Tales of the Bedouin – Part XIII: Faisal and the Falcon, Part 2

IN FAISAL’S WORDS

Lessons From A Father

Faisal was born when his father was 68 years old, but he retains indelible memories of an intriguing and principled man. Here are some of Faisal’s thoughts about his father:

My father was a moderately religious man of Islam. Even before he was imam, he used to advise the neighbors in matters of morality and law.

The neighbor was something sacred to my father. He would say, “If you buy food for the house then you must give your neighbor half of it.”

Regarding parenting, he always said, “A little brother should respect his older brother and an older brother should have mercy on his little brother.”

When we were young, we played together with the children of our neighbors. If a quarrel took place between the children, my father would punish us and did not accept us striking anyone.

He was a generous ascetic, and when my father died, he had no money.

And my father was always happy.

A Memorable Day in The Desert

When I was thirteen years old, a beautiful, terrifying, and instructive story happened.

I went with my dad on a one-day hunting trip in September 1999, with a 1985 Jeep, and the vehicle wasn't in particularly good condition. We didn't have a cell phone, but we had water to drink, some dates, and a little bit of food. Enough provisions for a day, provided that we return that evening.

We had a falcon and a hunting dog, we left the house around four in the morning, and headed south from Abqaiq through the desert. East of Al-Ahsa we were wandering quietly through the desert and we encountered someone who knew my father. We stopped and sat drinking coffee with him, we talked a little and my father asked him about an old friend. The man told us that my father’s friend was about fifty kilometers away, so my father said, “We will go to him.”

I told my father that the car’s fuel is not enough, and we don't know exactly where the man is. It was noon and the heat started getting worse. He said we were going, and I couldn't convince him not to go. I just had to obey him. Off we went and it was rugged desert.

During our search we found a Sudanese man looking after some camels. My father asked him about his friend, does he know him? Does he know his whereabouts? He said, “Yes, I know his location, but it is far, the place is rugged, the weather is hot, and your car is old and might not make it.” I thought to myself, my father is old, and I am very young. I was worried.

The camel shepherd told us that a few days ago someone died of thirst here because of the heat and his car was new. But my father was determined to go. At around two o'clock the wind increased, and sand and dust filled the air. We had no visibility, and we were lost in the desert. I began to fear for my father because he was over 80 years old and could not walk far. He suffered from high blood pressure and heart disease. We stopped for about an hour due to the bad weather and then the air returned to normal, and we continued on our way.

Then the Jeep’s fuel ran out, the engine overheated, and the car stopped in the desert. I started crying for fear for my father, but my father laughed and said to me, "Don't worry. Go with the binoculars to the top of a sandy mountain and look in all directions, hoping to see a passerby to help us.” I went and saw one camel, so I went back to my father and told him, and he said that there must be someone with her. I went again and saw a person far from the camel. I went quickly to him and it was the same shepherd whom we met, and he said, “Where is your father?” I said, “In the car, it stopped.”

The shepherd and I went quickly to my father, and we found that he had given some of our water to the falcon and the hunting dog. I cried again and refused to drink before my father. He and the camel herder drank a little and then they gave me some. It was now five in the afternoon.

My father asked the shepherd if he had any fuel and could he spare us some. He said, “Yes, I have fuel.” So, my father told me, “Go with him and get us fuel.” The shepherd and I walked about seven kilometers. When we reached the tent, it was after sunset. He gave his camels dinner and water and then we took the fuel and went to my father. The night was dark, and we could no longer see anything. We did not know his exact location, but my father was clever, and he started turning the car lights on and off several times. We soon saw him and filled the car with a little fuel, enough to reach the shepherd’s tent.

My father decided we should sleep there. I was against this idea, but he did not care, and indeed we had dinner and drank camel milk with the shepherd and slept in his tent. Early the next morning the shepherd provided as much fuel as he could spare, and we departed.

We drove on, looking for the road leading to the city. When we approached a village, the fuel ran out again. I walked to the nearest house, and an old woman opened the door. I asked her for fuel, she gave me some, and she asked where I was from. I told her Al-Rajhah village, and she told me that she was born there. She invited me to bring my father and have coffee and lunch, but my father refused and said we must go home quickly because my family might be searching for us. It was true, we went back to our house and found that my brothers had already called the Civil Defense to search for us and my brothers were also searching everywhere because we did not tell them when we will return. Alhamdullilah, we made it home!

After about a week, my father decided to reward the shepherd who helped us, so he went to a man he knew and gave him some money to give to the shepherd.

These were the biggest lessons in my life: keep calm when facing a crisis and trust and help your neighbor whenever possible.

I am truly inspired by my father. As I grow older my aspirations are to advance in my career and lead one of the Kingdom’s major projects. Ultimately, my goal is to become an effective person in the service of humanity.

About the Author: California-born and raised, Mark Lowey - known to many as Abu Jack - earned a degree in Construction Management and embarked on a career that started in Saudi Arabia and continued around the world. By luck or fate, his final project before retirement took him back to Saudi Arabia.

A self-taught amateur photographer, Mark documented his early days in Saudi while living in Abqaiq and working in the vast oil fields of the Kingdom’s Eastern Province.

Mark and his wife are now retired and have returned to California.

Email: moloworking1@gmail.com