Back To School - Tips for backpackers

We Are Friends

• Choose a backpack that has adjustable, padded shoulder straps, a waist belt and multiple compartments for easier weight distribution.

• Pack heavier items in the lowest part of the backpack. Build up from there, using compartments and zip pockets to hold smaller items. Keep pointed and bulky objects away from the area that rests against the back an uneven surface can cause painful rubbing. Aim for an even weight distribution throughout.

Jarir Bookstore - Shopping Guide [8+9 2012] Back To School

Jarir Shopping Guide August-September 2012 - Back to School [148 Pages]

4 Truths About Children Who Drown . . .

You think that it could never happen to your family, but each year many children drown. These incidents are not only preventable but predictable. Here are the four truths about children who drown and what you can do to help keep your children safe around water.

Children drown quickly and silently — in a matter of seconds. Adults who are present when a child drowns are often distracted in some way, by talking on the phone, chatting with other adults around the pool or reading.

What you can do about it:

►Actively supervise your children around water, and have a phone nearby to call for help in an emergency.

►When there are several adults present and children are swimming, use a Water Watcher card to designate an adult as the Water Watcher to prevent gaps in supervision.

Desert Wanderers

Some see the desert for its wild beauty and open spaces, the soaring dunes that change color with each hour of the day and the wide spaces that appear barren, but which are covered with small plants and intricate flowers. Others consider deserts a part of their history and heritage; adventurers like to follow the old camel caravan paths, from water well to water well; families may see a trip to the desert as a chance to teach their children how to survive with limited resources.

An Evening In The Desert

Whatever draws you to the desert, it is a place to experience nature in its wild beauty and simplicity. But in the desert simplicity doesn’t mean safe or even easy, and those who don’t prepare for a trip to the desert can quickly find themselves in trouble or even in life threatening situations.

 

Abdullah’s Islamic unity vision lauded

JEDDAH — The Islamic unity vision of King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, and his initiative to convene the Islamic solidarity summit in Makkah this week has come for all-round praise from Arab and Muslim leaders and officials.

King Abdullah

King Abdullah II of Jordan said King Abdullah’s summit initiative comes in response to the complicated regional challenges and circumstances faced by several regional and Islamic countries. These challenges, he said, required coordination and integration of efforts so as to boost Islamic solidarity and find solutions to the issues facing the Ummah.

Samboosa Recipe

Definition

Samboosa (also known as Samosa) is little delicious savory patties served as an appetizer or snack, and can be filled with ground beef, lamb, chicken, cheese, lentils or vegetables. It’s famous in the Middle East and served a lot in Ramadan. To make samboosa healthier, it’s recommended to:

Samboosa - a delicious dish in Ramadan

• Use whole wheat flour.
• Use lean beef or lamb or skinless chicken, or low fat cheese, while lentils or mixed vegetable Samboosas are rich in fiber, antioxidants and more heart-friendly than meat Samboosas.
• Bake it rather than fry it.
• Use healthy oil in making the dough and use it in moderation.
• Limit the amount of salt added.

Cliffhanger – a journey

This sensational image from the former mountain village of Habalah, about 40 miles from Abha, in Saudi Arabia, was captured by Askander Akram.

Village Of Habalah

The name Habalah means the hanging village, and it is located on the top of a cliff, which is about 1000 feet high. This cliff is only accessible by cable car making it a popular tourist destination.

Jarir Bookstore - Back To School Flyer [August 2012]

Jarir Bookstore - Back To School Flyer [August 2012]

Nature's Best—Dressed

Sea slugs may be nature’s “best-dressed” marine animals, as the Red Sea creatures on article attest. Unlike their gardenpest cousins, they come in a dazzling array of shapes, sizes, colors and patterns, and they are definitely not slimy. In addition, they may offer scientists maps to new drugs through the chemical compounds they produce. Sea slugs, scientifically known as opisthobranchs (“rear gills” in Latin), are highly evolved relatives of marine snails. Primitive sea slugs retain a thin external or internal shell, but advanced ones, like the nudibranchs, or “naked gills,” pictured in this gallery, have none. Living without this protection means they have had to develop other methods of defense, expressed in a wide display of adaptations seen in sub-orders such as dorids (which have gills near the tail and two sensory horns near the head), dendronotids (thosewith tree-like gills in pairs along their backs) and aeolids (those covered with fingerlike projections). Their bright colors and bold patterns warn predators of their noxious taste.

The chromodorids are probably the most colorful and easiest sea slugs to recognize. Doris was a Greek goddess, the daughter of Oceanus, and chromo means color, so they are the colorful goddesses of the sea. Their colors and patterns are limitless, although their basic body plan remains the same. Chromodoris geminus Rudman, 1987 is found in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean and is truly beautiful underwater—its ocellated spots are almost luminescent. Like many spotted species, it flaps the edges of its mantle in a kind of rhythm, and the spots above and below glow.

Of the 4000-plus species of nudibranchs worldwide, more than 175 are found in the Red Sea and nearly one quarter of these live only there. This almost self-contained waterway—running some 2100 kilometers (1300 mi) from the Gulf of Suez in the north to the narrow Bab al-Mandab in the south—is a very special place, hosting endemic fish, sea urchins, worms, slugs and snails, and myriad other animals. It has been isolated for approximately five million years, and its fauna has suffered partial extinctions with several glaciations, the most recent 20,000 to 15,000 years ago, which substantially lowered sea levels. The Red Sea’s southern gateway opened around five million years ago—at the time land uplifts closed off its shallow link to the Mediterranean—and has never shut, so its fauna is Indo-Pacific.

Keeping Healthy This Ramadan

It is best to start the Iftar meal with
three dates and a cup of warm low
fat soup. The dates will raise your
blood sugar, and the soup will help
you rehydrate.

The al Mujamma Mosque

 

Ramadan involves a significant change to our everyday approach to eating. This presents both a challenge and an opportunity. Some simple steps can help you enhance your health during Ramadan. As you walk around the supermarket many brands take advantage of this time of year to repackage chocolates, sweets and cakes to reflect the holy month of Ramadan. It is easy to put aside concerns about nutritional content and fill your trolley with high sugar and high fat options.

An office of the American Oil Company in 1940

Jeddah's most ornate rawasheen, or wood screened bay windows adorned “Bayt al Baghdadi”.

Bayt al Baghdadi (Jeddah)

Bayt al Baghdadi (Baghdadi House) a fine Jeddah building which served as American Oil Company's (Saudi Aramco) first office from 1933.

Jeddah - an initial intro

Jeddah, widely known as "the Bride of the Red Sea", is the Kingdom's second largest city.

King Fahd's Fountain (Jeddah)

The population of Jeddah is cosmopolitan, with many nationalities living together and creating a varied mix of shops and restaurants. Jeddah today is a thriving commercial center. As port-of-entry for more than two million Muslim pilgrims a year, Jeddah airport (King Abdul Aziz International Airport) provides good connections to most major cities.