Last week we had our Arab Culture Night in the Jerusalem Center. Basically this involved all of us dressing up in "Arab" garb (genie pants, head scarves, etc.) and getting together for three hours of food and fun activities.
Claire and I in our Arab garb
The first hour was super interesting. We had two men from the al-Aqsa mosque (3rd holiest Islam site) come in and demonstrate the call to prayer for us. They also did readings from the Quran and showed us how they prayed. It was really fascinating to see the ritual involved in the prayers and the dedication that the Muslims show to their religion. And it was really cool to hear the call to prayer and reading. It sounds a bit like singing (although we were told it is NOT singing) and the men demonstrating it to us were really talented.
The second hour of the night we had our Arab feast. They decorated the Oasis really nice for our feast, but admittedly the food wasn't that different than what we eat on a regular night. We had chicken and fish and curry and rice and lots of salad and pita. It was delicious!
The final hour or so of our cultural activity we learned some Arab dances from a group of students at a local dance school. Luckily the steps weren't that hard, because I am an atrocious dancer, and it involved a lot of kicking and walking steps and jumps, so it was easy to learn. And we all had a great time! But it didn't take too long before we became the teachers demonstrating American dance moves to the Arab students who were teaching us.
Sarah, Claire, and me at Arab night
The Arab night was great fun, so now we can't wait for our Passover Seder next week!
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