Enlarged spleens
Thursday, November 18, 2004Here's something random. Sepoy over at Chapati Mystery has a post about Bahr al-Fava’id (Sea of Virtues), a 12th century text written for the education of kings and princes. Apparently, in a section titled "On the Wonders of Cities" it says:
If one settles in Bahrain, his spleen will enlarge and become swollen.
Ermm... okay... thanks for the warning Sepoy.
On a slightly less morbid note, Sepoy has also got a very interesting post about Bernard Lewis if that interests any of you.
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on Thursday, November 18, 2004 at 11/18/2004 02:54:00 am. Permalink
11/18/2004 08:46:00 am
Hi Chan'ad,
There is a good entry on Bush at http://realvoice.blogspot.com
11/18/2004 04:56:00 pm
Jee whiz, Chan'ad. Is there anything else you've forgotten to warn me about? :D
What are sand flies?
11/19/2004 06:28:00 pm
Thanks, shawarmaboy. Exactly what do you mean by "too much"?
11/19/2004 09:39:00 pm
Ick! I didn't mean it like that. I hate bugs! Besides, I'm coming from the U.S. where quality health care is scarce and hard to aqcuire. Unless of course, you're lucky enough to be loaded or land a job in a major company. OUF! Don't get me started.
11/20/2004 12:00:00 am
An enlarged spleen, ha? I had to seek my doctor's advice! You see, I am lucky enough to have a resident doctor (my husband!!) at home!
His response was: "You suffer from an enlarged spleen if you have sickle cell anaemia!!!"
It isn't funny but sickle cell anaemia and other blood diseases are a REAL problem in Bahrain.
Thanks to age-old traditions which encourage and sometimes even force marriages between cousins, we have an acute problem with regards to hereditary blood diseases in Bahrain.
It is sad to note that 12-century writers had commented on it but nothing was done to sort it out.
Whether you are in 1309 or 2004, things don't seem to change in this Kingdom!
It really is the land of eternity. Where everything stays the SAME!
Amira
11/20/2004 12:19:00 am
Sume, let me just say that in all my years in Bahrain, I have never been bitten by a sandfly, nor did I even know that such bugs reside here. I don't recall ever seeing a sandfly. So it's probably not something you need to worry about. I think Shawarmaboy is just trying to scare you.
But if you don't like lizards... hmm... then you might have a problem :)
11/20/2004 07:53:00 am
LOL. I lived in Florida for several years. Sand flies can't be worse than their mosquitoes and West Nile. Lizards were everywhere, the kind that change from brown to green. I got use to those and we even kept a few as pets. Insha'Allah, I think I'll be alright with it. What I really hate are those gigantor roaches!
I had the best shawarma when I went to Lebanon. That was years ago. I haven't been able to find any in the U.S. that tastes near as good.