In my travels back to Jakarta I was scheduled to have a short layover in The Middle East, United Arab Emirates. which almost instantly awoke thoughts of "The Alchemist", one of my favorite books, and evoked visions of riding a camel across a starry desert sky. In order that this vision may come to be Travis was sweet enough to extend my stay there so I could Explore Abu Dhabi and see what I could find! Full of excitement and unsure of how welcoming to westerners they would be I set off on my latest adventure. During the 13 hour flight I saw some spectacular sights...from my plane I was able to witness the oil fires burning in Iraq and large reflections from the ground in Saudia Arabia which are a type of aeriel / ground communication. We were also told by our captain as we flew over Saudia Arabia that they had just launched an air strike on Yemen. WOW...A little too close for comfort. At 8PM the plane landed and I went in search of a money exchange & help to the immigration counter. To my great surprise after being asked to show my American passport I was welcomed with open arms. Everyone I came into contact with was extremely helpful and beyond friendly. I'm sorry to say I was shocked as I heard over and over..."we love Americans ...you are welcome here with us". I quickly made friends with my cab driver Muhammat who I learned from our conversation fled to Abu Dhabi from his home in Yemen due to invasion of the Taliban. Speaking extremely broken english he offered to escort me to the Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Mosque, or otherwise known as The Grand Mosque on the way to my hotel. After pondering if it was a great idea to allow a complete stranger take me around I decided he was no longer a stranger. The mosque was a sight straight out of Aladdin. In their words in the spirit of Islam (which is peace, education and tolerance) visitors of all nationalities and religions are welcome to visit the mosque as long as you respect the religion and its rules ie. arms and legs covered to the wrists and ankles, no public displays of affection, no shoes , women MUST wear a headscarf and are taken to a seperate area to worship and no non-Muslim may touch the holy Quran. Coming from the airport and being unable to abide by all the rules I was only allowed inside the front of the Mosque. They did allow me to take a few photos.
The next Day was filled with activities of all sorts. In the morning I went off to shop at the Marina mall which was basically a giant mall but it did provide some beautiful views of the turquoise waters of the Persian Gulf. I went for a walk around town & lunch and then I was picked up for my desert tour. We started with some seriously wicked dune bashing during which we came across a camel farm where we found the camels nearly as friendly as the people:) After stopping for some sand surfing we mounted our camels and headed for camp. Once we arrived we found a traditional Bedouin camp. Everyone was wearing traditional garments and our tents filled with beautiful carpets and pillows to sit on. They dressed me in a burkah and treated us to a very interesting and fragrant meal which was made on the fire pit. After dinner it was "lights out" A time for us to connect with the dessert. We smoked apple tobacco out of very beautiful hookahs while staring at the starry desert sky. Oh What A Night! All the people in my group were very friendly and from all over the place (Amsterdam, Brazil, Pakistan, Lebanon, Cancun, Sri Lanka and Iran. a I enjoyed the opportunity to smoke and chat with my new friends.
On my way back to the airport with pants full of sand I still had 1 more stop. I had to see for myself the famous Emirates Palace. At 3 billion..yes billion, USD it is the most expensive hotel ever build. It is located and somewhat attached I think to the Sheiks actual palace. It was beautiful beyond description and everything in and out is made of marble and gold. Even though I was seriously under dressed they were very welcoming of me and allowed me to walk around and take photos. Once again surprised at their genuine affection towards Americans specifically I finally had to ask...why? I was told that we have always had great ties to UAE but in the 1990's when the U.S. led coalition campaigns to end the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait they have been eternally grateful for the protection of their resources and continue to depend on the US for protection. An interesting piece of the puzzle I would not have put in place had I not asked. Then it was off to the airport again for another 10 hour flight.
I arrived back in Jakarta 3 days after I started out full of stories, a little smelly, and a lot tired...but very glad to lay on the couch and watch a movie with Travis again:)
