“Twenty camels. I give twenty camels,” the fiftyish Arab shop owner tells me.
But my mind is somewhere else. I continue to search for the right pair of “Jesus sandals” in his tiny shop filled with shoeboxes.
“Do you have a size 38 for this one?” I ask, holding and showing to him a nice pair of leather sandals I’ve handpicked from the variety of sandals being displayed.
“I check, I check….” he replies, his voice trailing off. He leaves me for a while and starts rummaging through the other piles of shoeboxes nearby.
“What’s with the camel talk?” my curious brother asks me in Tagalog.
“I don’t know. Maybe he wants to sell us some camels as we tour Jerusalem,” I whisper in our mother tongue. “Anyway, do you think this pair will look good on me?” I inquire, showing him the unisex Jesus sandals.
“Well, it’s okay. But it’s not too feminine.”
“That’s the point.”
Mom and Dad are sitting on a wooden bench. “So, have you found your sandals yet?” Mom asks me.
“Yes. I’m just waiting for the man to give me the right size.”
After a few minutes, the shop owner approaches me and hands me the size 38 Jesus sandals.
“Thank you.”
I try them on. He, meanwhile, examines me from head to foot. I become a bit self-conscious.
“Great! They fit perfectly! I’ll take them,” I tell the Arab shop owner with enthusiasm.
He looks enthusiastic, too. “Twenty camels. I give twenty camels!” he exclaims.
“Pardon me? You mean these sandals are made from camel leather?”
“No…no.” He then turns towards my brother and parents. He explains something to them in a murmur. My brother then chuckles.
“Ah…he wants to marry you off with his son. He’s willing to give twenty camels for that,” my brother explains to me in Tagalog.
“My son is good man,” the shop owner points out.
I smile out of embarrassment. I then tell my parents and brother that we should leave the place ASAP — but with the Jesus sandals, of course. This kind of negotiation, however interesting in cultural terms, is purely out of the question.
After making the footwear purchase, I thank the pleasant Arab businessman without giving any reply to his 20-camel offer. We leave his shop with silly smiles on our faces in deference to his “generous proposition.” He reads between the lines: that we’re saying “no” in a diplomatic way. He smiles back.
We all head back to the Christian guesthouse, also situated in the old city of Jerusalem.
Twenty camels. Is that my worth in the Arab world? Should I be flattered?
Tired and weary from too much exposure to the summer sun, I mull over the prospect of having an Arab father-in-law who sells nice leather sandals at the Arab market in the old city of Jerusalem. (Jerusalem, Israel/August 1999)
8 responses so far ↓
1 jayred // Jun 21, 2008 at 6:33 pm
Note: This is an old blog post written late last year. I’m reposting it here on the front page because the last time I published it on my blog, the comments box was closed by default. I’m just curious to know if you guys think I made a mistake by not accepting the “marriage proposal” — hehe. Enjoy the weekend.
2 caryn // Jun 23, 2008 at 6:40 am
this is really cool! kinda creepy, but an ego-booster nevertheless. hehehe.
3 bingskee // Jun 24, 2008 at 1:02 am
i don’t think you made a mistake ha ha well, i don’t know how much worth a camel is but definitely saying no is not a mistake. i refuse the idea of getting married to someone you haven’t met and haven’t had the chance to know better.
4 Dan // Jun 24, 2008 at 11:33 am
Ahahaha. So, that’s what all that fuss about the 20 camels is about. Maybe you should ask the locals how much is a camel in the local currency and convert it to peso from there. That should help. Hehe.
I wonder how many donkeys I’m worth. Hmmm…
5 Jayred // Jun 24, 2008 at 9:31 pm
Yes, Caryn, creepy coolness (LOL). I was somehow flattered to be regarded as a daughter-in-law candidate. Thanks for the blog visit and comment.
Bingskee, I was told by a Berber in Morocco that camels are very expensive. So I guess his proposition was a compliment. But what would I do with 20 camels? I’m no Sahara Princess. (LOL)
Dan, hello bro! Long time, no see. Your comment kinda prompts me to do some research on camel prices (nagka assignment pa bigla, LOL). Okay, I will give a rough estimate on your market value — with your drop-dead looks, impressive photography skills, and powerful Nikon camera arsenal, you’re worth around 5,000 donkeys!
6 bw // Jun 26, 2008 at 3:48 pm
Hahaha.. where are you going to graze the 20 camels?
He must be marrying you with his first born and is giving up the herd as dowry 
7 opinionated pinay // Jun 26, 2008 at 5:42 pm
Well, 20 camels is like being offered millions. Was he that rich? Hahaha….You should have checked out the son and tried to see if the son was worth the offer or not. Maybe the Arab needed a caregiver for his son LOL, but I may be wrong and his son was a true blue hunk. Hmmm, how come I was not told this story before, eh?
8 Jayred // Jul 1, 2008 at 9:00 am
BW, exactly!
I was thinking along those lines as well. I wouldn’t really know what was in his mind at that time since I left his shop pronto (LOL).
Opinionated Pinay, maybe they were looking for a caregiver, yes (LOL). I met lots of Pinoy caregivers in Israel. Somehow, you’re right: I should have checked out his son first before ‘fleeing’ the place. And if he looked anything like the leading man of Brooke Shields in the film “Sahara,” I would have answered “Yes! Camel or no camel!” (LOL). Hmm…I thought I mentioned this anecdote to you before.
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