H-E-H ??

H-e-H-isms are the rantings of an Egyptian monkey raised in the grimy backstreets of east London. This monkey wakes to find a warm climate replaced with cold, umbrella-reversing gales; fuul has become bacon and eggs; and the exotic and seductive eastern beauty is now a 4-foot-high pensioner called Doris...

Monday, November 06, 2006

Don't Shit on the Teacloth

I have never been an avid proponent of the Arab tea cloth; the headgear that is worn by inhabitants of the Gulf region. If I was in a public restroom washing my hands and I saw one near the sink I would, in all probability, dry my hands on it and try to sling it over my shoulder, along with the poor sod who was wearing it. Put simply, I think it looks a little bit silly.
But, having seen lots of them around here in Doha, Qatar, I'm starting to appreciate the egalitarian and classless aspects of wearing it.
Qataris, like other Gulf Arabs, wear simple dress - a white, long, dress-like garment and a white or chequered head dress. People from all walks of life, all classes, all educational backgrounds, and all ages wear it. Everybody looks like storm troopers from Star Wars, yes, but everybody is afforded the same respect by the way they look; no social judgements. Nice. I guess it's only when one of them opens their mouth that I want to slap them across the face with a rather large rainbow trout. Plus, I haven't mention how badly they treat peeps from the subcontinent...

1 Comments:

Blogger Adham Khairy said...

Hi H-E-H...

It might have looked like a "tool of equality" to you, but the truth you'll eventually find out is that its not only the clothes thats different, its the mentalities too.

Everybody in the gulf is brought up with some "facts" put into his head that there's no way to change them, and of course, if anybody dares questioning anything, he'll be accused of being "secular" and "atheist" and to wanting to destroy Islam...

10:12 AM  

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