Princess Sultana's Circle

with me in one vehicle, while our
husbands rode in two other vehicles. Our children banded together
into groups and commandeered their own jeeps.
    After all the family
members were seated, the rest of our large party jumped into the
remaining vehicles.
    Our much-anticipated trip
was beginning at last! Just thinking about the adventure ahead,
already I felt the presence of my ancestors’ blood flowing hot
through my veins.
    I glanced about at my five
sisters. When our vehicle began to leave the palace grounds, each
of them began to secure their veils to cover their faces. Yet even
under the black cloaks and veils, each sister remained a distinct
individual, and I could easily discern one from the
other.
    Nura had worn eyeglasses
for years, and the outline of her glasses were now visible through
the fabric of her veil. Tahani’s sunglasses were perched on top of
her nose, comically on the outside of her veil. A red personal stereo rested on top
of music-loving Haifa’s veil and scarf. I glanced down at the floor
and saw brightly colored Reebok sport shoes peeking out beneath
Dunia’s cloak. Sara was wearing leather sandals.
    Feeling mischievous, and
always irritated by the ridiculous custom of veiling, I startled my
sisters by crying out, “Let’s make this a new day in our lives!
Let’s take off our veils and throw them in the dust!” With my arms
I reached back to remove my veil.
    Sara gave a small scream as
she pulled my hands free of my veil.
    Looking at me through his
rear-view mirror, our Egyptian driver burst out laughing. My
feelings regarding the black cloak and veil were well-known to him,
and he often seemed to take delight in my unconventional public
behavior.
    Nura, the matriarch of the
family, lifted her veil and stared sternly at me. “Sultana! I
command you to stop! On this day, you will concentrate on our trip,
and not on your veil.”
    “ Nura, you prove my point,”
I teased as I pointed at her exposed face. “Even you know that
words have little meaning when spoken from behind a
veil.”
    That was true! The spoken
word and facial expression are bonded; one without the other is not
taken seriously.
    “ Sultana!” Nura
warned.
    Tahani began to giggle at
Nura’s expression of uneasiness so exposed under her lifted veil.
Everyone but Nura joined in her laughter.
    “ Oh well,” I muttered, “I
suppose it will not hurt me to wear the veil for a few more
hours.”
    Now understanding that I
had been teasing her all along, Nura leaned forward to pinch my
arm. I escaped by hiding behind Sara. We began giggling.
    I said, “Do not worry,
Nura, Allah obviously wants me to wear this veil that I so detest
to the grave.”
    Our mood of gaiety
continued as our caravan passed several modern towns set in scenic
oases of date palms. The plan was that we would set up camp at an
area between the Tuwayq Mountains and the Dahna Sands. There was a
wadi, a dry river bed, in that area, known as Wadi al Jafi, an old
Bedouin route.
    The grinding of the gears
of our four-wheel drive and the lurch of the wheels began to settle
as fatigue on my body. I was eager for the journey to end, and our
desert adventure to begin. After a few hours of driving, we arrived
at an unbroken expanse of sand plains a short distance from the
oasis of Wadi al Jafi. Although there were local villages,
settlements, and other encampments close by, our tents would be
raised in an isolated area.
    I liked the spot that
Kareem had selected. Solitude and stillness hung over us. Not even
birds sang in this treeless place. My sisters, including Nura, and
the other women gleefully mimicked me when I pulled my veil from my
face and my abaaya from my body.
    The removal of our dark
outer coverings was not considered improper, since we were now in
the familiar arena of our immediate family and servants. It is
difficult to hide our faces from those who live on the grounds of
our palaces; therefore, out of practical necessity, the males hired
by our families soon grow accustomed to seeing the unveiled faces
of their employer’s wives and daughters.
    The wide-open sky and the
desert breeze against my skin brought about a sense of well-being.
Feeling as free and happy as a child, I laughed as Sara’s younger
offspring began to give chase to Tahani’s small children. Sand flew
from under their bare feet. The little ones, too, felt the
attraction of desert freedom.
    With happy anticipation, I
then sat in a group with my sisters and our oldest