Some Christian women, a pagan woman, and a Muslim woman walk into a bar...

Just kidding... they didn't walk into a bar. But they did go to brunch. 

Stella and I are becoming more and more active in the homeschool group that meets here and next month she's starting an art class with some of the kids. While the kiddos are in class the moms hang out and have breakfast and conversations with people allowed to make adult decisions. We've joined them a few times and it's been great fun. This morning was no different, however, our conversation turned towards religion (and it was fantastic!). 

The homeschool group is comprised of a wonderful variety of people from all different parts of the world. Everyone comes from all different walks of life and religions and it's amazing and wonderful and everything I could have ever hoped for for Stella to be around. It's so, so important to us to expose her to people who are different from her to show her we're all human and wonderful and beautiful and unique  in our own right! 

Our first field trip with the group was to a Catholic Church and we missed their trip to the mosque by a couple of weeks and there are plans to visit other houses of worship. It is truly awesome and inspiring to see how everyone of all these different faiths come together in peace and harmony and thrive with each other (and just further proof that it CAN be done). 

This morning we were speaking of Christmas and how, in Britain, there is an imam (a person who leads prayer in a Mosque) who sends out Christmas cards every year to highlight Islam's belief in Jesus as a prophet and the virgin birth. His is a message of peace and remembering the connectedness between beliefs and I absolutely LOVE that. It has long been a belief of mine that all religions and faiths are deeply connected and are even, on some deep, down level, the same-- that the specifics and things that make each one unique are unique so that they can be received and understood by the believers. I don't know if I'm wording that in the way that I need to, but basically God is God. And he's Allah. And he's Zeus. And he's Buddha. And he's the universe. And he (or she) is whatever each individual person needs him (or her) to be to feel connected and to believe what they believe. 

Anyway, so we all started talking about religion and I learned a lot about Islam and how there are different prophets they have teachings from--Including Mohammed, Jesus, Moses, and David. I didn't realize that they believed in Jesus as a prophet- or the virgin birth- or that there will be a second coming of Christ. We talked about multiple religions and faiths are now interconnected they all are without people even realizing it sometimes. 

The whole point of this post was that five women of at least three different faiths sat around a table this morning, sharing coffee and their beliefs and it was beautiful and enlightening and amazing. And moments like that, my friends, make this entire Bahrain adventure so very worth it!  

Christmas in the Middle East

When we found out when we'd be moving to Bahrain we knew we'd be here for Christmas but we weren't sure what to expect. Would it be like a normal Christmas? Or would it be some weird, hush hush thing that we had to celebrate behind closed doors? We had no clue. 

I'm beyond happy to report that, while Christmas isn't celebrated by the entire Muslim population (though it is by some- just in a different way), there are a TON of ex-pats here and their celebrations are catered to and wide spread throughout the city! Most of the big hotels have decorations throughout, celebratory meals and festive teas, there are lights and decorations throughout the city, the malls are decked out, and there have been Christmas markets and activities almost daily since the beginning of December! 

We went to the tree lighting ceremony on base a couple of weeks ago and got to meet santas desert reindeer! 

We got all dressed up and attended the Christmas party for Christopher's work! (Side note: Christopher had his suit handmade here!) 

Stella and I met some friends and went to one of the Christmas markets a few days ago and had a great time! There were food stalls, hot chocolate, hot cider, crafts for kids, and tons more! We wandered around for a bit and then let the kids have some fun painting some Christmas crafts! 

After crafting, we wandered around some more and came across a henna stall so Stella got her first henna tattoo! The woman who did it was SO fast. From start to finish it took about six minutes. I couldn't believe it- it would take me hours...haha! 

After a little shopping we grabbed some snacks and drinks and relaxed a little bit and then the kids said hello to santa! 

Of course, our houses halls are decked and we're ready for Christmas... and have been since before thanksgiving! What? I can't help it! 

Of course, Stella's got her own tree in her room! 

Christmas baking started about a week before Christmas and we spent a couple of afternoons  elbow deep in sugar and butter! We made treats for ourselves and for Christopher's work! 

We met with the homeschool group a few days before Christmas and built gingerbread houses! 

Two days before Christmas we had a great party with the other families in our compound and one of the moms even dressed up like santa and handed out gifts! The kids absolutely loved it!  

Christmas Eve saw us at the Gulf Hotel for a fancy Christmas Eve dinner with friends! It was great food and fun and a wonderful way to prep for Christmas. Although... we didn't get home til super late, so santa was here much later than he anticipated! 

Stella asked santa for snow this year and he did the best he could to deliver her wish in the Middle East. (For anyone who wants to know, that's 259 snowflakes and about 2 hours worth of work!) 

Stella realized earlier in the month that we're not going to North Carolina for Christmas and that she'll miss seeing everyone (and snow) this year for Christmas. Once that realization hit we had a few tears, but we did everything we could to give her a happy Christmas. It's definitely different to spend such a big, special holiday without the friends and family we're usually surrounded by, but I think we all did our best to have a good day! 

The morning started out rough. Stella walked downstairs to the winter wonderland santa so lovingly (and painstakingly) prepared for her, looked at her gifts and stockings, and just stood there. Christopher and I joked with her and told her that she looked like the least excited kid on Christmas morning that there ever was and she said, "I'm not excited. I feel funny. Our family isn't here with us and it doesn't feel right" and then she burst into tears and fell into our arms. We all had a good cry and cuddle on the sofa for a few minutes before we coaxed her into opening her gifts. Once she started opening presents, she perked up a bit, but it was difficult. We facetimed with her grandparents and aunties and uncles before they all went to bed (or we woke them up... haha!) and that seemed to be the best thing to perk her little spirit up. 

Christmas morning was dedicated to just the three of us together and then we opened the house up to anyone who wanted to come by for snacks and Christmas cheer! There are so many people who are stationed here that have families back in the states and we didn't want anyone to spend Christmas alone. We had quite the turn out- about a dozen people! Everyone snacked and celebrated and had a ton of fun with the plush snow balls my mom sent and the kids had fun with the kiddie pool of fake snow powder we made (also from my fantastically creative mom!) 

Being overseas is an awesome experience. We love the travel and adventure and meeting new people, but the holidays are definitely more difficult than just normal, average days. We have an amazing family and love spending Christmas with them, so it's hard to be so far away. I know we had a wonderful day (and I hope we helped others have a wonderful day as well), but it was also tinged with some bittersweetness as we celebrated via FaceTime. 

Life...

We're coming up on our four month mark here in Bahrain and it's so hard to believe! On one hand, it feels like we just got here, but on another, it feels like we've been here for ages. We're finally finding ourselves in a routine for normal, every day life, and settling in to our new normal. We're cultivating a really great tribe of people here and it really feels like home. 

Another thing that's made it home is this little girl... Lumee. She found her way into our compound and was vying for attention (and food) and just instantly became ours. She's the sweetest little thing and we've had her now since right before the oman trip... so maybe a month? She's been to the vet and had all her injections and has been spayed and has a clean bill of health! Somehow we lucked out with a healthy, happy, loving little kitten right off the streets. She's super cuddly, loves to give kisses, and loves to play with Stella. My crazy cat lady is quite the happy camper with the new addition. I was never really a cat person until we finally gave in and adopted our other cat, Primrose, but she's so awesome she's turned almost everyone into a cat person... including my dad- who she's adopted. So she's staying with my parents and Lumee is the new feline addition. (Her name is Arabic slang for lemons and limes- which is what colors her eyes are). 

The Bahraini's celebated National Day (their day of independence) earlier this weekend and so the whole city is decked out in red and white lights and Bahrain flags 🇧🇭 in celebration! I went out with some friends on Saturday and drove home close to eight in the evening and there were so many cars decked out in lights and flags, parading around town! 

There were also a few tire fires (small debris fires that are lit in protest of various things. They happen often but don't generally pose too much of a threat as long as we keep clear of the areas they're in) here and there, but for the most part it was a celebratory weekend for them! 

Any time we travel we look for a few things to bring back with us... we look for Christmas ornaments,knick knacks, and pieces of art. The Middle East is filled with all kinds of awesome art pieces, furniture, and things that we're definitely collecting while we're here! A few weeks ago we had this awesome camel family done with our names written in Arabic calligraphy! We love it! 

I'm sure as time goes on we'll collect more pieces... I can say for sure we'll have more carpets! 

Final Day in Oman

Our final day in Oman we ate a quick breakfast and headed for the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque.

In 1992 Sultan Qaboos declared that Oman should have a Grand Mosque and a competition was held for the design of the Mosque. In December of 1994 construction began and it was finished in May 2001.

The Mosque was built from 300,000 tons of Indian sandstone and its HUGE! Not only is the actual prayer hall large, but the grounds and surrounding structures take up a large chunk of land-- 416,000 square meters to be exact.

We entered the main entrance and walked over to the gift shop area to get a scarf to cover my hair since I'd forgotten mine. Men are required to wear long pants and women are required to cover their hair, arms, and legs and all visible tattoos must be covered. So I was in a t-shirt with a cardigan over it and long flowy palazzo pants. I bought a scarf and one of the ladies working there wrapped it around my head, hijab style.

And then, I was standing with Christopher while he was paying for my scarf and the woman at the register gasped and exclaimed, "You have to cover the orange!" and rushed over to me and redid my scarf to completely cover my red hair while she glared at the original lady who had done it. So yeah, that was interesting...haha!

After I was adequately covered (and my shocking red hair was hidden), we headed further onto the grounds and towards the prayer hall.

We came across the Women's prayer hall first and removed our shoes and walked in. The giant wooden doors flanking the entrance are gorgeous and so detailed! Its not a huge space, but 750 women can fit inside. The ceilings were carved wood and there were beautiful chandeliers hanging from it that sparkled like crazy! The main wall had three large arched windows with stained glass nestled in them and the rest of the walls were adorned with different shapes and carvings.

We walked through and headed for the mens prayer hall, which is absolutely gigantic. It can hold 6,500 worshipers (and the paved ground outside called musalla can hold 8,000 people which means that the Grand Mosque can hold a capacity of 20,000 worshipers!) and is impressively large.

When we first came to it there was a sign that children under 10 weren't allowed in, which was so upsetting, because we knew it wasn't something we wanted Stella to miss. So we planned to take turns, but when I walked in first, there were loads of small kids inside, so I went back out and got Christopher and Stella and we brought her in and I am SO so glad we let her in.

The mens prayer hall is nothing short of breathtaking. Pictures and pretty words could never do it justice, but I'll try my best!

It is so incredibly opulent, it was hard to focus on what to look at. The carpet that takes up the entire floor is stunning! Its the second largest single piece carpet in the world and it took 600 women four years to make. It contains 1,700,000,000 knots and weighs 21 tons and covers the 4,343 square meter area of the prayer hall.  Needless to say, its incredible.

The signature on the carpet

The main chandelier that hangs from the interior of the dome is THE largest chandelier in the world and it is... I hate to keep using the same word but, opulent! Its 14 meters tall and was created in Italy and the amount of sparkle coming off the thing was just marvelous!

We took our time and tried to take in the whole space but every where we looked there was something else incredible vying for our attention. There was one nook area of the mosque that had just incredible tile and mosaic work. I feel like I'm running out of adjectives to describe this place, but seriously, all those big, descriptive $5 words are necessary to even try to describe the Mosque.

We finished walking through the prayer hall and made our way back outside to walk around the grounds a bit. There were covered areas to sit all along the outside that sort of framed the Musalla area and even those had decorated ceilings and seating areas. The mosaic and tile work we found was just awesome.

We finished up walking around and headed back to our taxi (by this time, I was roasting hot in my sweater and covered head... I really don't know how the women do it all the time when the sun is so hot!) and back towards the hotel. We had quite a bit of time to kill so we ended up taking Stella to the mall to play in the little arcade they had there before we had some lunch and then headed to the airport.

We had a wonderful trip to Oman! I really cant gush about it enough... it was such a beautiful country filled with adventure and wonder and welcoming people! I highly, HIGHLY recommend it!