Khawaja Outing

Eddy and I have started "running" (loose term for a ridiculously slow jog with copious amounts of sweat, pain and panting) in the mornings before the sun rises/heat. We went yesterday, stopping by a friend's house to take her along. Afterwards we were invited to go to a local wrestling match, held in a different section of town. We quickly accepted the invitation, as it is always fun to experience cultural events.These wrestling matches have been going on for years, especially in one tribe from south-central part of the country. The matches are held every Friday, supposedly all day, in a "suburb" outside of the city. Surrounded by a fence/wall made of blankets and carpets, the "arena" is 2 large concentric chalk circles placed on the sand/dirt. People, predominantly men (there were approx 5-10 women out of the 1000+), crowd in along the perimeter, sitting on the ground, on mats, homemade chairs and standing. It was a fairly organized event, costing about 50 cents to get in, an announcer commentated about the competitors, the calls and the matches. We were 2 families and a few stragglers, all khawajas (foreigners), standing out like sore thumbs in the packed arena. We managed to befriend some of the locals in our "section" and learned a little more about the event. Some of the wrestler's names were pretty colorful... In Arabic: The Foreigner Without Any Money, Gun Powder, School, Kaka (a famous soccer player from Brazil)... While a bit on the hot side, we still had a fabulous time cheering on the contenders!

Visa Update: We will go AGAIN to the visa office... Jess' passport/visa still MIA.

Photos: The Arena (panoramic view)... Our friend Christine and I taking in the event... One of the matches, note the wrestlers right arm; pieces of the Koran are placed in small leather pouches and tied around the upper part of the arm for protection... Another match... A little girl selling sunflower seeds and peanuts... The contenders would strut around the arena, at times carried around by teammates (WWF style)...