Just writing

Dream high

 

Image result for riding a donkey facing backwards

 

Once upon a time, there were three friends; they were poor, very poor, unnoticed and worthless. What they owned in their life was three donkeys and their job was to transport people, goods and luggage from one place to another. This was how they earned their living.
One night, after a long day of hard work under the sun of the Arabian summer. They threw their bodies over the smooth sand of the desert. The full moon and the shiny stars lit the dark doom; it was no longer dark and a beautiful sparkly night was all they can see.
One of the three men closed his eyes and said: ‘Imagine my friends that I become the ruler of this country; the sovereign majesty, make a wish?
His friends laughed and laughed.

The first friend looked at the dreamer and said: ‘you be the ruler, the sovereign. No way.’

The dreamer said: ‘Just imagine, man, you wouldn’t lose anything.’

The friend said: ‘ Ok, Mr dreamer, I want a house with a magnificent garden.’

The dreamer looked at the other friend and said: what about you?

The other said: ‘This cannot be. This would never be. A donkey cart plodder would never have dreams. We’ve no future, friend.’

The dreamer did not give up: ‘It’s me who imagine not you; this is my thought, my idea. Imagine!’

His friend got-up, collected his stuff, rode his donkey and said: ‘Let your guards carry me backwards on a donkey and let them announce to everybody that I’m a fool who didn’t believe that dreams can be true.

‘As you wish, my friend,’ said the dreamer.
In the morning the dreamer deserted his friends. He sold his donkey and looked for a different way to earn his living; a watchman, a constable, an officer, a member of the town authority, an advisor, a consultant,… finally, he married the deceased ruler’s wife and became the guardian of her eight years son. He ruled the whole country until the former ruler’s son was 16 years old.

Thirty years had passed since his friends laughed at him dreaming of ruling the country. At his prosperous days, he remembered his friends and ordered his guards to bring them.
His old friends were still donkey cart plodders but their friend, the crowned head, reminded them of their wishes.
The first was mad with happiness; he was granted a house with a magnificent garden.

The second regretted that wish ever since.

Ps, this is an old story in the Arabic history with real names and incidents but what I can remember is just the main plot; therefore, I have made some adaptations.

Dream high. Dreams can be true.

Wishing you all the best,

Nahla

Just writing

The journey of the lifetime 3

 

Image result for hajj 2018

 

Last year I wrote about Hajj under the title of the journey of a lifetime, I will leave the links at the end of my post so you can check them if you like.

These days Muslim Pilgrims are on their way to Makkah and this is why the memories of my Hajj journey become fresh again. In my previous posts, I explained how it was so hard for me to leave my boys who were at that time about 4 and 6 years old, even though I left them with my mother. On the day I went with my husband to Cairo International airport, I wept deeply from my heart and my friend, who was waiting for us there, hugged me tight trying to soothe me though I knew it was even harder for her because she also left her daughter who was younger than my boys and she was pregnant in the first two months. She knew about her pregnancy when we got all the documents of hajj done. I told her to postpone hajj: ‘You can apply next year. Hajj is a hard journey. You’re responsible for this pure soul growing inside you,’ I said trying to persuade her to change her mind but she said she wanted both and she would go for Hajj. And we went.
When I decided to write this post, I thought of sharing one of the very funniest moments that happened on that journey. On the day of Arafah, one of the main rituals in Hajj, we spent the day praying, making supplications and reading Quran. Food and water were available to everybody all the time. But we didn’t expect to have ice cream too. One of our friends was dead tired and was just having a nap when we discovered about that ice cream surprise. Her friend wet her lips with some yummy vanilla ice cream. She got up immediately and told everybody that she thought she was dead and was having ice cream in heaven. I couldn’t stop laughing when I heard her tale but I also thanked my Lord that I wasn’t next to her that day or else I wouldn’t be able to concentrate in any of the rituals.

 

There were lots of those funniest moments but I think one in enough this time.

By the way, my pregnant friend did well in Hajj and gave birth to a beautiful girl on her due date.

Wishing you all the best,
Nahla

Herewith my last year Hajj posts:

The journey of a lifetime!

The journey of a lifetime/2

I hope you will like this song too.

Error
This video doesn’t exist

 

 

 

Just writing

I love holidays

img_2878

This summer holiday, my children wanted to visit the pyramids and go to any nice beach in Egypt. The beach was a good idea but visiting the pyramids in August means we would melt.  Anyway, both plans didn’t work which was great because the weather was too hot to go out during the day.

As usual, we spent the holiday visiting the family which was good for my children to practise their Arabic.  Sometimes, we went shopping at night; big shopping malls have been one of the modern characteristics of Cairo. My children liked to go to some of them but this holiday they were shocked at the prices; when I asked them to calculate the difference between the Egyptian and English pound, they realised that it’s the same.

One of the main things I always mention in my posts is that I really love being on holiday with my children. Together; we laugh, we play, we talk, we eat, we try new things, we go shopping, we see old photos, remember old days,  listen to old tales, we sleep by sunrise, we get up at noon, and we really have fun even though we couldn’t have any of our plans done.

Let me know how was your holiday?

Wishing you all the best,

Nahla