Swine Flu vs Hajj And Umra

around 3 million pilgrims from more than 160 countries take part in the hajj (pilgrimage) and more than 2 million perform umra (minor pilgrimage) in the month of ramadan in the holy city of mecca every year.. up to 2/3 come from abroad.. they mostly arrive by air in jeddah

saudi arabia has diagnosed more than 230 cases of H1N1 this year and on monday announced its first death from the virus

in the past few weeks a debate about the virus has been held in the middle east.. of particular concern is how to keep it from spreading among the millions of visitors expected in saudi arabia during this year's umra and hajj season

last week arab health ministers held an emergency summit in cairo (egypt) to discuss the issue.. guidelines were issued, banning various groups from participating in this year's hajj - children under 12, adults over 65, people with chronic diseases and pregnant women.. however, king abdallah of saudi arabia has not yet approved the decision..

jeddah's hajj airport terminal will have 20 thermal sensors to check pilgrims and 20 percent more specialist medical staff than last year.. the team of 550 people will include doctors, nurses, lab technicians and pharmacists.. saudi arabia has increased its stock of the antiviral drug by 20%, double the WHO recommendation for other countries, and urged pilgrims to take seasonal vaccines as well as the new H1N1 vaccine once available in the coming months

the health ministry will also set up health centres near the jeddah and madina airports with capacity to house up to 500 patients who will be sent there for treatment during their incubation period of the infection

so rejoice! despite the tricky health situation in the country, hajj and umra will not be cancelled and saudi is doing its best, taking various precautionary measures that might help reduce the possibility of spreading the virus

sources: CNN, dawn.com

Hand Sanitizers For Public Use

as reported by arab news the jeddah municipality has ordered all commercial centers, malls and supermarkets to place anti-bacterial hand gel and tissue paper near trolleys so that customers could clean their hands before using the carts! the move comes as part of the municipality’s efforts to create a healthy environment and increase health awareness.. they also ordered the posting of signs in both arabic and english requesting shoppers to sterilize their hands before and after using the trolleys

it is said modern studies had revealed that the handles of trolleys are contaminated with bacteria, germs, viruses and traces of sweat.. and by touching the trolleys and sometimes putting children in them, people incease the danger of infections and diseases

dr. abdul aziz humaidan, a general practitioner, underlined the need for preventive measures and said they should not be limited to trolleys but should include all places which could be sources of bacteria and germs

a medical conference held in jeddah recently discussed the hazards of epidemics transmitted through touching.. it noted the kingdom annually spends about SR2 billion on the treatment of skin diseases caused by touching.. the conference called for observing correct healthy behavior in life and curbing the spread of disease and infection

well thank you jeddah municipality! as for me, i always carry hand sanitizer in my handbag as there's not always an opportunity to wash your hands while out.. i love this small dettol hand sanitizer! it's tiny and fits into any bag and it smells good too.. they don't have it in russia or egypt so i was really happy to find it here!

I've Been Tagged!

i've been tagged by fruitful fusion (thanks sis) to do this honest scrap thing and now i have to write 10 things about myself which are true
so, here we go:

1. i drink at least 1 cup of tea a day.. otherwise i just don't feel russian :)

2. i have absolutely no "green fingers".. the only plants that manage to survive under my supervision are cactuses

3. the things about my country i miss most are bread, snow and lots of trees

4. i do feel cold sometimes.. somehow people tend to think that since i come from the north of russia, i should never feel cold.. but, surprize! i'm a human too

5. i love psychology and all kinds of psychological stuff

6. my mum says i have a heightened sense of justice

7. i love my religion.. i converted to islam years ago and have never regreted my choice, alhamdulillah

8. i believe ice-cream helps relieve headache.. and it's generally good for health :)

9. i've become more patriotic since i left my country than i was when i lived there.. is this normal?

10. i'm a very simple person, alhamdulillah

if you read this and you have a blog and you haven't been tagged in this before, then you are tagged!

Miss Moral Beauty

the winner of miss moral beauty contest (held in the eastern city of safwa, saudi arabia) has been announced late on thursday!

according to saudi gazette an 18-year old saudi aya ali al-mullah trounced 274 rivals to win a crown, SR5,000 prize, a pearl necklace, diamond watch, diamond necklace, and a free ticket to malaysia.. and all this without showing her face! there was none of the swimsuit and evening gown competitions and heavy media coverage of beauty pageants elsewhere

instead, the winner and the two runner-up princesses had to undergo a three-month test of their dutifulness to their parents and family, and their service to society.. it was unclear exactly what mullah did to pip her rivals in the huge field, but saudi gazette reported that the high school graduate had good grades and hopes to go into medicine

the second place went to a 20-year-old who is one of a set of triplets who all completed secondary school two years ago with the highest grades but did not find a place at any university.. the girl had previously been a gold medal winner in the ministry of education’s “my country, i love you” competition.. and the other princess of beautiful morals is a high school student aged 15, who was cited for taking care of her home and family during the week because her mother works far from home and can only return on weekends

beauty contests with the focus on physical beauty are never held in the kingdom.. this is the second year of the competition.. according to the organizer, she tried to keep the focus on the inner beauty, as defined by islamic standards of saudi arabia

indeed in islam a woman is appreciated for her inner qualities, high morals, her mind and the contribution she makes to the society rather than for her physical beauty

Butterfly Abaya

here's a day look for a butterfly abaya

Why, Oh Why?

so women are not allowed to drive here.. i was wondering why? well there's a number of reasons (according to men of course):

- if women are allowed to drive it will encourage them to leave the house unsupervised for no good reason

- it will make dating, which is already getting out of hand, much easier.. instead of going out for school and social events girls will go on dates.. won't they find a way anyway if they want? and why are only girls to blame?

- many fear that men, especially the young, will harass or chase female drivers.. why not ban the men from driving then?

- if women are allowed to drive, soon some of them will take the opportunity to discard the hijab and abaya as well.. excuse me, but aren't those who want to already doing it when going abroad?

- it's too dangerous to let them drive. they would kill us all.. oh, by the way, saudi arabia has the highest rate of car accidents per capita in the world.. this in a country where women, who are proven to be more careful drivers anywhere in the world, are never behind the wheel

- they aren't smart enough to learn how to drive.. oh, shut up!

- other arguments focus on practicalities, like traffic jams, accidents, car breakdowns, driving in remote areas, etc.

this ban is by no means islamic! in Prophet’s (peace be upon him) time, women rode their horses and camels.. in other islamic countries women didn’t have to compromise their modest dress code to drive and they drive as well as men, if not better and safer.. so this isn't a religious issue so much as a cultural one

as a result a woman needs to depend on someone else to drive her around.. they have to hire male drivers which may be a burden on the family budget.. on the other hand women are warned not to ride with strangers (be it a private driver or a taxi driver), specially alone.. oh and have i mentioned that there's no public transport? this leaves women no options!

why can't they train female drivers and establish a "pink taxi" service like it's been done in london, moscow, dubai?

or at least, why not make women-only public busses? even let the driver be a man, but at least women would have the opportunity to move around freely and they wouldn't have to stay alone with a stranger.. i imagine such busses would look something like this one

anyway, the thing that needs to change is the attitude some men have toward women in this country.. the problem is deeper than just lifting the ban for driving.. let's just hope some day this society will be ready for the big change

more on this topic here

Black Abaya

it is obligatory here in saudi arabia for all females over 13, regardless of their religion, to wear a black abaya when going out of their homes.. in some areas of the country it is also required to wear a headscarf, however here in jeddah it is not the case.. the reasonability of this rule has been discussed a lot, some find it annoying, unfair and even view the abaya as a symbol of opression of women in the country

i as a muslim don't mind wearing the abaya at all (as i choose to cover up anyway alhamdulillah), but i personally don't consider it to be the only appropriate type of islamic dress, or the colour black to be the only possible colour for an abaya.. anyway, as they say "when you go to rome, do as the romans do".. i like my black abaya, find it very comfortable and especially helpful when i'm in i-dunno-what-to-wear mood.. plus here i don't have to always wear a black scarf with it, so i can bring some variety to my outfit

here's how i like to wear my simple black abaya

"You must get a job!"

so everybody i talk to here is telling me i must start working.. everybody.. otherwise i'll die of boredom.. women here can work as teachers, doctors, fitness instructors, some of our relatives work in a bank.. there are also nurses and maids and this kind of stuff but i didn't study my head off at the uni to work as a maid.. actually, there was a time when i used to think i'd rather be a housewife but staying at home for a year has definitely set my mind off this, alhamdulillah.. so i'm planning to get a job inshAllah

Desperate Housewives

it's been more than a month since i'm here and yesterday was the first time i went outside alone! frankly i was a bit worried to go alone 'cuz i read lots of crazy stuff about how guys hit on girls here and i was under the impression that as soon as i step outside, men would start flocking around me like annoying flys, whispering their phone numbers or some kind of nasty stuff.. but nothing like this ever happened! not even close.. i went walking to the nearby grocery store and back and even i was kinda disappointed.. the only annoying thing was the heat, even though it was after maghreb

also after all this time here i got unbearably bored.. seriously, there's nothing to do, specially if you are a girl and don't work.. they don't really have any parks and even if they do, it's absolutely impossible to go out walking in this heat during the day.. plus, as you probably know, women are'nt allowed to drive here, so it's either you get a driver or bug your husband about taking you to places (unless he's busy at work of course).. or you can take a taxi which is not super-cheap or super-safe.. the only places to go out to seem to be restaurants, malls and supermarkets of all sorts, which are pretty useless if u don't have money to spend.. all the local female-relatives were very sympathetic with me even before i ever started complaining about being bored.. seems we are in the same boat

so at the very moment when i was about to have a mental breakdown and start freaking out at my husband without a reason, he, being afraid of getting hurt by a kitchen appliance,
1. bought me a laptop and
2. introduced me to his friend's wife who (apart from being a very nice girl) turned out to be the same bored housewife like myself.. we were talking about the life here and she told me she feels like she stopped developing intellectually since she's been staying at home and she feels the need to keep up with the world outside her home and this driving thing definitely doesn't help.. she has a kid though so it keeps her busy

so we went out to have breakfast in a cafe and grumbled about culture and tradition and other stuff and i feel much better now alhamdulillah

I Love Henna

here they make it in any beauty salon! i'm definitely gonna get one inshAllah!

do you love it?

Finally...

well, finally i am at my destination, in the kingdom of saudi arabia, the most fascinating and mysterious country in the world, the dream of so many people, one of the richest countries on the planet where every 3rd man is a shekh posessing his own oil derrick, pockets full of money and a luxurious palace full of wives with no rights...

or no...

this is what i've been dreaming of for the last emm... about 4 years... well my main reason for longing to move to ksa was, as it is for so many muslims around the world, to make hijra and live close at hand with the two holiest places of islam - mecca and madina, and in the most islamic society (or so i thought)

one day the dream came true, my egyptian husband got a job in ksa and i was going to move there with him and live happily ever after in the perfect society... only nothing in this world is perfect...

the inperfection started when it took me long painful 9 months of being away from my husband waiting to get the visa to enter the country... alhamdulillah for everything though... during this period i had more than enough time to explore the cyber space to find first-hand info about life in ksa, only it didn't look at all as appealing as i expected... i kept reading and reading to the point that one day i found myself not wanting to go and live there at all

but the dream came true, unexpectedly and at the same time long awaited for... i am now an expat in the most fascinating and mysterious country in the world, the dream of so many people...

so is it that perfect or is it that bad? this mystery of saudi arabia is for me still to be unraveled