Our trip to Mecca

The OH had a brief winter break and we used the opportunity to visit some of the Saudi Arabia. We took a flight to Jeddah and from Jeddah went by taxi to Mecca.

Once someone arrives to Mecca, you can see from any spot, this impressive building - the Abraj Al-Bait Towers, also known as the Mecca Royal Hotel Clock Tower. It is said to be the second tallest building in the world with the largest in the world clock face. Right behind this building is the heart of Muslim world - Kaaba.

The same building from another side.

We went inside to get some rest and I took a picture from a window. Human anthill around mosque Masjid al Haram.

We are also heading there.

People from various countries

There were many elderly and disabled in wheal chairs.

Those who came in groups were wearing some identification signs on their clothes or same color clothes.

This man came to Mecca to perform Umrah.

Some more photos of people.

Ritual travel back and forth between Al-Safa and Al-Marwah. Muslims have to perform this travel seven times during the Hajj and Umrah.

Overall, the place is very clean in spite of huge number of people. In fact, I was surprised to see over there so many people in the middle of a working week. Water zamzam that is coming from well right within the Masjid al Haram indeed is very special.

I hope I'll get another chance to visit this place after a while.

Population of Alexandria, Egypt

Alexandria, Egypt is the second- largest and constantly growing city in Egypt. Between 1947 and 1986, Alexandria's population grew from 700,000 to 2.7 million. Currently, Alexandria's population is somewhere around 4.1 (although some sources state that it is 5 million). It consists of 6 blocks:

1. Montaza block: population 943,100
2. Eastern Alexandria block: population 933,600
3. Middle Alexandria block: population 566,500
4. Amreya block: population 457,800
5. Western Alexandria block: population 450,300
6. Gumrok block: population 186,900

There are also two cities under the control of the Alexandria governorate: Borg Al-Arab city with population of 186,900 and New Borg Al-Arab city with population of 7600.

The city is overpopulated. When in Alexandria, you cannot fail to notice that that automobiles and people are everywhere inside the city. In many areas, the boundary between sidewalks and the roadway appears to be somewhat blurred as the people overflow on the edge of the roadways walking around parked cars with no concern for the numerous cars that are driving on the roadways. To a stranger it seems like chaos. But sometimes what we consider chaos may work if it is a commonly understood system in which all parts of the system follow the same rules.

http://www.photius.com/countries/egypt/society/index.html
http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/egypt/index.html

Marriage between a foreign woman and an Egyptian man

Many bloggers have tried to explain Egyptian type marriages. People write from their experiences or the experiences of their friends. Some information is useful some misleading. Here is what I have found about the marriages between a foreign woman and an Egyptian man.

There are two types of marriage in Egypt – not all foreign women realize this.
1. Orfi (orfy)
2. Legal marriage

Orfi marriage is a kind of union in which the state is not involved. The partners write their own marriage contract, get two people to sign it as witnesses and the document is not registered at a government office. To give an impression of legality, a groom might have an attorney to sign marriage contract. He can take his wife-to-be to a lawyer’s office. However, the truth is that this attorney has no license to approve marriages. Hence, the marriage is still not recognized by the Egyptian authorities. Generally those who resort to orfi marriages have reasons to keep their relationships secret. It is because either families disapprove or the man is already married and he does not want his first wife to find out that he has taken another. Orfi unions have become widespread among university students because they provide a legitimate means to have sex in a society where there are strict taboos about premarital relations. But it is viewed shameful by Egyptians and invariably the women suffer in such marriages. It gives them no marital rights. The bottom line, it is not a marriage.

Note, sometimes you can find that orfi is called a common law marriage. Misleading! There is no law in this marriage.

The second type –the only legal marriage in Egypt - is a civil ceremony performed at the local marriage court. Legal marriage might be accompanied by a religious ceremony. The ceremony should be arranged separately, but it is the civil ceremony that establishes the legality of the marriage.

Prior to registration of marriage, a foreign woman needs to obtain documents signed by her country consulate in Egypt proving that she is not legally married in her home country plus (again, approved by the consulate) her parents’ permission to get married. However, this permission is required only for people below certain age. Older women do need such permission. I’m not sure whether this requirement exists for all countries or for some only but in my marriage I had to get it. Of course, foreign passport should be also presented along with the above.

On another side, the groom also needs similar documents. Specifically, he needs an official paper with information about his family and his marital status – whether he is never married, divorces or married. This is required because majority of countries do not recognize multiple marriages and this marriage cannot occur then. He also needs his national ID, paper about his relationship with legal system (any crime committed).

When all the documents collected by both sides, you go to your consulate and the consulate issues a permission to marry. Only after that you go to the Egyptian marriage court at Lazoughly Square in Cairo (in fact, it was a very small office – I was disappointed :) ). In the court, you sign marriage agreement in the presence of two witnesses if they are men. Or you can bring with you one man and two women. Yes, one man = two women.

The marriage contract will not be given right away. You need to give them some time to prepare this contract. It will be in Arabic. On receiving the contract, you should stamp it in the Egyptian ministry of foreign affairs and then stamp it in your home country consulate. Then, you marriage will be legal in Egypt and in your home country.

After that you can apply for residency and citizenship. It will take two years to obtain the citizenship but it worth obtaining because it gives a permission to work anywhere in Egypt.

By the way, some people wrote on their blogs that to be really legal marriage paper (contract) should have pictures of both bride and groom. I do not believe that this statement is correct. Neither foreign-Egyptian nor Egyptian-Egyptian marriage contract contains any picture.

The Islamic ceremony as the part of legal marriage is explained by a fellow blogger at:
You even can find there a video of the ceremony itself.