30 October 2007

That's one hell of an entrance


We have three large plasma TV's in the office. Don't let your mind wander; we actually use them for work, to keep updated with the latest news and happenings around the world, as part of keeping up with currency prices, interest rates, and so on.

Anyhow, here I am watching Saudi Arabia's King Abdulla visiting the Queen of England and other members of the British royal family, amongst an unbelievably lavish welcome. It brings up a few thoughts; stronger relations between England and Saudi, representing the Western and Arab world. After all, the last visit by a Saudi Monarch to the UK was almost 20 years ago.

Somehow, I feel happy to see King Abdulla meeting the Queen of England. I want to see more of this sort of warm, generous welcome to the ruler of a muslim country, and one of the most pronounced Arab states, at that.

A few things made this whole visit sort of unreal, funny, and a little sad, actually. If you thought the late King Fahad was the kind of person who knew how to live an extravagant life, get this: it took 6 planes to transport King Abdulla and his party from Saudi to the UK. The amount of belongings brought along was so large, that actually unloading the King's luggage (including his entourage) took a little over 3 hours. They also required 84 limousines to drive into London. Mind you, the party was composed of almost 400 aides; 400!

Now that, my friends, is making an entrance.

18 comments:

Manutdfanatic said...

Lmao! The King and his "kingly" ways! Tsk tsk!

SwaRwaR said...

I HEART KING ABDUALLA .. HE IS THE BEST :)

A.K said...

As I'm the Opposition: Astaghfirullah!!!
That's why I have something against against all the Muslim Country Leaders. The example set to them was that of "simplicity, humbleness, etc" by the Holy Prophet(Pbuh) and the companions of HOly Prophet who became Khalifas after him.
This is our main problem. We've become too materialistic. Too lavish. Too indulged in our desires. This is not wy we're sent to this world.
But I guess, fundamentalists like me are meant to be taken to gaunatanamobay. We dont ffit the description of "normal human beings".
For me that's not an entrance. That's rather an axe cutting my body in half! I wonder when we'd stop bowing to the West and start following Quran and Sunnah.

Ammaro said...

manutdfanatic; oh yeah. definately very kingly.

sarwar; sure you do :)

AK; i don't agree to what he's doing.

i think its ridiculous, a little sad, and sort of depressing when you think how much something like this must have cost. but then again, he's the billionaire and im not; he doesnt tell me how to run my money, i wont tell him how to run his (i wish he would let me though, i would be a millionaire financial advisor)

KJ said...

Sub7an Allah, moghayyer el a7wal... this is all I have to say.

CG said...

Oh dear. And I have been accused of being OTT by needing 2 pickups to collect my luggage from the airport.

Redbelt said...

a.k. I totally agree.
nuff said.

A.K said...

That's the main problem. We've started to believe in the WESTERN IDEA of " LIVE AND LET LIVE". which is flawed!

eshda3wa said...

he just has more money than he knows wat to do with, seriously, that much wealth makes a person cukoo

Anonymous said...

Yeah, that's what kings tend to do!
Anyway, it's things like these which make me feel ashamed of being Khaliji. I find it difficult to explain all that to a biwildered foreign. Actually, it has no explanation! it's exactly as you put it {sort of unreal, funny, and a little sad}. Maybe more than just a little!

Anonymous said...

**speechless**!

Moody Crab said...

6 planes?!?! Are you kidding me? Jeez...but then again he's a KING and kings are slighyly higher mortals. NOT.

I really like your blog...will def be back. Keep it up!

Ammaro said...

kj; true true... when is my 7aal going to change for the better :p

cg; i guess you've been outdone now huh?

redbelt; i agree with you agreeing.

ak; i dont think live and let live is wrong. i think we need more of it in the arab world, especially since everyone wants to jump into everyone elses business. but again, it depends what context youre talking about

eshda3wa; true. that money is just way over the top.

moonlight7; we have a reputation for being spoilt, overexcessive, ridiculously spending arabs overseas!

joel; are you, really? its just the norm here. look up king fahads antics from before.

Ammaro said...

confessions; hey, your welcome! membership to this site is $25 annually, please provide your credit card details

Taqo said...

Ya 7ubi lah.

June said...

Bloody hell. Talk about excess. The thing is that the royal family in the UK is also incredibly wealthy, albeit in a more discreet way. You get some minor reports of someone flashing the cash but generally, for us, it's all about what it all looks like. How much does it look like you can afford?

$25 annually? Come on, surely you can charge more and get away with it.

Ammaro said...

taqo; youre telling me? hes one of the few men i would marry :p i'm sure ill live great after that :p

june; yeah, i know about the british royals. and you think i can charge more?

june, $50 to my paypal address please, otherwise, dont check my blog.

Nouph said...

i had the longest reply. and it vanished :|

i cant re type all of that.. so to sum it up, i'll just say; LONG LIVE THE KING!