Syb and I were soon
totally accepted throughout the family and so it happened that when Mansour and
I were asked to return to Khamis Mushayt to do a little research into a base
that was now totally manned by RSAF personnel with a few American advisors. Our
object was to see if there were any tips or pitfalls we could take advantage of
or avoid at the Dahran base. Syb lived with Fateeha while we were away. It was
during this time the BBC chose to show “The Death of a Princess” a film deeply
offensive to the Saudis, which caused much discussion amongst her friends in
the house. Not having a full command of conversational Arabic she could only
judge that something had upset them and for their part they could speak no
English. After what seemed like an age one of Mansour’s brothers came in and
explained to Syb, although the Saudis were very upset at the English for
showing the film she was not to worry as she was a visitor in their country and
their friend.
Syb had a glorious
time with the family going out shopping, she insisted on wearing Purdah so as
not to draw attention to the group. Apparently behind the veil of purdah the
girls were just girls admiring good looking and particularly blond men. Some of
the unmarried girls would hand out their telephone numbers but would always
stay mystically behind their purdah. Not all Saudi women are as down trodden as
people in the west believe; in fact some actually have stock brokers investing
their money and are richer than their husbands. Fateeha was in the family circle
like many western wives but behaved in line with her religion when required to
do so. It was an experience Syb would never forget.
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