On the Road again

There are many unusual sites in Bahrain. Some of them are seen while sitting in traffic jams. This is why I always carry my camera! There are several times, when the sight is so fleeting, that I can't get my camera out fast enough. But sometimes I am lucky. The photo above is the back of a truck, with artwork, which I captured while sitting in one of those traffic jams.

What's this? A picture of a "sleeping policeman"? a speed bump? or as we call them in Bahrain, humps? There is even a road that we all know as "Humps Road" which has so many humps, every few hundred feet, I avoid driving on it. In the above photo is a "famous" bump that disappeared a few days before President Bush arrived in Bahrain, and re-appeared a few days after he left. The bump is on the route, that Bush would be traveling to the US base, so either its removal was for a smooth ride, or for a quick get-away, we are not sure. An Urban myth???

Coffee Morning

There is an American Women's Association here in Bahrain. It is more like an International Women's Club. Today, our US Ambassador's wife hosted the members at her residence for a coffee morning. The President of the club was presenting awards to some of the long standing members, and there was a lot of picture taking going on. This captures our congenial group "in motion". The dining table was filled with delicious goodies from cucumber sandwiches (Lucie's recipe?) to melt-in-your-mouth date nut bars.

Marina Ereli (our Ambassodor's wife) is on the right, with a long-time Bahraini member.

Some of the guests.

Afternoon Garden Delight

I went to another winning garden on Sunday afternoon. The light for photography was perfect.

On one side of the house was their kitchen garden, which you see in the movie. At first I only saw a few things that I recognized, such as tomatoes, cabbage, and strawberries! One of the guests pointed out the different trees in this section, including pomegranate, olive, mango, fig and several others native to Bahrain. The fragrance was wonderful, like honeysuckle.

In the video, our hostess is the woman in the light violet scarf. I wanted to give you a feel of their enthusiasm. I never feel excluded, even when the conversation is in Arabic. Generally, at least one person will translate into English for me. I am seeing for the second time, some of the women I met last week, and they are so welcoming. They offer their hand, or as one woman said yesterday, "In Bahrain, we kiss."

This is the other side of the house, a covered patio with interesting trees and hanging baskets.

More than a dozen tables were set for us throughout the garden, on the patio, and in the gazebo, for a buffet supper.



More soon!!!

Not all Fun and Games

"Spontaneous demonstrations take place in Bahrain from time to time in response to world events or local developments. We remind American citizens that even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and possible escalate into violence. American citizens are therefore urged to avoid the areas of demonstrations if possible, and to exercise caution if within the vicinity of any demonstrations. American citizens should stay current with media coverage of local events and be aware of their surroundings at all times." from the US Embassy notification

When we drove to the Souk on Friday, we could see this smoke from the highway coming from Jidhafs, an area where we used to live. It was probably burning tires. Some of the unrest is due to high unemployment of the local young people, after they come out of secondary school and University. Also, some people would like to have more representation in the government.

Star Anise Recipe

Remember I showed you a barrel full of Star Anise? In talking to Salima, my Chinese cooking guru, she has suggested we all try adding one to the bottom of a roasting pan, when we roast a joint of beef. Or try putting one in the cavity of a chicken when you roast it.

I am taking orders for how many handfuls of star anise you want me to bring back!

Bab al Bahrain

On Friday, we usually go down to the "Bab", which means Gate; this is the gateway to the Souk, the old bazaar, little shops that sell everything from Rolexes, to belly dancing costumes, and wind-up toys.

This Gate has been here for many years. In the early days, when we were first here, this circle in front of the gate, used to be a fruit and veg. market.



Next to the Bab is an old Mosque, and a new Batelco (telephone co.) Building.

In the evening the Mosque reflects in the blue glass of the Batelco Building. Below is one of my favorite photos....thanks to Yvonne!

Chinese and Thai Cooking Lesson

I was invited to cook with Salima and Ging today. Salima offered to show us how to make "Turkish turnovers". That doesn't sound very Chinese, does it? The filling is pork, onions, green peppers, and spices. The pastry is a small square of puff pastry. The sides of the pastry square are closed, and then it is a matter of pinching, and rolling to get a nice looking top edge. Here Salima is brushing egg on the finished packets, ready to pop them into the oven.

Below, Ging is coking to Thai noodles in a large wok, before adding a handful of bean sprouts, and herbs, and frying an egg right in the pan and mixing it into each portion of the dish.

Ging showed us how to make a spicy papaya salad. In the photo below, you can see a large mortar and pestle, in which the chili and garlic, cherry tomatoes, and shrimp sauce, fish sauce, and lime are all mixed together. The shredded papaya and carrots are added into the mixture right in the same bowl. This was a very spicy dish.

Everything was yummy. I have to practice the pinching and rolling!