A Restaurant with a View

Normally if you ask me, "Liz, what's the best marriage offer you've had recently?" I would not have a very exciting answer to that question.

Oh, there is the occasional crazy or drugged-up guy at the hospital who'll propose. But it's not really that often, and usually it's more repulsive than anything else.

Recently however, I have had several offers so I thought I'd share with you the best ones. Let me first explain that men in the Middle East are different than at home. They are up front. One morning they may decide they feel like being married. The search then begins. If they see you and think you're pretty, talk to you for five minutes and think you're nice, then that may be enough. They'll tell you what they've got to offer and see what you think. And do you mind living in the same house as their other 1, 2, or 3 wives. (4 is the max any good Muslim man would have.)

A racing camel was the offer in one proposal. You may think that is not much, but apparently they are worth around $25,000 plus whatever they win in races.

My favorite offer however came from the owner of a restaurant we ate at a few nights ago in Syria. It was in the town of Crac des Chevaliers - a small little mountain town named after the castle there. The restaurant sits on one edge of the valley and overlooks the castle across on the other side.

So the owner was a nice guys. He's an established business man who speaks 8 languages, which is pretty impressive on it's own. When he found that I wasn't married and didn't "have engagement," he offered me the restaurant as my wedding gift.

I laughingly admitted it was the best offer I'd had - I'm flattered, thank you, but no. When he pursued it, I told him I'd have to wait and ask my dad. The next morning though, I went for a walk, and as I went by the restraunt, the sun was just rising over the castle across the valley. It was one of the most beautiful things I've seen. Maybe I should rethink. I do have his card and number. . .