ARE a big mustache and a big family accouterments of happiness? For Saeed Ibrahim Mohammad Alyaway, a 47-year-old Egyptian, they sure are. Married with eight kids, he says he loves it when others look at his unusual feature with astonishment. “People like me because of my mustache,” he said. Alyaway is a construction labor in Taif. He is working in the Kingdom for the past 20 years. “My personality is characterized by my mustache. People like to take snaps with me. They say it is a memory with Abu Shanab (a colloquial term meaning ‘father of mustache),” he said. “A friend told me that I should participate in a competition for the biggest mustache in the summer festival this year,” he said. Alyaway said his unique asset is God-gifted. “Since 1981, I have left my mustache untouched; I do not apply any oil or shampoo,” he said. “Growing a mustache was my hobby as a teenager,” he added. His mustache, however, at times weighs on him, he said. “Someone told me that it is forbidden to have a big mustache. A taxi driver once told me that my testimony in the court will not be accepted because of my mustache,” he said. His family has no qualms about him keeping a big mustache. “My wife does not object to it. My uncle and his son are also doing the same; they say a mustache makes a complete man,” Alyaway said. His children, however, have not shown any interest, he said. Alyaway said he visits his family in Egypt every two years. “My sons do not study; they work in farms. My daughters usually study up to the primary school till they know how to read and write. Wives are then taught household chores to be good wives,” he said. In Taif, Alyaway lives with his Egyptian friends. “We cook every day by turns, if I cook today, tomorrow my friend will and it goes on,” he said. “I do not know how to read or write. I went to school when I was a child, but because I didn't like it I would run away from school to the river or the farms to work instead of study,” he said. __
