University Pictures

The other day I was at the university early and since I had my camera along with me I decided to take a few pictures as stealthily as I could. I hate pulling out my camera and becoming a tourist, but there are so many sights I wish I could capture to share with you all, so with the help of my zoom, this day I tried. :) I wanted to capture the wide range of dress that I see at the university every day, and to give you a glimpse of what kind of people around me.

This is right inside the main gate, looking towards the clock tower, which is a landmark, if you will, at least for me. On the right is the library and I usually go to the left to get to the language center, which is nearby.

Here you see some of the women, wearing the hijab along with the long coats. Also, I managed to catch this man wearing the long robe thing and scarf head covering. This is not such a typical sight, but there are a few men in the university who wear this type of clothing. I'm not sure exactly where this style comes from...although if you are familiar with the red and white checked scarves, those are specifically Palestinian, and I'll see men wearing those but not the robe-type outfit.

As you can see some of these girls are not wearing the long coats...some girls just wear the hijab and a longer shirt to cover their hips. But the vast majority of girls on campus that I see are covered, and I've heard that the university is much more conservative than some. 

And then there are some like the girl on the right who also wear the veil. I don't see that as often, but there are some women who do wear it at the university. In the background you see can see the other extreme...a girl not covered and dressed in the latest fashion. Also, a sidenote, you might notice the cat...well, there are stray cats all over the city. I was in a mall one evening and I even saw one inside roaming up in the rafters. :) They are kinda like the stray dogs of India...not many people own them as pets but they sure are everywhere. :)

I took some other pictures tonight on the way to visit a family who is close to my roommate (I went with my roommate) but they haven't been uploaded to my computer yet, so you'll have to wait to see those. :)

Maybe this week because I don't have classes I'll have time to put another "lesson" in Arabic on here. Someone also suggested that I put a video of myself speaking in Arabic on here, but I'm still thinking about that one. :) Let me know if you really want that to happen and I'll do my best.