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Dubai
On Tuesday morning, we left Izmir,
Turkey for our flight to Dubai, United Arab Emirates by way
of Cairo, Egypt. We were all a little nervous because this
was the first leg into, what we believed to be the most dangerous
part of our journey (near Ground Zero). It was another beautiful
day as we flew south over the snow-capped mountains of southern
Turkey and over the Mediterranean.
Our approach into Cairo took
us counterclockwise around the center of the city with the
pyramids just off our starboard side. We briefly regretted
having cancelled our stay in Egypt, but remembered how much
we had enjoyed replacing it with Bordeaux, France, and Siena,
Italy. The refueling went without incident and we were soon
off to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (another 1,300 miles).
We flew south with a great view
of the Isthmus of Suez and then across the Red Sea (which
was beautiful) into Saudi Arabia. We flew southeast across
miles and miles of nothing but miles and miles. A few hundred
miles to our left was Iraq, Kuwait, and then Iran. At sunset,
we turned more southerly down the Persian Gulf and made our
landing with a full moon beaming down on Dubai.
It was real hot and humid there,
and we were relieved to be ushered into the VIP waiting area
and offered tea and dates by a man wearing a white robe and
headdress while our passports were being processed. The VIP
lounge was high-gloss and spotless. Soon we were being chauffeured
to our hotel, the Burj Al Arab, in a low profile white Rolls
Royce. Robin had visited Dubai a few months ago and had described
it as Las Vegas without the Casinos. She was right. Lots of
big glitzy hotels with ours being the most glitzy. The Burj
has been described as the first seven star hotel in the world.
Although it did not fit our taste as the Four Seasons in Istanbul
had, it is certainly dramatic.
Wednesday morning, we arose at
5:00 AM (3:00 AM Izmir time) for our 7:20 AM tee time at the
Emirates Golf Club. There was a fog delay and we didn't tee
off until 8:30 AM. Tom and I played a $5 Nassau. I won the
front nine by two holes but lost the back nine by three with
the deciding hole being the eighteenth (ugh). It was very
humid and hot and (again), and we were glad to retreat to
our air-conditioned hotel.
Ashley had scheduled massages
for us in the afternoon at 4:00 PM. My masseuse was a 33-year-old
Christian man from Sri Lanka. He told me an interesting story.
He said his wife and 30-month-old son were still in Sri Lanka
and he hadn't seen them in over a year. He said he missed
them very much and hoped he would be able to return by Christmas.
When I asked him why he was in Dubai, he said it was because
he was earning the money for his four younger sisters' dowries.
Their father was dead and without his help they couldn't marry.
He told me he had provided the money for the first three and
that they were now married. He has one to go. He told us he
would pray for our safety until we returned to our home.
Thursday morning we rested. Ashley
got a manicure and I worked on the Mac. At 3:15 PM, our Indian
driver, Alfred, picked us up for a desert safari. The outing
included a harrowing drive in a Land Cruiser over the shifting
silky sands of the Arabian desert, a stop at a camel farm,
a ride on a camel, and finally sand boarding down a steep
dune to our waiting private tent and barbecue. We shared a
water pipe with the other thirty guests and after dinner enjoyed
the performance of a beautiful, young, trim (get the point?)
Turkish belly dancer.
During the smoking of the water
pipe, I heard a young woman introduce herself to another guest
as being Palestinian. I was anxious to meet an Arab so I introduced
myself and began a conversation. We subsequently invited her,
her husband (both professionals), and their two daughters
(14 & 15) to join us in our tent for dinner. Their daughters
were beautiful and very westernized (they had lived in Tucson,
Arizona for a year). The mother was wearing a headscarf in
the Muslim tradition. They are currently living in Bahrain.
I expressed our sympathy for
the Palestinian quest for a home land and thus began a very
friendly political discussion. She told us tearfully about
a young 15-year-old Palestinian boy who stood in front of
an Israeli tank with a rock in his hand before being shot
to death. She talked about Hamas being "Freedom Fighters"
and not terrorist. They both expressed their shock and sorrow
for the events of September 11. It was then that our shock
began.
She said that the "Jewish Controlled"
press was distorting the facts, specifically CNN. She and
her husband did not believe that Bin Laden was responsible
for the attack and instead believed that it was more likely
the Jews that did it. When I pointed out that half of the
people in New York were Jewish and that many of those killed
were Jews, she responded by saying that no Jews were killed.
I then asked her how that could be true. She said that the
attack took place on Yom Kipper and that there were no Jews
in the building. Unfortunately, we didn't know until after
we got back to the hotel that Yom Kipper was not until September
27.
They went on to say that Bin
Laden was a good man and that the stories about the Taliban
were not true. They said that it was not true that women were
being mistreated and that there were schools for girls in
Afghanistan. The astounding thing about this story is that
these were bright, very well educated and well-spoken people.
I had assumed that poor, uneducated Arabs held such opinions,
not people like these. Our Indian driver told us on the way
back to the hotel that virtually all of the Arabs felt this
way.
I have pondered this conversation
a great deal since that evening. The only conclusion that
I can draw is that our perceptions of reality are heavily
influenced by our past experiences. These people believe that
they have been disenfranchised, oppressed and brutalized by
Israel. Their hatred is so strong that they cannot see the
truth in this regard.
Till next time,
Pat
Pyramids on Cairo Approach |
Nile River on Cairo Approach |
Red Sea isn't Red |
Lobby of Burj Al Arab |
Hotel in Dubai |
Burj Al Arab |
Feeding the Camels |
Riding a Camel |
Burj Al Arab at Night |
Mirrors on the Ceiling |
Bathroom at the Burj Al Arab |
Low Profile with Rolls Royce |
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