By Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief

Manama: Steadily easing into his new Bahrain life, King of Pop Michael
Jackson has attended a wedding ceremony at the Gulf Hotel and is temporarily
moving into a new mansion, sources close to the star told Gulf News
yesterday.

“Michael was invited by the Al Gosaibi family to their celebrations ten days
ago, and he surprised everyone by showing up at the marriage ceremony,” the
sources said.

Jackson, 47, watched the traditional Arabic wedding from the sidelines after
politely declining to take a seat near the stage where the newly-weds were
sitting and the musicians performing.

Guests were, however, urged not to take pictures of the superstar whose
appearances at public gatherings are increasing as he feels closer to the
people who have welcomed him graciously after his acquittal of child
molestation charges last June.

“Only Lebanese superstar Ragheb Alama who was one of the lead singers at the
ceremony had his picture taken with Jackson.”

Jackson who lived in a palace on his arrival has now moved into a mansion in
Sanad, about 10km south of Manama. He reportedly paid $8 million (Dh29.44
million) for the “impressive home that belonged to an elected member of
parliament and which took him many years to build”.

However, the superstar is planning to move later to another mansion and to
keep the Sanad home for visiting relatives and friends. “He wants his
mansion to be by the sea, something that the Sanad residence does not
offer.”

According to the sources, Michael wants to lead a normal life and does not
want to be hounded by the media. “He does not want to be misquoted or
falsely portrayed, and he wants to make sure that his children are not under
public pressure.

“Last week, he went to a local hospital to have his tooth extracted. The
visit lasted about 30 minutes. However, his brother Jermaine called Bahrain
the next day to enquire about the terrible abdomen pains that Michael,
according to US media, was having. It was way too much,” the sources said.

Jackson, who recently told his entourage that he was feeling increasingly
Bahraini, will be the consultant for AAJ Holdings, the company owned by
businessman Ahmad Abu Bakr Janahi. It has plans to set up an amusement park
and an entertainment academy in Oman’s $20 billion Blue City.

Source: GULF News

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