Hospitality

Ventured out today again in the cool of the day changing destination as we drove! The sandstorm hasn't arrived yet, so we had a beautiful clear day albeit very HOT.

This is Mamzar which has a large park and this area for people to jet-ski, sit on the sand, swim, picnic, walk on the beach, jog on the specially surfaced track that runs along the front etc etc... you get the picture. The buildings in the distance are in the neighbouring northern emirate of Sharjah.

G and I placed our picnic chairs near this group of ladies. They were seated with their backs to us. I knew I wanted a picture with them in it but had to do it very carefully. To my surprise, one of them got up and started to walk towards us. She had a coffee pot and cup in her hand!! As she approached, she poured out Arabic coffee for us and then a maid from her party followed after her with some Arabic sweets!

WOW! WHAT A TREAT! I LOVE Arabic coffee - can't get enough of it. Actually, it is extremely hard to get it at all as it is only made in the homes of local families or served as a taster in hotel lobbies (somewhere I don't hang around too much as I am usually in a Mall!) When you go to traditional restaurants, they serve you Turkish coffee, so getting Arabic coffee is truly special for me.

Hospitality is one of the things this part of the world is known for and today, we got to experience it first hand through a random act of kindness! Much of the rest of the day was spent working on the photo project, and it was 19 years today that my mum left us. She was so unwell, it was a relief to know she wasn't suffering anymore.