FOR more than 20 years my late mother (God rest her soul) spent almost a month in London as part of her three-month summer vacation that included Europe. I have to say that I was familiar with much of London, street-by-street and event-by-event. Since her death I had stopped going there and began traveling to North America and the Far East.
This year, however, my daughter insisted that she see London, and insisted that we spend a month there since all her friends were going to be there. Well, I have to admit that when it comes to my kids, I always cave in.
Memories rushed in the moment the flight touched down at Heathrow. And all my childhood memories poured in.
London to many travelers from the Middle East is the shopping area, Hyde Park and the coffee shops. I think the London Natural History Museum, and the other museums are destinations that should not be missed if one is to claim to have seen the real city. Those who know Madame Tussaud’s wax museum must not miss the pleasure of seeing the marine aquarium. To do so, you have to make sure that you take as much pictures for memories as you can, or better still do as I do each family trip I take, a scrap book — with all the tickets, restaurant napkins, hotel electronic keys, etc. — that validates the trip and makes it a memory to last.
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Dear Nadia
You have written about many things in Saudi Arabia. Where can we buy desert Bedouin carpets? I have heard that there are special ones made from camel wool.
— Melanie, Cairo
Dear Melanie
Hand-made wool carpets, and especially the ones made by Bedouin women, are very well known in Saudi Arabia. Do not mistake the Korean or Chinese replicas that are sold near gas stations for the real thing. They are not at all the same. As a matter of fact, you can tell the difference by the uneven woven pattern in the natural ones, along with their heavy weight compared to the synthetic ones — and finally the price. The real wool ones are expensive since they are made by hand and take a long time to finish.