Why the world needs more “nawar”

Can't believe its already 10 days since I last updated my blog..Well, time really flies by.

As I've state in my earlier post, I try to utilize those holy days with prayers as much as possible. Last week, I arranged with some of my colleagues to go to Mecca to pray there. 80 kms, 40 minutes on the highway doesn't sound that difficult after all.

The Saudi authorities have initiated a smart ( a very rare thing by the way) approach to regulate traffic to Mecca by making all cars who want to go to the "Haram" park in one place and from there, they use public transport to take them to the holy mosque in less than 5 minutes.

That parking lot could enter Guinness book of records for being the largest parking lot in the world. It fits at least 5,000 cars. The "parking lot" spans on two sides of a highway. So during peak days, all you see on your left and right is just cars, and more cars. Well, at least it is better than the sight of sand & desert that you see on your way from Jeddah to Mecca or vice versa.

Our journey went well. Nothing extraordinary happened other than the fact that we had our iftar on the way. Laban (yoghurt) & dates. Surprisingly, it was fulfilling.

We got there. We prayed. We held our urges to insult and humiliate those who have no dignity and respect to the holy mosque. It is for them another picnic place where they eat their ful, hommos, ta'ameya and throw things around thinking it's like their streets back home. Your patience is tested under very odd circumstances, such as that guy who spat at my prayer rug; mistaking it for a trash can. Oh boy, I still remember the scene in slow-motion.

After we finished our religious duties, it was time to go home. However, we stumbled upon a major problem by the time we got to our car. Some jerk has parked his vehicle in the middle of the road; making it impossible for us to move our car.

All our efforts of moving the car or finding its owner were of no avail. I saw a glimpse of hope when I saw a cop car park 5 minutes away. I ran to him to explain to him our current situation. His reply was simple

"Go talk to a cop or find a crane to move that car". He got his prayer rug and headed to the Haram.

What the...? And what are you? I thought you are a cop. Apparently, he was off-duty.

My friend came to me and gave me a pat on the back saying: "oh Hamza, you can be very naive sometimes. Let's go to Plan B. Let's find one of those "nawar" "

----PAUSE----

For those who don't know. "Nawar" is an Arabic slang word that refers to those hippie street scammers that crawl in every neighbourhood. They can be beggars in the day and pimps in the night. They specialize at harassing people and they enjoy scratching others' car just for the mere pleasure of hearing that "ZEEK" voice that's music to their ears. So overall, they are a mobile hazard that can strike anytime and anywhere

----RESUME---

So the idea was to look for trouble to get us out of trouble. Finding a nawari was not difficult. We found one in few minutes. We just asked him to do all he can to unlock the car. With these guys, nothing beats the wire trick. In 10 minutes he unlocked the car and put the handbrake down. We pushed the car out of the way enough for us to get our car on to the main highway.

We concluded our successful business deal with a small fee worth his invaluable service. When we were about to leave, he said:

"And what shall I do with his car?"

We looked at each other and one of us said:

"oh come on. Be smart. Return the car to where it was (blocking the road) and wait to scam other people like us you amateur."