Whole Sheep Recipe

Shallah and I Tie the Legs and Belly Cavity


INGREDIENTS
One 2-meter long pole sharpened at one end
One butchered sheep
Baking twine
Hot coals
3.5 - 4 Hours of roasting
12-15 friends
(One small 45-50 lbs. sheep easily serves 12)

We basically skewer the sheep. Tie it's backbone to the pole in a couple places. Then tie it's front and hind legs to the pole. We put in onions, garlic and a little salt inside it's internal organ cavity with the kidney and liver. Sew the cavity closed with the baking twine and then roast it over the hot coals. It takes awhile, but if you've ever cooked out on the open fire while camping, you'll have an idea of how good this tasted when we finished!

David and Ray waiting for the feast

David, Ray and Mohamed Giving Their "Seal of Approval"

Herd Guide

This sheep is a guide for the herd. They are not shaved like the other sheep so they are easily identifiable to the other sheep (I think). The guide is trained to stay near the sheperd and the other sheep follow the guide.

Finding and Choosing from the Herd

Mustafa Surveying the Herd

We drove North into the desert for about 45 minutes. I asked Shallah how were we going to find the herd? GPS? Satellite phone? Road and trail markers? He said we'd go to their last known location (two months old!) and go from there. They should be close.

We drove to the last known grazing area and I saw them way off in the distance. It was relatively easy finding them because you can see really, really far.

Sheperd's Home

Three of them live here. One each from Syria, Bangladesh and India. In the distance to the left you can see where they are training the "guide sheep".

Selecting the Meat for a Barbeque

These last couple weeks I've been so busy getting ready to go back to the U.S. to see my family and for vacation. Prior to leaving Saudi Arabia, a few of my my friends and I got together for a Saudi-style barbeque.

As you all know, the first thing you have to do if you're having a BBQ is to select the meat!

This is a photo of Anwar (he is from Syria) who helped us select a sheep from my friend Shallah's brother's sheep herd (say that fast three times!).

Modern Saudi Arabia

My Saudi friends tell me they wished that I posted some of the modern things from their country. I admit I am guilty of posting the scenes I expect to see from childhood stories and maybe the sights a westerner can see only here in the Middle East. Camels, sheep, sand dunes and sand storms, etc. For me it is still all new.

My friends are very proud of their modern buildings and modernity in general (as they well should be). Yet they also enjoy a picnic, overnight campout, or a stop for gahwa & tea in the desert just as much.

To me, the modern Saudi Arabia is exemplified by a sight I saw at a fuel station while traveling one day. I saw a car pull up and three young Saudis get out. The first was in traditional Saudi clothing, the second in traditional garment but with a baseball cap and the third in western clothing. All the young men seemed to be equally comfortable dressed in the clothing of both worlds.


My buddy Russ took this photo of the Mamlaka skyscraper at dusk. I took the night time photo on another trip. Every time I go to Riyadh I search for it in the distance as a sign of my journey's end. It lights up at night in varying colors of purple, blue, green, gold, orange and red.