This
story is about a New Zealand-born nurse who marries Mohammad Abdallah, a
Bedouin souvenir-seller from Petra in Jordan. In 1978 Marguerite and her friend
travel to the Middle East where they meet Mohammad. She marries Mohammad and
starts living with him in an old cave on a hill side. She becomes a nurse for
the locals, learns Arabic, converts to Islam and gives birth to three children.
The
author believes that she married a ‘wonderful man, who started his day by
praying that God would be pleased with him, and that his parents would be
pleased with him, and then went off to his work with a flick of his mendeel and
a joyful step, while I did what I felt like without a care in the world’
(p.33).
Marguerite
admits that her marriage was much larger than just marrying an individual. Describing
her own wedding the she mentions her brother in-laws who work for road
companies. She also mentions a Chinese
company building a road along Wadi Araba from the bottom of the Dead Sea, where
a potash industry was being established, to the port of Aqaba’ (p.56). Mohammad
and his wife also visit New Zealand. Marguerite’s parents also visit Petra.
As
I was reading the book I kept thinking about the whereabouts of the couple
until I discovered that unfortunately Mohammad passed away in February 2002.
This is a very interesting read about a lady who shares her own life
experiences. I really enjoyed reading this book!
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