Monday, June 29, 2009

Leila Alawy, Monica & Wanawsha

Just wondering if you know what the following three women have in common... aside from perhaps the same eyebrow stylist?

Leila Alawy, an Egyptian actress, Monica Lewinsky and Wanawsha, a character on a Kurdish TV show are all women who have inspired nicknames for this lovely piece of machinery...
Of course this model is the "new" Land Cruiser, so it is the Wanawsha. The models prior to this were all Monicas... and in the mid 1990s when only the political leaders could afford one, they were called Leila Alawys!

After discovering that not all Land Cruisers are Monicas, I felt just a moment of panic... As I can't really distinguish a 2005 model from a 2007 model, what is going to happen if I accidentally call someone's Wanawsha a Monica? I will never forget when (shortly after my arrival in Kurdistan) I commented on our university driver's Monica, and he replied with scorn, "It is NOT a Monica, it is a PRADO!"

I wonder if there is a special name for the one Mu has borrowed. It seems this is the only place in the world where I am likely to ever have to struggle to open the incredibly heavy door of an armored Land Cruiser!

(All photos "borrowed" from the internet).

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