How very refreshing
Al Hafla was great. Sooooo relaxed. I highly recommend it if you're into Middle Eastern culture ala SCA. For me, it's hard to beat lounging on cushions, surrounded by cheery people, listening to good, live music and watching ladies dance. How very nice to be at an event where one is expected to chill out, where there is no plitics to speak of, nobody you have to see or things you have to do.
The music was geat. It was the same emsemble I have heard at other ME events and at Orluk Oasis at Pennsic. Flute, clarinet, fiddle, various an Aud (sp?) and another banjo-like stringed instrument I did not recognize - had a round, metal body. That plus about four-six drummers at any one time, no bad ones I could detect. Very cool. Sadly, there was no real story telling, though Baron Durr did tell a joke-story at one point between courses of the feast.
The dayboard and feast were both excellent also. As
christianet put it, it was "Lambapolluza".
Highlights of day board included a spicy ground lamb fried in philo-dough wrapper (our favorite), a sort of vinegared carrot dish, a Greek walnut-cheese-spice-egg plant-patte thing, chicken, hard-boiled eggs colored with coffee and onion.
Feast inlcuded little lamb burger thingies, broiled lamb with feta cheese, heavily seasoned broiled chicken, home-made sausages, a fantastic lentil-garbanzo-chicken-base cream soup, salad with dates & dolmati, lots of olives, and a wonderful soft goat cheese that was caked into little patties then coated with finely diced mint. Sekanjabin (actually not too strong for a change) and a rose-flavored drink flowed freely. Dessert was Turkish coffee and anise-seed cakes. Yum. And for all this you pay $12.00!
At first Eirene was shy and overwhelmed by the people and sounds, but as the day went on, she warmed up to it all. I could tell she'd be fine because she started wigglin her hips pretty much the first time she heard a dumbek. We had some grumpiness, and also an accident in the afternoon when she finally realized she had to PEE! She met the 8-year-old niece of a friend of ours and that made the rest of the day for her. They played and danced up a storm. When we finally left the event, we had to pretty much drag her off the dance floor. Of course, for E, middle-eastern dance consists mostly of spinning around and flailing your arms, but it was damned cute. I got some video and pics.
And you know, kids are inspiring. After seeing her in garb at the event, I decided she needs a better, more Indian-looking dance belt. Last night I took the one she has (just a tiny gold chain with some bells on it) and started adding lots and lots of pearls. She hasn't seen it yet, but I think she will love it. Hopefully, I am making it tough enough to withstand toddler abuse. Anyway, I owe Anne Liese a girdle, so this is good practice for that project. (I actually did something creative! Woo-hoo!)
So anyway, we were the only folks there doing Indian, though late in the afternoon Ratanavatti and her husband showed up and we chatted a bit. Mostly we hanged with
christianet and a few others. Mistress Anne Liese did talk shop a bit with Master Rashid and Mistress mumbly-mumble (I'll think of it later). I enjoyed very much Gianotta dalla Fiora's class on Muslims in Sicily - very well-researched and a topic I knew nothing about. Quite a cultural mixing pot it was.
Oh, the merchats were pretty good too. Father Dunn was there with all his stuff. Anne Liese found a gorgeous gold, green and red cotton ekat sari at one merchant. It was in her (heraldic) colors and of a pattern that is appropriate for southern India, but she decided to pass it up because our finances are tight after the holidays. Needless to say, I went back and bought it for her. Who knows when she'd see it again.
I think that's everything. If i can get to more events like this, I may feel more psyched for SCA in general. It was a shot in the arm for sure. Heck, I may even go put on armor tonight.
The music was geat. It was the same emsemble I have heard at other ME events and at Orluk Oasis at Pennsic. Flute, clarinet, fiddle, various an Aud (sp?) and another banjo-like stringed instrument I did not recognize - had a round, metal body. That plus about four-six drummers at any one time, no bad ones I could detect. Very cool. Sadly, there was no real story telling, though Baron Durr did tell a joke-story at one point between courses of the feast.
The dayboard and feast were both excellent also. As
christianet put it, it was "Lambapolluza".
Highlights of day board included a spicy ground lamb fried in philo-dough wrapper (our favorite), a sort of vinegared carrot dish, a Greek walnut-cheese-spice-egg plant-patte thing, chicken, hard-boiled eggs colored with coffee and onion.
Feast inlcuded little lamb burger thingies, broiled lamb with feta cheese, heavily seasoned broiled chicken, home-made sausages, a fantastic lentil-garbanzo-chicken-base cream soup, salad with dates & dolmati, lots of olives, and a wonderful soft goat cheese that was caked into little patties then coated with finely diced mint. Sekanjabin (actually not too strong for a change) and a rose-flavored drink flowed freely. Dessert was Turkish coffee and anise-seed cakes. Yum. And for all this you pay $12.00!
At first Eirene was shy and overwhelmed by the people and sounds, but as the day went on, she warmed up to it all. I could tell she'd be fine because she started wigglin her hips pretty much the first time she heard a dumbek. We had some grumpiness, and also an accident in the afternoon when she finally realized she had to PEE! She met the 8-year-old niece of a friend of ours and that made the rest of the day for her. They played and danced up a storm. When we finally left the event, we had to pretty much drag her off the dance floor. Of course, for E, middle-eastern dance consists mostly of spinning around and flailing your arms, but it was damned cute. I got some video and pics.
And you know, kids are inspiring. After seeing her in garb at the event, I decided she needs a better, more Indian-looking dance belt. Last night I took the one she has (just a tiny gold chain with some bells on it) and started adding lots and lots of pearls. She hasn't seen it yet, but I think she will love it. Hopefully, I am making it tough enough to withstand toddler abuse. Anyway, I owe Anne Liese a girdle, so this is good practice for that project. (I actually did something creative! Woo-hoo!)
So anyway, we were the only folks there doing Indian, though late in the afternoon Ratanavatti and her husband showed up and we chatted a bit. Mostly we hanged with
christianet and a few others. Mistress Anne Liese did talk shop a bit with Master Rashid and Mistress mumbly-mumble (I'll think of it later). I enjoyed very much Gianotta dalla Fiora's class on Muslims in Sicily - very well-researched and a topic I knew nothing about. Quite a cultural mixing pot it was.
Oh, the merchats were pretty good too. Father Dunn was there with all his stuff. Anne Liese found a gorgeous gold, green and red cotton ekat sari at one merchant. It was in her (heraldic) colors and of a pattern that is appropriate for southern India, but she decided to pass it up because our finances are tight after the holidays. Needless to say, I went back and bought it for her. Who knows when she'd see it again.
I think that's everything. If i can get to more events like this, I may feel more psyched for SCA in general. It was a shot in the arm for sure. Heck, I may even go put on armor tonight.