JEDDAH, 7 August 2003 — In a bid to ensure the briefest engagement in the history of Saudi Arabia, the father of a bride here called the official and witnesses, paid for a reception and arranged a room in a hotel within hours of the young man asking for the hand of his daughter, local report said. By nightfall the same day the man was a proud father-in-law. Meanwhile in a bid for the shortest marriage, a husband divorced his wife immediately after the wedding and made off with SR100,000 he had borrowed from her for wedding expenses. The bride is recovering in hospital.
