Abu Dhabi I Do's

A chic Arab sheik

Buckingham Palace may have lavish plans for Prince Charles' wedding, but it will have to go far to top a style of royal nuptials unusual even for fabled Arabian sheikdoms. For the wedding of his eldest son Mohammed and his bride Princess Salama, Sheik Zayed, the President of the United Arab Emirates, threw a $40 million bash in Abu Dhabi.

The festivities began with an entrance straight from A Thousand and One Nights.

Mounted on a white steed, Bridegroom Mohammed rode at dawn to the portal of Salama's palace. He was preceded by a caravan of 20 camels laden with trunks of diamonds, emeralds and rubies. If these gifts seemed mere baubles to the bride, it was because her father Sheik Hamdan had given her an entire town with three skyrise apartment buildings, a luxury hotel and 55 shops and boutiques.

In a 20,000-seat amphitheater he had built for the occasion, Sheik Zayed inaugurated seven nights of revelry by joining in a saber dance. Then 50 Arab and African song-and-dance troupes paraded before the princes, emirs, sheiks and ambassadors who had been flown in on 34 private jets. The show-stopper was an Arabian singer's rendition of a specially composed wedding song, Mohammed and Salama. The sheik was moved to give the performer a bright red 1981 Mercedes, which promptly inspired an encore number, The Man with the Red Mercedes.

Two million rainbow-colored fireworks flashed across the night sky, making a whistling sound like the warbling of nightingales. A crowd of 20,000 feasted on mutton, turkey and Arabian specialties, such as tabbouleh, spread on long buffet tables set up in the city streets. A good time was had, though perhaps not by all. Following strict Bedouin tradition, Bride Salama was cloistered in her room the entire seven days and missed her own wedding celebration.

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