King for a well deserved Angus Burger, Yum...

Staying on the subject of food, here is a channel on Youtube about Libyan Cooking, they are posted By Libyan Jews living in Italy and Libyan recipes from Italian TV (La cucina tripolina) cooked mainly by old Libyan Jewish ladies, very interesting to watch, here is a video about cooking Libya's national dish: BAZIN

Queen Fatima of Libya

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

"كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ذَائِقَةُ الْمَوْتِ ثُمَّ إِلَيْنَا تُرْجَعُونَ

"صدق الله العظيم

It is with great regret to read the news of the passing away of Queen Fatima Al-Shifa Al-Sinousi, wife of Libya's late King Idris Al-Sinousi.

Queen Fatima died today in a hospital in Cairo after she fell ill last month, Queen Fatima was born in 1911 and left Libya in 1969 with her husband the King, they both never returned back to their beloved Libya.

Queen Fatima is to be buried in Medina in Saudi Arabia.

Here is a link of a post I did about her which includes rare pictures of a lady that shunned the lime light and lived her life quietly in Egypt refusing to get into any media interviews or comments, she had a dignified life, an elegant beautiful lady that was never to see Libya again.

A friend of mine left this comment on my facebook which I think says it all:

"I feel today that a page of our history has been turned for good. A nice and a clean one, representing all the hopes we had for our country and the future ...رحم الله الملكة فاطمة و اسكنها فسيح جناته "

above picture taken from: Libya Al-Mostakbal

إنا لله وإنا إليه راجعون

Libyan Slap Up Meal

Salam, long time no see :o)

I have been away from the blog world for a while as I had some issues to deal with, I am not sure if I will continue to blog the same way I used to but we will see.....

It has not been long since Ramadan finished and we all celebrated Eid, I actually have a rant about Libyan Ramadan here in the UK which I know some people wouldn't like but still I have to say my piece, most Muslim communities in the UK celebrate Ramadan by doing the occasional Iftar (Ramadan dinner) for their community where families and single people gather together in a hall, restaurant, hotel or even a mosque, usually a selection of their national dishes are served and it can be very enjoyable if done correctly, now I know that the Libyan community here is not well off but there are other communities that are lets say, a lot poorer, I myself over the years have been to other Arab/Muslim community Iftars and they were usually simple but clean and well organised, after all here in the UK they cater for all pockets, you can actually organise a decent clean hygienic dinner for very little money which brings me to the Libyan community Iftars, one of the official Iftars held in Ramadan was advertised on the Internet and Libyan families were invited to attend, I didn't attend this one but have been to similar ones few times, the advertised Iftar I mentioned was attended by many Libyans, they even posted pictures on the Internet but is it just me or was that not right!!

people were served food straight from the cooking pot as you can see from the picture, believe me this is normal! it really does look like a slap up meal served in prison, I have even seen people serve French bread tucked under their arms (remember they work in hot kitchens and might be a bit sweaty!) then when they arrive at your table they break the bread with their hands and just pile it on top of the tables that have no dishes or even table cloths, some of these tables have old encrusted food stains that even Bacteria wouldn't like, how is that for hygiene? and if you dare mention anything you would just get: eat man its not going to kill you!

A friend of mine who lives in London but travels a lot to Libya told me that it is nothing like that there, that food events are well organised and clean and that the Libyan community here need to move on, I am not sure why we are not trying to improve our standards here, I only see this with Libyan community, of course I am not saying everyone is like that but it does seem to be the norm with most, maybe we should look at other Muslim communities here that are lees fortunate than us yet they got it right, we can learn a lot from them.

Looking at the picture again, I bet the UK hasn't seen anything like this since Victorian times!

Market Shopping....

Yesterday I went to Ridley Road market for some vegetable and fruit shopping, another reason for going there is usually the excellent Turkish supermarket at the end of the road where you can almost always find clean mumbar (Masareen) for sale although I didn't buy any this time, this is a strange market, it is full of all sorts of nationalities, Asians Arabs Turks and a lot of Africans, a lot of African produce is sold there all sorts of weird looking veg, the butchers sell tripe, lamb heads and a lot of feet! cows lambs pigs legs and other parts too plus many fish stalls too so you can imagine what the smell is like, very stinky! usually when walking there I have to lift my trousers up a bit since the ground is wet with fishy water!

apparently the police raid this market from time to time because bush meat was found for sale there (illegally) bush meat is Monkey meat mainly, imported from Africa in dry form (like Gedeed) then sold illegally under the counter to certain customers.

The fruits and vegetables are usually quite good and it has to be the cheapest place in London to buy Mangos and other exotic fruits.

Most of the stalls are run by down to earth white English people, some are run by Asians and Africans. as you enter the market the first stall on your left is the one I like best, they have great variety of fruits and is always busy, the English lady working there was asking everyone if they were fasting, if they said no she said shame, if they said yes she would have a big smile on her face and says, good that you are fasting means you will be buying a lot of stuff from me and she was right, Muslims were buying her lovely fruits non stop, I got some too.

By the time I finished shopping, I was carrying about 10 heavy carrier bags full of fruits vegetables and cakes, Turkish bread, Kunafa dough and lots of nice and wonderful things from the Turkish shop, it was a struggle to walk back to the car but worth it since the kids loved everything.

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Here is something that might make you smile, I think its from Algerian TV, I thought it was very funny when I first saw it at a Friend's Face Book :o)

Fatwa Du Ramadan!

Hero Or Mass Murderer?

Wishing everyone a blissful and happy Ramadan, here Ramadan starts tomorrow and as usual Libya starts Ramadan a day earlier and insists they are right and everyone else got it wrong!

Ramadan Mubarak

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A Hero or Mass Murderer?

Al-Megrahi returned yesterday to Libya, I too was hoping his return to Libya would be a low key event but he was received as a hero!
I do not know if he is guilty of this horrible crime but this man was convicted of killing 270 innocent civilians yet the Libyan authorities showed how distasteful they are at a time when the victim's families were watching in pain, to most of them this is not acceptable.
Al-Megrahi protested his innocence for 10 years then few days ago he dropped his appeal and therefore accepted his guilt, I know he is ill and dying but if he is innocent he should have stuck to his appeal to the end, his family were never prevented from visiting him or even living near by. at the end of the day whether he did this crime or not, Al-Megrahi was working for the Libyan intelligence and I do know from people that worked for Libyan Airlines in the 1980s that he was feared and was involved in many nasty acts against Libyans, this does not make him into a hero, what about the thousands of Libyans that died just because they cried freedom, people like Al-Jahmi and the hundreds that were killed in Bu Sleem prison and many others... they were the real heroes.
The Scottish government did take a courageous step by releasing Al-Megrahi to spend his last days with his family, whether they did it for compassionate reasons or purely for business is for you to decide.

If he was innocent, he should have stayed and died fighting to clear his name and the Libyan authorities have embarrassed themselves yet again

Wives Of Kings & Presidents!

Salam, it has a been a while since I blogged which was due to spending sometime with the family and loosing the blogging bug a bit!

A good friend has sent me a funny Email which I thought I would share with you, the Email was in Arabic but I have translated it to English to the best of my knowledge, hope you enjoy:

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Wives of Kings and Presidents

Sheikha Moza, wife of the Amir of Qatar

Glum!

Princess Haya, wife of the ruler of Dubai

He really chose well

Wife of the Algerian President
They suit each other!

Queen Lalla Salma, wife of the King of Morocco
Why so angry?

Safiya, wife of President of Libya

And people wonder why he is so confused!!

Queen Rania, wife of the king of Jordon

Just great

Susan, wife of the President of Egypt

So cool!

Wife of the President of Sudan
What's up Man?

Asma, wife of the President of Syria
She doesn't look Syrian!

Laila, wife of the President of Tunisia

Wow!

Suha, wife of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat

What did she see in him!!



And finally, the prettiest Queen voted for the year 2008 (and I could not agree more)

Her Majesty, Queen Mobutu Sisi Kuku, Queen of Congo Brazzaville
I think she looks very sweet :o)