Even amid numerous budget cuts, Washington DC offers
numerous interesting and free events. I started following a couple of blogs
that post events that are free or under $10. There is always something that I’m game to do, it’s just finding the time and the energy to
venture off into the city to explore and enjoy.
I had limited time due to some other previous commitments,
so I was able to spend about 2 hours in several of the embassies. Some of the
smaller ones offered a view of traditional clothing and artwork with some
sample food, while others had live animals, art you could create, clothing you
could try on and a whole host of offerings.
It seemed like some of the embassies were kicking off their
tourism season with the enticements of discounted airfare, spectacular views,
and sandy beaches.
A few of the embassies I was able to tour:
Right by the Embassies on Massachusetts Ave is the National Islam Center. It is a beautiful building and I took a few minutes to look around.
You could go inside the building, but women were required to wear a hijab. There was a women outside the door who had a bunch in a basket and was dressing numerous women in them. Here is a photo of me wearing the hijab.
However, I was not wearing long pants (I was wearing capris pants) and neither were other women, and that turned out to be against the rules. I'll have to go back another day dressed appropriately. (In my defense, the woman at the door dressing me in the hijab didn't even mention my pants...)
1 comment:
I didn't know we could enter the Islam Center. How fantastic!
Amid numerous budget cuts? If the U.S. government paid for any part of the Embassy Tours it would have only been the shuttles. The people working are volunteers and the embassies (governments of other countries) make and pay for their own open houses. (I spent some time talking to one of the organizers at the Mexican Cultural Center.)
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