Recent Travels

Well, it’s been a while, for which I apologize. But part of that time I was busy “gathering material” for today’s post. For those who don’t know, I’ve recently returned from a trip to the Arabian Gulf (typically known in the US as the Persian Gulf, but don’t try telling an Arab that :)).

My trip stretched two weeks and touched Dubai, Bahrain, and Qatar. The countries were in many ways similar. The climate was universally hot (upper 90s, though locals swore it was beautiful spring weather), humid because of the maritime influence, and dusty. The cultural make-up of the countries was oddly skewed away from the citizenry, who accounted for 10-20% of the population of their own countries, and toward migrant workers from India, Pakistan, and the Philippines. Because of this dynamic, there was very little middle class; typically, the Arab citizens were quite wealthy – in many cases paid a stipend by the government – and the foreign workers were just trying to scrape together some money to send home.

I wasn’t sure how I, as a Western woman, would be received, but I found there was nothing to be concerned about. Firstly, the cities I was in were quite comfortable with the West, and Westerners were accorded a fairly high status (just below that of the Arab citizens). Secondly, the locals were quite polite – I did get some staring and pointing from the migrant worker group, but I chalked it up to a lack of good breeding and the fact that there’s a 3 to 1 male to female ratio among that class. The Arabs I ran into in general struck me as reserved, hospitable, fastidious, and family-oriented folk.

I considered talking about all three locations individually, but I think a description of Dubai should suffice. It is, after all, the measure by which the Gulf states are judged – and by which they judge themselves. Manama and Doha both want to be little Dubais and they have a long way to go. I almost feel bad for them; Dubai is a city where people who have more money than they know what to do with invest and where the planners smoke crack. If it’s the tallest, biggest, first, or best, Dubai has to have it.

Indoor ski slope in the desert? Check. (Ski Dubai, above right)

World’s tallest building? Check. (Burj Dubai, right)

World’s only seven star hotel? Check. (Burj al Arab, left)

Building man-made islands in the shape of palms… and the world… then the solar system… then the Milky Way galaxy? Building the world’s largest airport to serve the world’s largest amusement park? Check and check.

While the place has a definitely larger-than-life feel, it also offers some more traditional experiences. You can take an abra (water taxi) across Dubai Creek (an inlet that cuts Dubai roughly in half) for the equivalent of 30 cents and head off for an adventure in the souqs (markets). The souqs are covered walkways lined with shop after shop on either side. They are divided according to what they sell and my absolute favorites had to be the spice souq and the gold souq. The spice souq was the ultimate smell experience, with sacks full of saffron, dried roses, cumin, frankincense, and dried lemons. You could also find less smellful but equally interesting items like sea salt, pumice stones, and indigo. The gold souq was large (reputed to be the largest in the region – surprise, surprise) yet the amount of gold crammed into it was astounding. Some of the necklaces we saw must have weighed at least two pounds and were beautifully worked all over with filigree. They sell the gold according to weight and international market price – everyone was telling us we should have come a year earlier for some really good deals (ah well).

We also got to enjoy the beach resort area of Jumeirah a bit on our last day there. The water was startlingly clear and cool and the sands were white – much like what I imagine the Caribbean to be. The rules of dress and deportment were no different from an American beach (though at the “beach park” where we found ourselves, no photos were allowed and they did offer a special women-only day for the more modest). After browsing shops and walking alongside the little canals that connected the various hotels, we found a hotel bar (only hotels are allowed to serve alcohol) with a lovely veranda and view of the beach.

Sometime there, sipping my drink, watching the sun set over the Gulf, and enjoying the light show around the Burj al Arab, I decided – I really need to come back here sometime. Who’s up for Dubai ’09? :)