Word: sumptuously
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...attentive father to his five children, but lavished few luxuries on his family. He never gave up the suburban villa that he had occupied as an army lieutenant colonel, though he had it considerably enlarged. Nor did he lose the ordinary man's sense of surprise at sumptuous living. Once, while visiting Saudi Arabian royalty at the best suite in the Nile Hilton, Egypt's dictator whispered, wide-eyed, to an aide: "How much does this cost...
...maharajah (Hindi for great ruler) or a lower-ranking rajah. While the peasants lived in abject poverty, the princes had grown rich on land taxes and the sale of mineral rights. They indulged in lavish whims-concubines, opulent palaces, bejeweled elephants, retinues of servants, strings of polo ponies, sumptuous celebrations. The Nizam of Hyderabad, who was the richest of all with wealth estimated at $2 billion, collected mountains of pearls. To celebrate his 39th birthday, the Gaekwar of Baroda was saluted by solid-gold cannons. Another rajah proudly tooled around in a gold-plated limousine...
...church's dazzling facade encrusted with brilliant mosaics, its priceless stained glass and marble statuary. Since several other Italian churches have undergone successful modern alterations, local church authorities thought it would be appropriate to install a contemporary set of doors designed to complement the cathedral's sumptuous beauty. In Italy, however, matters aesthetic are not always easy. Last week the cathedral had its new doors, and not only all of Orvieto (pop. 25,000) but seemingly all of Italy was arguing about them...
...head covered with a cap of pounded gold and his body draped with charms, fetishes, talismans and armor, he looked like an Aztec god or a Shiva as he sat in his sumptuous palanquin at the sports stadium. Later, as 100,000 watched, the King danced, awkwardly, like a jewel-encrusted bear. Three times he fired his flintlock into the air, and was answered by the volleys of 400 muskets. Then he lumbered across the field, his mouth filled with green leaves, symbolizing his identification with the earth, to greet Ghanaian Prime Minister Kofi Abrefa Busia and the other official...
WHEN the leaders of world Communism pay state visits to the fraternal Rumanian Socialist Republic, they are often startled to find President Nicolae Ceauşescu flanked by bearded dignitaries in sumptuous clerical robes -usually Patriarch Justinian, the primate of the Rumanian Orthodox Church and Dr. Moses Rosen, the Chief Rabbi of Bucharest. Such affronts to the militantly atheist ideology of Communism have been frequent occurrences since Ceauşescu came to power in 1965. High-ranking prelates are now elected to the Rumanian National Assembly. Some members of the Rumanian Communist Party's Central Committee regularly attend Easter...