Christmas in Benghazi

We have had a great Christmas here in Benghazi. It was a really busy few weeks approaching the holiday for me as I had to be in the desert a lot, so the time at home was that much more enjoyable. We have been slacking in the blog department lately, so we'll try to get caught up with a few posts in the next couple of days.

Last week we arranged to get some Christmas lights put up on our house. In pretty much every neighbourhood there is a company that rents chairs, tables, tents, lights and anything else you'd need to have a wedding, funeral or other gathering. Weddings last days here and are easy to spot as houses and streets are lit up with hanging lights for the duration. I wanted the same, but maybe toned down just a little.

Each string is about 10 metres long and has 25 bulbs on it. Two and a half dinars a a day for each string. We ended up using four to light our house, so 10 dinars per day. For power, they just tap into the closest pole. No metering or anything like that - just help yourself! Fantastic.

Here are some shots of the operation, and the end result.

She can swing!

I still get asked to give underdoggies. . . but look at her go!

Need some 'roids?

I drove past a shop in Ajdabiya tonight that was selling supplements and muscle-mass powder. Since the guy I was with uses such things, we stopped and had a look.


Upon closer inspection, they were also selling steroids! Anabolic steroids right off the shelf. It was closed so I couldn't get pricing for you, but hey if you need some let me know. . . .

Yummy Camel

I've often asked friends here about eating camel. There are plenty of them roaming the desert, and since I was based in Ajdabiya for a couple of years I saw my fair share. But apparently it is more common to eat camel in the west of Libya around Tripoli and less common on the Benghazi side. One of many differences between East and West here in Libya. . . .

Anyway tonight I finally got to eat my first piece of camel meat at a friend's place. Verdict? Tasty, and a lot less fatty than the more popular lamb. And cheaper too! Lamb has gone from 10 dinars/kg to about 15 dinars/kg in the last couple of years. The camel meat tonight was around 10 dinars/kg.

Still haven't tried camel milk though. Apparently the first time you drink it, you get sick right away. But once you drink it regularly, you'll never get ill. Maybe people should drink camel milk instead of taking the H1N1 vaccine. . . .

Not a great picture, but here's a shot of our meal. Pretty standard practice to eat on the floor. Pasta with the camel meat on top, salad, bread and really good Libyan soup, all prepared by the woman of the home. However only the men ate together.


We have actually been eating very little meat at home these days. Melanie has always been great at preparing healthy food for us, and a recent read of a David Suzuki book gave her environmental reasons to reduce meat in our diet. For me I don't really care as long as it tastes good (sometimes a challenge with the healthy stuff. . . .)

Anyway, eating beef sure is terrible for the environment since you need HUGE pieces of land and a LOT of water and resources to raise the cows. But I wonder about camel. Nobody is destroying a rainforest for these things. It's the desert! And free-range too! They are just roaming around - no barns or mass-production facilities! Perhaps camel is the environmentaly friendly meat?

I wonder what a camel burger tastes like. . . . .

This was taken in 2001 in Ajdabiya and the camel was not impressed with me on its back.

Ah the Med. . . .

Yes one of the best parts about living in Benghazi is the weather. We are on the Mediterranean Sea after all, so maybe it shouldn't be a surprise. But these days the weather is PERFECT. Low 20's and sunshine with a light breeze from the Med. Love it.

Just in case you have wet or cold conditions where you are, have a look at our five-day forecast:

Ahhhh. . . .nice isn't it?

This lovely weather means we can have an orange tree! In our own garden! The green balls growing in the tree for the last few months are now bright orange. A few had fallen to the ground so we did a harvest today and picked about two dozen juicy oranges. Yum!

Lucy got right in there of course.


Here we have the oranges in focus. . . .

and here we have the harvesters in focus.

Mmmmmm Falafel

You can buy falafel CRAZY cheap here. For a dinar you can get 20 of those little, well, those little falafel things. The kids love them and they make a great snack.

We bought some from this nice fella tonight after we left the theatre.


And yes, I said the theatre! We were invited to a Turkish Folk Dance and Music Show at the El Sanabul theatre tonight. It was great actually, and the kids sat through the first half in peace before we made our exit at intermission. Great little theatre on El Fateh Street, just down the road from Marwa Hospital (where Oscar was born).


Who says Benghazi is boring?!!?!

Funeral

One of our neighbours died a couple of days ago. We found out because in the morning a stream of old ladies came by their house and were screaming as they entered. Wailing would actually be a better term for it, and it was clear that they were mourning. It was quite sad.

Within a couple of hours the standard tents were set up. It's amazing how fast they get things sorted. Funerals here happen in and around the home, and hundreds of people visit within the three day period.

Here is a photo I took this evening of the setup.


Interesting thing about the wailing I mentioned above. Twenty years ago, women used to come on the first day and pounded on a drum while screaming their sadness. I'm not exactly clear on the details, but while they were at it I think they fanned some charcoal and then later they poured the ashes on their heads in mourning. They would even park some distance from the home and scream on their way to the home. The louder the scream, the more upset they were.

Apparently this used to be very common but is now discouraged. Screaming like this questions Gods will, so emotions should be kept to yourself. Tears are fine, but the loud wailing doesn't happen much. At least this is what I have been told.