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legend in his
own
charities in Bombay anrYedd'a C and ma bec ame^a Wa$ ab ' e t0 f ° Und
life-time. Much like Premium Bonds really!
The other maritime activity was the safar (literally 'journey)
crew of e one o°f the h r f COvered *uf f i c iiTfri trength would join the
oeofthe big ocean-going wooden sailing-boats known
and ^ September sail to Basra to load datL These would
be s o 1 d i n the ports of Western India where they would load
theTwou ri y In’aV 1 plece -9° ods a "d set sail for East Africa. There
of the Rufiii r?'ve n r r0Ve H P S , f .° r bui1din 9. ">ostly at the mouth
or the Rufiji river, and sail back for India to pick up more
trade goods and teak for boat building.
They would finally
absence of about six
seen very little of
only a few weeks
pearl-diving again.
return to Kuwait in the spring, after an
months. Obviously the sea-farers could have
their wives and children as there was then
before it was time to set off for the
s aw nothing
. . „ . - - Small wonder that the Gulf Arabs
-V about the sea or the seashore - it was associated
with hardship, separation and danger: beauty lay in fresh water
grass, flowers, trees and fruit. It is only now that fhev
begin>g to realise that there are attractions in blue sea
golde'n sand and sunshine! ea ’
P i e as an t:
not
As the weather was stil. Lue
fn?i! 0W w K 0 "! i nd t0 end - and Thoroughly exploring it. I was
tho bave no dou bt that my movements were reported to
he toot ’ ° r ’ W 5 en he returned from his sojourn in the desert
he took to going for evening walks too. However he never walked
very far and was always accompanied by a score or so of retainers
undesiraMe J .P r ° bab, y thought it a most unnecessary
undesirable exercise!), and was followed by a large
fatigue should set in. It didn't last long
car in
and
case
After a few days it
Ahmad al Jabir - who
him sitting on
mud-built hut
of about 50,
moustache. He
was
was
carpet
of medium
spoke no
understood it very well indeed.
24 years earlier on the death of
ruled for a mere five years after being
his brother Jabir (Ahmad’s father)
father, the famous Shaikh Mubarak and died
time to make my first call on Shaikh
still out in the desert - and I found
in the corner of a small room in the
where he was staying. He was a man
size with a Nejdi-style beard and
English, but, as I discovered later.
He had been elected Shaikh some
his uncle Shaikh Salim, who had
elected in succession to
He had succeeded their
within the ye a r
The story
this way.
0f «i M , Ubar , ak ' S accessi ° n should be told. It happened
All and sundry were dissatisfied with the rule of