Continuing my life journey and how I was led, Part 7 deals with our experiences in Soudi Arabia. This story describes a special occasion of being invited to a royal wedding of the sister of one of my students. It is another part of an upcoming book or website section entitled Divinely Led.
Part 7: Teaching in Saudi Arabia
Attending a Royal Wedding
This happened quite early in my only semester at Prince Sultan University. One of my students came to the office and handed me a small, elongated box. Inside I found a decorated fan with writing on it. Attached to the bottom of the fan was a purple string with a tag showing my name. The student explained that it was an invitation to her friend’s sister’s wedding scheduled to take place in two days in the ballroom of Riyadh’s prestigious Al Faisaliyah Tower. Surprisingly for me, the starting time was 10 pm.
Our Saudi neighbour translated the details of the Arabic invitation, and I learned that it was a princess marrying a prince. The Saudi royal family numbers around 5000 and many young princes and princesses attend local prominent schools and universities, including the one I taught at.
My colleague, Laura, was also invited for which I was grateful. This being a female only occasion (the men would gather in another room), my husband couldn’t accompany me and I didn’t want to go alone, especially late at night.
The invitation came as a total surprise. I believe Laura had taught the young lady last semester. With me, however, having barely finished my fourth week of teaching in Saudi Arabia and still confusing the three or four Nourahs, Sarahs and Noufs in each of my classes, I was only just beginning to know who the sister of the bride was. And I certainly wasn’t one of her best teachers – still struggling to get used to the new culture and the university.
Laura mentioned that such invitations are only given to “special” people – therefore it was a real privilege. Others that my husband or I talked to about the invitation were also excited and impressed – this was no ordinary event. Saudi weddings are night occasions and go into the early hours of the morning. The couple may arrive at one or two in the morning, and dinner may be served sometime after that.
Laura and I arrived not too long after the stated starting time and were among the first guests. Having been ill during the day of the wedding and missing work, Laura had left her invitation at the office. Luckily she was able to get in with just my invitation without any questions asked.
With only a few guests present when we arrived, we had a chance to walk around the ballroom, decorated in a purple and red colour scheme, and to have a good look at everything. Rows of soft chairs, covered in white and purple material, were arranged in a circular pattern around the room. A small adjacent room with a love seat was separated from the rest of the ballroom by a thin curtain. To the right of it was an area for the all-female music band with a lady singer. They soon began playing Arabic music.
As more guests arrived, Filipino ladies, who usually work as maids and servants in the country, started circulating from row to row. Attired in special purple dresses, they brought at first water, then the traditional Arabic coffee as well as mint tea, black tea, and special non-alcoholic cocktails interspersed with chocolates, popcorn, and savoury snacks. Time passed quickly with listening to music, snacking, and observing what was happening around us in this all-female gathering with young and old dressed in their best outfits.
Finally, around 1 am, the bride appeared, accompanied by dramatic music and several young girls in purple dresses. Our eyes and the cameras followed her as she slowly walked from one end of the ballroom to the other, where she finally sat on the special love seat. Many came to greet and congratulate her as she waited for the bridegroom. At last, he appeared, but from our seats he was indistinguishable from the about a dozen attendants, all dressed in traditional Arab attires (long white robes with red and white checked head coverings). The procession of men joined the bride and many again greeted and congratulated the couple and the attendants. More photos were taken.
Interestingly, the groom and his attendants were not only allowed to enter the all-female party but stayed for a good half hour. This was unusual because in this culture, women in public places are always covered in their abayas (long black gowns), which was not the case this evening – in fact, the dresses worn by some of the ladies were quite revealing. Also, men and women are often not allowed to wait, eat, or do business in the same area, but members of each gender have their own exclusive places where the opposite sex can’t go. Perhaps at the royal level, rules are allowed to be somewhat bent.
After the main events of the bride and groom’s arrival, well wishes and photographs, the female music band with the singer resumed performance – at a notch higher volume than the previously already quite loud volume. The Filipino ladies continued bringing around snacks and drinks.
It was getting close to 3 am, so Laura and I thought that this could be a good time to go – though we were among the early leavers. Although we didn’t see the event to the end – not knowing when the end was and having heard that it could go on for hours longer – it gave us another cultural experience and a glimpse into the Saudi society.
For other information on divine leading, see Spirit Helpers and Guides
Here is a short reflection on being divinely led.