Sultan as a Sea to His People (although not necessarily to his hired help) We heard this phrase in both the UAE and in Oman. It generally refers to how the Sultan (aka, King) channels the country’s great wealth to its citizens to improve their lives and their children’s prospects. Certainly, the sultan and his […]
United Arab Emirates
Oman: Musandam Peninsula and Khasab
We made our way from Dubai to Oman, which is independent of the UAE (United Arab Emeritus). Oman is roughly the size of Kansas, but with much, much more variety. With its combination of oil, gold, minerals and fish, it is almost as wealthy as the UAE. Unlike Dubai and other areas, it …
A Cultural Daytrip to Sharjar
Sharjar, which extends from Dubai as an extension of the city, is indeed a separate Emirate. It is the third largest Emirate and is and home to 800,000 people. This is the only totally dry of the Emirates (no liquor stores nor alcohol in even tourist hotels). It is particularly rich in the …
Eating and Sleeping in Dubai
As usual when we travel, we sought out both local foods as well as interesting restaurants. We had a lot of hummus, kebabs and gyros, but we also ate at a few particularly interesting restaurants. These included: Qbara, one of the hottest new restaurants in the city, is a beautifully and expensively designed …
Desert Safari and Dune Bashing
Although Dubai is mostly about scale, luxury and excess, the Emirate has another side–sand. To experience this, we had to take a dessert safari. Our experience included about an hour of dune bashing where four-wheel drive Land Rovers sped up and down dunes, taking sharp turns where the cars lean at precarious angles and throw […]
Exploring Old Dubai
"Old" is something of a misnomer when applied to Dubai. True, the Al Fahidi Fort was built in 1787 (and is the oldest building in the city), but the buildings that surrounded it are long gone. The current “old” sections of the city was rebuilt in the 1970s to appeal to tourists—which is Dubai’s number […]