Abaya Shopping!

The other night Matt came home early.  (Early is around 8:00 PM)  We were both a little hungry so we decided to skip the compound restaurant and head outside.  Since we also still had some things that we needed to get at the mall, we decided that we may as well eat there too.  We probably arrived at the Mall at about 8:30 and it still wasn't fully open yet.  (Ramadan hours are still in effect.)  I think that we also arrived at one of the prayer times because you could hear the prayers being said over the loudspeaker.  This is done several times a day.  I will go into detail a little more about this at a later time because at this point I am pretty sure that I don't have all my facts straight.  Anyway, I took a little video when we first got there so that you can hear the prayers and also see what the Mall looks like before it opens up.  (Some stores were open, but most were closed.)

This is my first time trying to load video so I hope it works.  It's very short, but I think it is kind of cool how you can hear the prayers.  They are very singsongy and melodic.  There is a mosque right outside the compound so we hear the prayers over a loudspeaker all the time.  They don't last very long and usually it just sounds like one person leading the prayers but sometimes you can hear a whole bunch of people praying together.  I kind of like it.  Has a nice energy to it.  

While we were waiting for the stores to open, we had dinner.  It was after sundown (6:30) so it was fine to be eating in public.  When we finished we came back out and the mall was in full swing.  I took a video of that too but it is taking a while to load the first video so I may save the second video for later.  

The mall that we were at was HUGE.  It is the same mall where the Danube Hypermarket is. (That is the store that is even better than Target.)  Anyway, it was so big, that we couldn't even find the Danube but we did find this row of stores that sold abayas.  And hey, I just happened to be looking for a new abaya! What luck.  Oh, I almost forgot, while I was at dinner I noticed my abaya was gapping... so I took a picture of it so you can see what I mean.

Yes... that's skin you see.  Not a ton, but I'm sure that no one wants to see that!  That would be what the whole point of the abaya is!  I'm thinking it probably won't make the "Hot Halloween Costume" list.  

There were probably about eight different stores that sold abayas, and yes, I went into them all.  If I am going to have to wear this thing everywhere I go, then I am going to make sure that I get one that I like! You would not believe how many different abayas there actually are.  There is your basic black to be sure, but there are so many different kinds of trims it will make your head spin.  Also, there are some that have Swarovski  Crystals all along them. I didn't want to get too flashy though.  I'm not quite ready for that yet.  Also, there are many different sleeve styles.  I was a little leery of getting something with sleeves that were too wide because I can just see myself getting food and stuff all over it.  Anyway, the previous video finally loaded so now I will try and add the one I took of the open mall.

                                 This one is shorter, and the mall is in full swing.

Anyway, have you noticed that I say "anyway" ALL THE TIME?  I can't help it.  You know who used to say that all the time as well? Yup, Grandma.  I remember as kids that we used to always try and work it into a conversation just because we heard Grandma say it all the time.  I guess I must have picked it up and can't seem to put it down!  But anyway....

I finally found my new abaya in the last store that we looked in.  It actually should have been the second store that  we would have looked in but for some reason Matt skipped it.  I wanted one that was not polyester and had some interesting details.  This was what I ended up going with.

I ended up having to take the picture outside because the light inside wouldn't show the details.  Its all black so I won't stick out, but still decorative so I won't want to hang myself when I put it on.  The next abaya... (and oh yes, there will be a third abaya!) is going to be a little flashier.  But I have plenty of time to look for that one.  For now, I just wanted cooler, less ugly, and no gaps!  

While at the store, we asked the man if the abaya came in a smaller size and he informed us that was the smallest size, but they could do alterations on it.  So they took it in on both sides, and shortened the sleeves a bit, and also took about an inch off of the length.  He was trying to convince me that the length was fine and it was supposed to be that long but I still feel better knowing that I am less likely to get sucked into an escalator.  

The alterations were going to take 30 to 40 minutes so, in the meantime there was nothing else to do but shop!  So, we did.  By this time I am thinking it was probably around a quarter to 11:00 and Matt was pretty tired but we had to wait for the alterations.  We did finally make it to the Danube, but just outside the Danube was the Sunglass Hut.  We spent a good half hour in there trying on sunglasses.  Matt must have been really tired, because I ended up with a new pair that we normally never would have bought.  But I really like them and lets face it... no one is gonna see anything else!  

After that we went back upstairs to pick up my newly altered abaya.  I tried it on again, (over my old abaya of course) and it fit fine. (As well as an abaya is supposed to I suppose.)  It was probably almost midnight when we finally got out of there.  I did much better this time since I hadn't done any running earlier.  I was still glad to crawl into bed about 10 minutes after returning home though!

And here is the picture of me getting ready to go out in my new Saudi digs.  No need to post anymore pics... because this is pretty much what its going to look like EVERY TIME!!  Well... the hair may change.  Also, the maid took the door off to wash the windows and never put it back.  But I think we are moving soon anyway.  But that is probably another blog for another time!