Thursday, December 01, 2005

Santa Riding a Camel

In July 2003, my sweetie and I packed up practically all our belongings and proceeded to live out of suitcases for the next six months. Lots of fun for so many reasons.

Here we were in Egypt and it was much colder than we were expecting, setting aside the fact that we'd expected our belongings to arrive earlier. So besides not having the proper attire or blankets, the biggest problem for me was not having any of my Christmas stuff. You know me, I LOVE decorating for the holidays, especially when they're spent far from home. Makes me feel settled. Like where I am IS home.

Luckily I discovered that some of the enterprising Tentmaker Appliquers here have made all sorts of creative things for the expat/tourist market. I went on a bit of a buying binge. First off is a wallhanging with Santa riding a camel:

Isn't this great? Notice the itty bitty pyramids there on the bottom right. This really appeals to me cuz I try to collect Santa travelling in unusual ways. (Still trying for that sleigh drawn by kangaroos, but I'm definitely on the wrong continent for that.) I love Santa's face - very simple and folk-arty.

Muhammad was sweet and made up stockings really quickly for my sweetie and I.
That's my name in arabic at the bottom (so they tell me). I love the scale of this one better than the one above - all crowded in and more details in the sky. And of course the sky is BLUE not neutral. Just so you can get a really good look at it:


By the way, these stockings are HUGE.

11 comments:

Quilts And Pieces said...

Oh these are sooo cool! I have never seen Santa on a camel!

Now I have no quilts with Santa on a Kangaroo, but I get pictures of Kangaroo's pulling santa's sleighs every year from my friend Jody in Australia!

Granny said...

Guess if you want a BIG stocking, get a tentmaker to make them! :)

Those are such neat things to have from your travels.

If I see a Santa being pulled by kangaroos, I'll definitely let you know! :)

Judy L.

Sarah said...

These are so cool! What a great way to celebrate Christmas in a new place! And what nice memories after you leave there. I love the stocking! The bigger - the better!

Sarah

Hunter said...

OK, I almost spewed coffee all over my monitor and keyboard.

The Santas on the camels are great. Thanks for starting my day out with a smile.

Aloha,
Darilyn

Finn said...

Love the camels..and the story. Camels, you know, rank very highly with me...best way to walk across Egypt..*VBG*

Great colors they used..wow!

Anonymous said...

Oh, I LOVE santa on a camel! I have a feeling that's how he used to get to me!

Holly said...

Tonya, your santa riding on a camel things are sooo cute! How fun to have your name in arabic, too.

Tracey said...

I *love* those stockings, Tonya! Totally unique. What a great memory they will hold for you forever.

Barbara C said...

These are wonderful. What a fun addition to your Christmas decorations.

Darcie said...

I'm so very behind with reading around the QM Ring....

What a cool collection of Egyptian artistry! I love the artist's signature on the large wallhanging.

Is there an Egyptian form of Santa Claus? Or do they celebrate the same one as we do? Just curious...maybe I'm speaking too soon...I'd better get caught up with your posts! ;-)

Tonya Ricucci said...

The vast majority of Egyptians don't celebrate Christmas. The Coptic Christians celebrate orthodox christmas on Jan ?6th? but I don't think they do Santa. Anything I've seen Santa-related has been for the expats. I'll keep an eye out and let you know if I find out anything different.