MADINAH, 26 August 2006 — An Egyptian man got the scare of his life when his five-year-old boy went missing after the family stopped in Madinah on their way to Makkah for Umrah, the Al-Watan daily reported yesterday. As the family was putting on their ihram (the white cloth that pilgrims wear), the boy wandered off and went to sleep in a bus. The bus departed for Makkah. The distressed family went to the police and filed a missing persons complaint. Later, the boy was found in Makkah, having slept the entire 400-kilomter trip between the two holy mosques. The story ends happily with a family reunited during their Umrah pilgrimage.
In-Laws Get Greedy, Ruin Wedding Plans
ABHA, 26 August 2006 — The father of a bride ruined the nuptials by insisting that the would-have-been groom provide gifts for the entire family, the Al-Watan daily reported yesterday. The groom counted up the tab for this request and found that it came to a whopping SR30,000! No way, said the young man. The in-laws dropped their offer to goodies worth SR15,000, to which the young man replied: Keep your bride, I’m going somewhere else for my marital bliss.
Wrong ID Causes Macabre Mistake
SIBYA, 26 August 2006 — A Saudi man was shocked when relatives came to his house to express condolences for the death of his son, the Okaz daily reported yesterday. The father freaked out and called the house of his son only to discover, much to his relief, that his son was alive and well. A police investigation revealed that a man who had stolen the wallet belonging to the man’s son had died and investigators presumed the ID found in the wallet belonged to the dead man. Perhaps next time they will take a closer look at both the photo in the ID and the corpse lying on the table.
Fight Over Prime Spot Leads to Deportation
YANBU, 26 August 2006 — Two groups of women beggars battled over a prime location near an ATM machine for requesting handouts, the Okaz daily reported yesterday. By the time the police arrived, the women were too exhausted to flee and were arrested and later deported.
