A wedding

Our big event this weekend was the wedding of our friend, Eman. She was Karin’s colleague and mine in different jobs before Karin & I were married.

I’d never attended any sort of Islamic service, so I was keen to view the proceedings. The Imam gave a short discourse on marriage. The observant men retired to pray in a far corner of the hall. The Best Man gave a wise and humane speech on how a relationship changes when the children arrive. I also was interested to see Muslims of a variety of origins make each other’s acquaintance and place each other on different spots of the map (Chechnya, Turkey, etc.). In this way the service wasn’t so unlike a gathering of expatriates at Quito’s English Fellowship Church.

Eman and Ahmed sat on a high-backed white couch; guests took turns approaching them to offer congratulations. For dinner, we had such Islamic delicacies as mashed potatoes, roast beef, and Chicken Kiev. The venue was attached to a golf course. Deer roamed the links. Karin’s dad and Carol, his girlfriend, watched over Samuel and Daniel for us at their house.