Wednesday, April 30, 2008

O is for oud


(For newcomers to the blog, I should explain that for the week of Passover vacation I joined a dozen other Jewish Israelis at a special summer school program in the Arab village of Darajat in the Negev desert. We studied Arabic and enjoyed home hospitality of the gracious host families.)

Our group of Arabic learners was invited to Darajat's community center (what in former years would have been a big welcome tent made from goat hair [hence a tent's name, "hair house"]).
This oud player explained about his instrument and the songs and told about his family and their history. Together with his son on the drum, they made the real Middle Eastern oud music.


Notice the beautiful dress embroidered in the village and the traditional strong black coffee serving set. For sale were more dresses and homemade olive oil and jars of labineh.
Off to the side these girls broke into dance to the inviting music of the oud. When they noticed we were watching, they giggled and did the shy thing, running off.

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12 comments:

  1. What an original & interesting O.

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  2. Girls will be girls.

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  3. LOL at Judy's comment!
    Great to see how dancing is a central part of your village life.

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  4. What a fabulous experience! It makes me wish pictures came with sound as well.

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  5. It's so fascinating how much I can learn by blogging - different countries, different religions, different traditions. I love all this!

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  6. Great pictures, looks like a fun experience, arabic music is nice, i'v lived in United arab emirates for about 5 years so sampled my fair share.

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  7. Nice series and interesting words.
    I would love to taste home made olive oil! :)

    Ida

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  8. What a fun experience! It sounds like you had a terrific adventure.

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  9. I scrolled back to read the posts I had missed. You have had an amazing and very special experience. It is pso important for each of us to find some understanding of those whose cultures are different from ours. I commend you for the effort.

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  10. What a great and an original "O" post!

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