How much is that Christmas tree?

Oh, to have someone else set up your Christmas tree, no expense spared! Visitors to the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi get to enjoy possibly the world's most expensive Christmas tree. It was being set up when I went to visit my friend Paula on Tuesday. The tree itself--artificial--only cost $10,000, but the necklaces and other jewelry adorning the tree bring the price tag up to a whopping $11 million. This is the same 7-star hotel that dispense bars of gold in a vending machine, so I guess its visitors expect a nice tree. For all the cost, though, it did not strike me as over-the-top (that honor is reserved for the Burj Al Arab in Dubai). It was heavy on the gold but in a subdued understated way, and they weren't advertising the expensive jewelry.

I received a nice present upon my return to Pittsburgh when my housesitter Jaye offered to set up our Christmas tree. She probably got the idea after watching me do this last year--selecting the perfect tree, hauling it home on the roof of the car, dragging it through the front door into the living room, trimming the lower branches off, screwing the stump into the base with several attempts needed to straighten out the tree, hearing the tree fall over in the middle of the night as it was tilted too much to one side, dealing with the debris the next morning--all of this no small effort. So this year she found a landscaper who would do it all. When I got home, there it was, all set up and not tilting, ready to be adorned. Best of all, the price was only $89.95, probably less than I paid for the perfect tree last year. A very thoughtful gift. Sometimes it really pays to shop around!

Desert Hack on Horseback

A full moon was the occasion for our first experience with horseback riding in Dubai. Even though we are both beginners, Neal's associate encouraged us to join a desert ride, and it was a perfect introduction for us. The riding club is located in Mushrif Park, Dubai's biggest and oldest park, so big that you need a car to drive through it. Unlike the newer parks with their highly manicured greenery and gardens, this park looks more like a desert wilderness, with hills, trees and wild life. Getting on a horse was a little scary at first, but the club welcomes beginners and immediately put us at ease, supplying riding helmets and any help we needed to get in the saddle (English, we discovered, not western).

The instructors matched us with horses according to our riding ability, but that didn't mean we were relegated to slow plodders. These were all beautiful, lively horses, many of them Arabians, and we were told to hold our reins in and keep our hands and heels down. The names were a combination of Arabic and other: Sultan, Snow White, Nacho, Parking, 123, Bader, Concord. The instructors rode the most challenging horses, and it was neat to watch how they kept them in control. Soon we were in the heart of the park away from the lights and roads. The horses knew when we reached the running spots, breaking into a trot or light canter to go up the slopes with hardly any nudging. We did none of that the first night, but when we came back again, they had us trotting and cantering before we even thought we were ready. The best way to learn turned out to be the desert hack rather than lessons in the ring, as these horses did not want to trot in circles in the ring for us neophytes. The hack is what they call a recreational trail ride with a mix of walking, trotting and cantering, and gave us time to relax a bit and get comfortable on the horse. I'm not sure how a canter turns into a gallop but I think we did some of that as well. I made sure to keep my reins tight and my hands down so I wouldn't fall off, successfully not falling off so far.

An early morning ride proved to be the best of all, as the horses were fresh and frisky. A horse named Cruella ridden by an experienced rider ahead of me looked like she was dancing while she walked. Watching one of the instructors, Ahmed, take off on his horse for a gallop down through a valley was an amazing sight, as was seeing the sunrise from the top of a horse. We'll be back.

The BMSB is definitely not my BFF

Everyone I know in Pittsburgh was up in arms this fall about the great stink bug invasion. I got plenty of chances to see it for myself when I was home for Thanksgiving. Every day I would find a new one or two or three somewhere, usually dead, which wasn't that bad, but then when the weather warmed up a bit there would be quite a few more crawling on the window screens or flying around. Sometimes going into a bedroom that hadn't been used for a while I would find an alarming number around a window. Conrad, our friendly exterminator, came out and we commiserated about it for awhile as he admitted that there was very little he and chemicals could do beyond what I was already doing. He explained how hard it is for people to accept the fact that the bugs cannot be eradicated by the force of money and chemicals alone. The key is finding the openings in the house where the bugs get in and closing them down, and, when such efforts fail, learning how to deal with them as a fact of life. Conrad knows that I understand such things coming from the land of the giant palmetto bug, also known as Savannah, Georgia.

Penn State's College of Agriculture Sciences has posted useful news and information about the stink bug on its Entomology webpage. Its full name is the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), which is not native to North America, but apparently was "accidentally introduced" into eastern Pennsylvania. First seen in Allentown in 1998, it has since been collected in 37 counties in Pennsylvania (although the site says it is probable that they are in all counties) and numerous other states. While it does not cause any known harm to humans, it is becoming a serious agricultural pest damaging fruit and other crops.

The Penn Staters explain that "BMSB becomes a nuisance pest both indoors and out when it is attracted to the outside of houses on warm fall days in search of protected, overwintering sites. BMSB occasionally reappears during warmer sunny periods throughout the winter, and again as it emerges in the spring." No mention of what they do over the summer--maybe that's when they get out and do their crop damage to fatten up for the winter hibernation. In terms of dealing with them, the site recommends "mechanical exclusion" to keep them out of the dwelling and vacuuming them up after they've gotten in. They apparently do stink if squashed or vacuumed up en masse, hence the name.

They are very slow and easy to pick up, so that part is easy unless you are squeamish about bugs. Even if you are as crazed as I am about the giant palmetto bugs in the south, you will be able to handle the BMSB, which is small, docile and almost attractive by comparison. Penn State's lead photo, shown above, is almost fetching. However, it is not easy to get one out of the microwave door, and how the heck did it get in there, anyway? I am careful not to squash them (gross!) and just throw them out the door or flush them down the toilet. I find no obvious mass entry points or any way possible to exclude them from the house, which basically is just a large wooden barn with cracks everywhere, hopefully not to become a BMSB's dream overwintering lodge. I have friends who seem to have it much worse than me so I'm trying to feel grateful for that while praying for a winter that is just bad enough to kill them off.

The scientists do not seem interested in speculating as to how this accidental introduction may have occurred. It isn't hard to figure out, though, as my recent experience will show. A few days after I got back to Dubai I noticed something on our window sill. Having never seen a bug in the apartment, I thought it might be a dustball or piece of paper. Boy, was I surprised when it turned out to be none other than a BMSB! I have no doubt that it stowed away in our luggage. How clever to seek out an overwintering spot in the desert. Thankfully the long journey or lack of food or absence of wall crevices in our Dubai concrete haven, who knows what, must have done the stinker in. I have yet to find any others, but will keep my eyes peeled.

Qatar, Host for the 2022 FIFA World Cup

Qatar's winning of the FIFA World Cup bid for 2022 is big news here, and great news for all the Arabian Gulf States.* You'd think the games were due to start next year with all the talk and press coverage. There's hardly any mention of Russia in 2018. Of course, the attention is mostly due to the fact that it's a surprise, being a first for the Middle East.

The radio talk shows are abuzz with excitement over what Qatar's hosting the World Cup will mean for the region. Certainly there will be a surge in tourism, as the UAE is just a hop, skip and jump away from Qatar. There will also be a surge in demand for business and professionals out of the UAE. (I hope my husband's office starts to get some of these calls soon.) There's also talk of a new railway system that would link all of the GCC states, which if approved may be in place as soon as 2017. The thought of hopping on a train and going from Dubai to Muscat, Kuwait City, Doha and points in between, traveling across the desert or with views of the Gulf--I find that extremely appealing, having had more than my share of airports for now. (Dubai is supposed to be extending its metro system to Abu Dhabi, but I don't hear much about that now.)

I also heard that the dates may be changed so the event is held during the "winter" here (December through February). With temperatures in Dubai now in the pleasant range, compared with the unbearable heat of the summer, I really, really hope they decide to do this! It would be so much nicer for everyone and save lots of money in air-conditioning to boot.

The numbers being bandied about are getting very high, so let's hope this isn't another bubble in the making. Qatar is supposed to spend $4 billion on new stadiums and $50 billion on infrastructure. I hear the stadia will be designed for export to other countries after the World Cup and/or convertible to other uses, such as hospitals or theatres. They expect there to be new bond issues to finance the costs, on top of Qatar's existing $100 billion in debt, so Qatar's debt may grow dramatically. It's a scary undertaking for such a small country. According to Wikipedia, the population of Qatar is only 1.7 million, with almost three-fourths being expatriates, much smaller than Dubai or even the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. Presumably Qatar has enough anticipated revenue from its oil and gas supplies to pay for all of this, while it continues its attempts to diversify its economy. One advantage it has is not having to worry much about politics and local pressures--if there's one thing Arabs are good at, it's getting things done quickly.

One of Qatar's most noteworthy accomplishments so far is its establishment of campuses of various American universities in its Education City, including Carnegie Mellon, Georgetown, Texas A & M, Virginia Commonwealth, Cornell Medical School, and Northwestern. (Similar efforts in Dubai have not been so successful.) I know several Pittsburghers who have spent time in Doha teaching for CMU, and I expect that they will welcome its transformation to the world stage, although the ongoing construction will undoubtedly be a major pain, as it has been here in Dubai.

Since I hear it pronounced many different ways, I looked up the official pronunciation of Qatar for English language broadcasts: "KA-tar", which I would pronounce "Ka" as in "cat" followed by "tar" with emphasis on the first syllable. (Wikipedia emphasizes "KA-tar" and not "KAT-ar" although I'd be hard pressed to explain any difference there.) I often hear versions that sound like "Ka-TAR" or "Cutter" or "Catter" and I'm not sure if these are correct.

Having flown Qatar Airways to the USA a couple of times, I can say with confidence that they always pronounce it "KA-tar". I can recommend this airline as a good, reasonably priced travel option, with newer planes, helpful cabin crews, and decent food. The tail fins of the planes are nicely emblazoned in burgundy with an oryx, the national animal and symbol of Qatar. If the quality of the airline is any indicator, I'd say we may be okay as far as the World Cup goes. We will have plenty of time to practice our pronunciation and plan our trip before tickets go on sale.

*Perhaps due to the controversy over the name of the Gulf (see post dated 2/28/10), these six states are usually referred to as the GCC states, for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

What they don't tell you in the guidebooks

There are plenty of good travel guides for Dubai and the UAE, the most ubiquitous being the Dubai Explorer series (we have several copies, it being a popular gift for newcomers). But there are some things I have learned along the way that do not seem to make it in the guidebooks, things that I would have been very happy to know sooner rather than later. Here are a few, in no particular order:

• There is no "P" in the Arabic alphabet. For someone whose name begins with P, this is good to know. My name in Arabic thus becomes Bamela, or as I now like to call myself, Bam-Bam, for short.

• Dogs are not beloved or considered fine substitutes for children by Arabs the way they are in the USA or other countries. The reason was not apparent to me until I learned that Islam considers dogs unclean and anything a dog touches with its nose or saliva must be washed. This would certainly make it challenging to keep a dog in the house. (Dogs are permitted as watch or guard dogs, presumably kept outside, and the saluki "desert" dog is the breed associated with this area.) This probably explains why I have yet to see an Arabic person here with a dog. Needless to say, Dubai is not a dog-friendly place, so people with dogs may find it difficult to find housing that allows dogs and places for walking them. Many expats with families who live in private villas do bring their dogs over from the states, which is not too hard (for the humans, that is) with no quarantine required. Apparently cats are okay here, but I haven't seen many of them either.

• The Islamic holidays are floating and not always predictable, which can cause scheduling problems. They are officially declared based on a moon sighting a day or two in advance. There is no entertainment allowed (including eating at restaurants) until sunset (around 6:30 p.m.) on official holidays. Sometimes the government even moves the date on which a holiday is celebrated, to combine with a weekend for a longer break for public employees. People who were planning to have a day off this year for the Islamic New Year on December 7 discovered at the last minute that it would be celebrated two days earlier. The American Women's Association of Dubai had to reschedule its Christmas luncheon due to the unexpected holiday date change. A general corollary to the above: things may change at the last minute and often do.

• Having Friday off in Dubai instead of Sunday is not a good trade. This is because none of my husband's clients or colleagues in the states feels obligated to honor Friday as his day off. Of course, some of them may still believe my husband is handling their business from Pittsburgh. But it does make it hard to take two days off for the weekend, since he often has conference calls throughout the day on Friday and has to be in the office on Sunday.

• You better hold back that hand if you're a woman here. The western habit of shaking hands is fine if you're a man but can be problematic as far as women are concerned. Most Arab men refrain from shaking hands with women. What makes this even more strange is the fact that Arab men can often be seen holding hands! Think of it this way--same sex, okay to shake or hold hands; different sex, not okay.

• You better be careful where you point that camera. Dubai is a great place for taking amazing photos, but at some point an official looking person may come up to you and tells you photos are not allowed. Usually there are signs saying when photography is prohibited (such as on the public beaches) but sometimes there isn't a sign and you'll be told to stop anyway. This happened to me taking pictures around the Gate Building where my husband's office used to be. I also heard that the CEO of an American company had his camera confiscated after he took pictures of a government installation, and was asked to leave the country shortly thereafter.

• Being on a first name basis is not a sign of intimacy here. With so many different nationalities, it is easier to focus on first names and not bother with last names. At the hotel we stayed in when we first arrived, we became known as Mr. Neal and Miss Pam. The Arabic custom is to use the first name as a matter of course, so it is not a sign of friendship. If you are on a close basis with an Arab, you would show it by using Abu (which means "father of") and the name of his first born son (or daughter if no son). For example, a man named Mohammed with an eldest son named Zayed would be Abu Zayed to his friends.

• Any Arabic you try to learn beforehand will be useless. (Fortunately, it is not necessary to speak any Arabic at all to get by in Dubai.) The Arabic phrasebooks with the formal Arabic greetings are not helpful. The most useful word I have learned in Arabic, Marhaba, which means "Hello", I learned from a 10-year-old boy in the airport, after searching in vain in my phrasebooks for a simple greeting. On the other hand, it would be nice to know more everyday phrases, the alphabet and the numbers in Arabic, but this is difficult living in Dubai where English is always spoken and used everywhere on signs. A phrase that you may often hear expats use is "inshaa'allah", for God willing. This can be confusing--the first time a fellow American told me she was going home, inshaa'allah, I responded, you're going where? Another good word to know is "shukran" for thanks.

• Trying to economize by bringing stuff to Dubai from the U.S.A. sounds like a good idea, but isn't. The reason, I discovered, is that I have to keep taking things back and forth, and I often forget to do so. Eventually everything I need ends up in the other place. Better to just buy an extra set and forget about taking things back and forth. This saves on valuable luggage space as well.

• Being 9 hours ahead in time usually doesn't work in our favor, although sometimes it does. It makes for a long work day for my husband as his Dubai day starts in the morning but his U.S.A. clients only get started in the late afternoon and evening. It is kind of cool to wake up on Monday or Tuesday morning to find a Steeler game from the night before still in progress, but watching the entire game would require a 5:30 a.m. alarm, so you get the idea. It is also nice to know there's always a lot of time left in the day to make calls to the states. But it is not nice to get calls from the states in the middle of the night, which we have learned to ignore.

Rugby Sevens Supersized

The Dubai Rugby Sevens had its 41st annual appearance during the National Day weekend, and I was amazed to find it even bigger and better than last year. I was thinking "been there, done that" but honestly found that I had just as much if not more fun this year, as it is a unique experience being in the middle of the desert with about 50,000 people having a very good time, with plenty of games and costumed characters to watch, food and drink, and fun activities for kids and adults.

While the temperatures continued to hover in the 70's the combination of heat and drink can be too much for some, especially those who start in the morning, and there were undoubtedly a few needing help to get home, but that being said, it was a friendly, well behaved crowd again this year. The police are quick to chase down anyone who runs on the field or otherwise gets out of hand, and there are plenty of buses and taxis to transport people who should not be driving.

Since my husband entertains clients at this event, I act as the designated driver/photographer/refreshment procurer. My hard-earned knowledge of rugby also comes in handy. I explain to anyone who listens how I suffered as a rugby widow for many years while my husband played in college, law school and thereafter for various different teams working his way up the regional ladder until he made the USA National Men's Team (the aptly named Eagles), playing in several international matches including the very first Rugby World Cup in 1987 in Australia. Amazingly, the famous England prop who was Neal's opposite in the USA's match against England way back when, Gareth Chilcott, was also attending the tournament, sitting in spitting distance from our group. Neal chose not to say hello, knowing that the recognition would not be mutual, or perhaps fearing flashbacks (I will not say the score but at least it wasn't a shutout).

The USA team had an incredibly tough draw but made it to the quarterfinals after beating Argentina and Zimbabwe, losing only to defending champs New Zealand in pool play. They then dropped to the plate competition after losing to Samoa, finalists both last year and this, and then lost again to the ultimate plate winner South Africa. England squeaked through pool play with an unexpected loss to Portugal but then solidified their side nicely, managing close wins against Australia, New Zealand, and, in the final match, Samoa, much to the delight of the highly partisan Brit-loving crowd. The orange and yellow kit worn by the English team was a bit offputting to their fans, who fancy the traditional white jerseys with red cross, but no one was complaining about that at the end!

The wide open expanse of the desert makes it easy for helicopters to fly in and out next to the stadium. I was thinking that there must be a lot of serious injuries until I realized that this was the preferred method of transport for certain VIPs. When a plane buzzed out of nowhere to swoop down inside the stadium as part of the evening show, however, it was a bit scary because it was headed into the endzone stand if it stalled. Six parachute artists also swooped in making pin point landings on the field. Those guys must make a good living as they always seem to be part of the big shows in town.

The stadium has a makeshift feel, looking like temporary stands with unpaved parking lots for the most part, and may have seen its last tournament if new digs are built for next year. I wouldn't mind a bit if it stays the way it is--more concrete and paved roads won't make it better. The open air nature of the venue allows lots of interesting vendors to roll in their displays, including a new feature this year, the "Extra Cold Freezer". This is a portable two-story bar with patio, air-conditioned so the inside temperature is at least 10 degrees Celsius colder than outside, with beer served at close to freezing. A little different from the "ice clubs" that are now catching on in London and Dubai where the furniture is made of ice and customers are given parkas to put on (Dubai's new club is called "Chillout"). The Extra Cold Freezer doesn't have anything frozen inside except the beer and keeps the temperature warmer so people will be able to stay inside longer. The challenge for their marketing will probably be finding places that will allow them to set up, since most places serving alcohol need special licensing. While I was intrigued enough to want to visit the E.C.F., I was unfortunately turned away as it was only open to VIP ticket holders.

Since the final wasn't over until 10:00 pm with a long drive home to follow, we were grateful to the ruler for declaring the next day a holiday as part of National Day celebrations. Maybe next year we'll get the whole week off for the UAE's 40th/Dubai Rugby Sevens'42nd birthday!

Kullunna Khalifa

National Day rolled around again on December 2, celebrating the formation of the UAE 39 years ago. Since it fell on a Thursday the powers that be declared Sunday a holiday to make it a four-day weekend, which called for an even bigger celebration than last year. The theme was the cryptic "Kullunna Khalifa", translating as "we are all Khalifa", but the meaning was clear with pictures of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the ruler of the UAE, appearing throughout the city. This seemed a logical development since the Burj Dubai was renamed Burj Khalifa in honor of the ruler (and his large bailout of Dubai) almost a year ago now.

The Emiratis love their cars and many go all out to decorate them in honor of National Day with pictures of the ruling sheiks, the national flag colors of red, green and white, and various accoutrements, including feather boas in those colors. The authorities tried to crack down on decorations obstructing the rear view mirror and said feather boas, without much success.

With temperatures hovering in the 70's and perfect clear blue skies, many locals headed to Mushrif Park, Dubai's largest, for picnics, at the same time as Neal and I were scheduled to have our latest horseback riding lesson. We went on a desert ride where the horses can let loose a bit and we find out if we can stay in the saddle. It got a bit hairy when we passed large groups with children trying to spur our horses on with whistles and giddyap sounds, but we held our reins tight and made it back to the stables in one piece, enjoying a beautiful sunset on the way.

Hakuna matata, kullunna Khalifa!

Too Close for Comfort

The bombs disguised as printer cartridges that were recently discovered with help from Saudi intelligence were too close to home for those of us in the UAE. The packages were delivered by UPS and Federal Express from Yemen and were headed on to the USA before they were tracked down in England and Dubai. They were so cleverly disguised that the packages passed through the regular screening process undetected and were only found and removed because the tracking numbers were provided. One of them traveled on a Qatar Airways passenger jet from Doha to Dubai, a flight I have taken before.

Yemen, where the packages originated, borders the UAE to the south, and apparently UPS and Federal Express do not have full offices but use third parties to provide service there. Given that Yemen is known to be a hub of Al Qaeda activity, it is upsetting, to say the least, to discover the holes in security. One would think that any package traveling from Yemen would be subject to the extra scrutiny, and that delivery services such as FedEx and UPS would be on high alert. In fact, a UPS plane exploded in Dubai in September, killing two pilots without known cause, and only now is that accident thought to be connected to the Yemen printer bombs. Maybe now the intelligence community can put the pieces together and take appropriate preventative action before another major catastrophe happens. Banning or physically examining the contents of all packages from Yemen would be a good start. Packages I send from the USA to Dubai are routinely opened for customs inspection, so why not these packages of suspicious origin?

USO in the UAE

One of the more interesting things I do in Dubai is volunteer for the USO. Since I still remember the USO shows from the Vietnam war era, I am surprised that many Americans seem to know nothing about this great organization. USO stands for United Service Organizations, and its purpose as a nonpolitical, nonprofit organization is to support America's troops with various programs and services to provide a home away from home and means to keep connected with families. In Dubai the USO center sets up camp at the port where the US ships come to dock, providing computers, cell phones, internet, money exchange, food, entertainment (including movies and video games), laundry facilities, shopping and tours. When a ship comes in, a call goes out to all the volunteers to man the facilities during the days when the ship is in port. We usually get only a couple of days notice.

The hardest part for us volunteers is navigating by car to the ship's location, which requires clearing multiple levels of security, a very serious business, with armed guards conducting a thorough inspection of all vehicles. Seeing the servicemen and women, most of whom are very young--about the age of my two barely grown children--gives me a renewed sense of appreciation for the job they are doing. There is never a word of complaint, even when a tour operator fails to show up or some equipment is not working properly. Serious, polite, respectful, appreciative, a credit to our country, are all these young people. What we do as volunteers seems so small in comparison, and the least we can do.

If you'd like to help our troops, a donation to the USO would be a great place to start.

Walking the Woods of the Great War

Being in Dubai without a job holding me down, I am free to jump at opportunities near and far. I got a chance to join my sister and her husband for a trip to France to visit the battlefields where American soldiers joined the Allies to fight the Germans and bring an end to World War I. I said yes not knowing much about the itinerary and before I even checked the flight time from Dubai to Paris--not exactly a short hop at 7 hours. Nor did I realize we were flying into a potential nationwide strike in France in protest of changes to the pension system.

The battlefield tour, organized by the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library in Staunton, Virginia, focused on the important battles from the American offensive that took place in the Argonne woods near the Meuse River. The American soldiers (nicknamed the "Doughboys”, perhaps due to their inexperience) were called on the scene after four years of brutal trench warfare between the French and the Germans. Under the leadership of General Pershing, the Americans launched the Meuse-Argonne offensive on September 26, 1918, leading finally to the armistice on November 11, 1918. Unbeknownst to most people, the Meuse-Argonne battle was the bloodiest America has ever known, with more than 120,000 casualties and over 26,000 dead. The Doughboys were ordered to go over the trenches, often without protection, and many were slaughtered by German machine guns and artillery before they were able to break through and push the Germans to surrender.

We spent much of a week walking in the woods of the Meuse-Argonne countryside, including near the towns of Varennes, Verdun, Chaumont, Malancourt, Cunel, Romagne, and Blanc Mont, before heading to Rheims, Versailles and Paris. At first all we could see in the woods were the fallen leaves, but once inside we saw the remains of the war everywhere, including bunkers, trenches, and bomb craters. The huge holes left by artillery shells, winding trenches and stone fortifications were all around us. We found shells (a few unexploded), metal fragments such as a shovel and stove parts, and even a human femur bone. Seeing these remnants still in place after more than 90 years is a poignant reminder that war seems to be an unceasing human activity, always with us. There were also many beautiful memorials and cemeteries along the way, many looking forgotten and unvisited, but even so a more suitable way to honor those who fought there.

The green grass and undulating curves of the trenches and craters along the hillsides reminded me of Maya Lin's Vietnam Memorial, where I've seen many visitors leave fragments to remember their loved ones, and especially her Storm King Wavefield in upstate New York. The remains of war can become beautiful with time once the natural world takes over.

In Rheims we visited the school building, now a museum, where the German surrender was signed to end the war in Europe during World War II. Gen. Eisenhower gets the credit but strangely didn't attend the signing ceremony as he would have outranked the German commanders who attended. On the way to Paris we visited Versailles, which was massively crowded, partly due to the strikes, but we got our tour in along with thousands of others. The room where the Versailles treaty was signed to end World War I was only noted in passing with no attendant display. The over-the-top splendor of the palace was in contrast with an exhibition of surreal scene-stealing popart works by the Japanese artist Takashi Murakami, almost too much to take in during such a brief visit. Imagination has no bounds, but we still cannot seem to imagine the end of war.

In Paris we visited Napolean's tomb at Les Invalides and the National War Museum, putting an appropriate coda on our tour. We managed to exit the country just as the worst of the strikes were taking place, with long lines forming for taxis and at the gas stations due to gas shortages. I soon returned to America in time to vote in the midterm elections, a brouhaha seeming not that different from the one taking place in France. If nations like the USA and France can't even figure out how to govern themselves, how can the nations of the world ever achieve a lasting peace?

Sister Cities

Back in Dubai again, middle of September, seems like the doldrums to me. More of the same: sun, heat and sand. Of course, it doesn't help that I don't get a paper or watch the local news or even get out much. I miss being in Pittsburgh at this time of year as the football season gets into full swing with the chill and colors of fall.

Neal and I watched the Steelers beat the Tennessee Titans and then the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on my laptop, which is connected over the internet to our television in Pittsburgh via Slingbox, well worth the ridiculous tangle of cables left hanging from the various boxes required to get this to work. Our TV cable package in Dubai only includes two NFL games per week, both Sunday afternoon games (9 p.m. start in Dubai), so we'll be lucky if a Steeler game gets picked up.

But Dubai is starting to grow on me, and I feel less need to get back to Pittsburgh right away. Since it seems to take a week to readjust to the trip, I'm hoping to go back and forth a lot less often going forward. There is still the problem of being here on a tourist visa, which only allows me to stay 30 days at a time. I'm going to Paris in October and then back Pittsburgh in November so I should be good for awhile.

What strikes me now about Dubai is how familiar it feels and how similar it is to Pittsburgh. This may sound strange to people who haven't been here or either place, but there are many common threads, such that the statements below ring true for both cities.

People who move to the city often do it for the job, not by choice, and many leave with job changes.

Residents love to complain about the city and its flaws but usually with a sense of civic pride and a distinct distaste for outside criticism.

The city has a somewhat negative image to outsiders, but undeservedly so. (Dubai residents don't seem as invested as Pittsburghers, though, so you don't see as much of the chip on the shoulder mentality.)

The city has gone through boom and bust, with an elite wealthy core of families and companies supporting culture and philanthropy. With the decline of the major local industry (oil in Dubai, steel in Pittsburgh), transition into other industries like health care is critical. Leaders are always busy promoting a positive image of the city!

Traffic bottlenecks are common with local drivers having great difficulty driving in bad weather. A blast from the past--Dubai actually has the flashing yellow light before it turns red, like we had in Pittsburgh 30 years ago.

Residents often give directions by landmarks, including those that no longer exist.

The city is a lot less crowded than it used to be, so you can get up close and personal to the local attractions with no difficulty, tickets readily available, restaurants and hotels there for the asking. Many brand new, world class venues!

Sizewise, the cities are comparable in population and area. The topography is very different, but the many different neighborhoods, some of which revolve around ethnic groups, and geographic challenges to finding them are comparable.

Haze and humidity prevail. Air quality is not so good and could be an issue for people with breathing difficulties. The bright blue sunny sky is a welcome but atypical sight. Sand and snow present similar obstacles.

There are a lot of places selling the same old crap. Same fast food places, same mall stores, but with a lot more of them and many more high end labels and fashionista-type places in Dubai. Not as expensive as big city prices. Residents are always looking for sales.

Interesting architecture, albeit totally different styles.

Big, new, empty airport terminals. Free wifi in the airport (my favorite thing!).

Very family oriented. Very safe, not much crime. Not a good place for singles (although in Dubai's case, it's probably pretty good for single women since men outnumber women by a large margin.)

Plenty of not so attractive, overweight people. Surprisingly, Emiratis are as unhealthy as Pittsburghers.

It's helpful to focus on the similarities, which makes me feel much more comfortable living here. I now like to think of my two homes as sister cities with a lot in common. And just yesterday I happened to meet a man with a very foreign sounding name who just happened to spend a year in Pittsburgh as a student in the same school my kids attended. Which just goes to show, we are all much closer than we even know. If we just took the time to get to know one another, what a wonderful world it could be.

My Favorite Rumi

Having visited Turkey recently, I was amazed to discover the simple beauty of the writings of the 13th century Persian poet and Sufi mystic known as Rumi. All of our Turkish guides were quick to pull out their pocket collection of Rumi and share their favorite quotes. Something for everyone!

The background is fascinating, to say the least. Born in the Persian Empire in what is now present day Balkh, Afghanistan, Rumi traveled west with his family at the age of ten to settle in Konya, Turkey, where he lived most of his life and produced his famous works, some 70,000 verses, written in Persian. He is sometimes called Balkhi for the province of his birth, while the name Rumi, meaning "the Roman", comes from the name of the province of Rum where Konya is located, the area being called that because it was once part of the Eastern Roman Empire. Rumi (1207-1273) is buried at his shrine which is now a popular place of pilgrimage, called the Mevlana Museum in Konya, and he is often given the title of Mevlana, meaning "master." His followers founded the order of the whirling dervishes famous for its Sufi dance ceremony.

The Mevlana Museum in Konya was well worth the visit. We also got to see a whirling dervish ceremony, known as "sema", which was held in a caravanserai (caravan palace) built in medieval times like a fortress, both for religious use and as an inn and stable for travelers. There were five men in white robes, positioned with one in the middle surrounded by the other four, twirling counterclockwise with their left foot as the pivot, starting up four different times and switching places at the direction of a sixth man, to the music of four musicians with reed, drums and sitar like instruments, no photography or clapping allowed, creating an atmosphere that proved soporific for some. I was able to keep my eyes open for the entire hour, treated to a glass of tea at the end.

Rumi's work has become increasingly popular in recent years in the West, through the work of various translators such as Coleman Barks and performers such as Shahram Shiva. While this may seem surprising for an 800-year-old Muslim writing in Persian, his works deal with the human condition in a very personal way and appeal to our common humanity, not limited by the strictures of religion, race or nationality. According to one Rumi scholar, Dr. Majid Naimi, "Rumi's life and transformation provide true testimony and proof that people of all religions and backgrounds can live together in peace and harmony. Rumi’s visions, words, and life teach us how to reach inner peace and happiness so we can finally stop the continual stream of hostility and hatred and achieve true global peace and harmony.” Not a bad message for the world we live in today!

Sufism, a spiritual, nonviolent, apolitical creed of Islam preaching tolerance, flourished in medieval times but apparently is hated today by Islamic fundamentalists like the Taliban and al-Qaida of the Wahabbi branch, as evidenced by recent terrorist attacks on Sufi shrines in Pakistan. With the rising popularity of Rumi, perhaps Westerners will gain a better understanding of Islam and the complexity of the current divides in the Islam world. Some see the appeal of Rumi, Sufism and Islamic spiritualism as a promising development to counter the rise of Islamic extremism.

Barks, who has been a significant force in popularizing Rumi in America through his books such as "The Essential Rumi", has been criticized for relying on other translations and taking liberties with the language to make the verse more universal and accessible. I do not know whether what I've come across so far comes from Barks or another source, but I can attest to the popular appeal. Of course, I have no idea if the popular versions of his verses in circulation on the internet are accurate translations. If Rumi is worthy, as some believe, of elevation to literary greatness with the likes of Dante and Shakespeare, then perhaps a definitive English language translation will someday prevail.

With that caveat, here's what I have collected as my favorites verses from Rumi, in no particular order, source and translator unknown:

"The wound is the place where the Light enters you."

"My soul is from elsewhere, I'm sure of that, and I intend to end up there."

"Ignore those that make you fearful and sad, that degrade you back towards disease and death."

"If you are irritated by every rub, how will you be polished?"

"You were born with wings, why prefer to crawl through life?"

"Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment."

"Let yourself be drawn by the stronger pull of what you truly love."

"Be grateful for whoever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond."

"Start a huge, foolish project, like Noah…it makes absolutely no difference what people think of you."

"Be empty of worrying.

Think of who created thought!

Why do you stay in prison

When the door is so wide open?"

"I have lived on the lip

of insanity, wanting to know reasons,

knocking on a door. It opens.

I've been knocking from the inside."

"Come, come, whoever you are. Wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving. It doesn't matter. Ours is not a caravan of despair. come, even if you have broken your vows a thousand times. Come, yet again , come , come."

"Be like the sun for grace and mercy. Be like the night to cover others' faults. Be like running water for generosity. Be like death for rage and anger. Be like the Earth for modesty. Appear as you are. Be as you appear."

"All people on the planet are children, except for a very few. No one is grown up except those free of desire."

"You wander from room to room

Hunting for the diamond necklace

That is already around your neck!"

"This being human is a guest house. Every morning is a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor...Welcome and entertain them all. Treat each guest honorably. The dark thought, the shame, the malice, meet them at the door laughing, and invite them in. Be grateful for whoever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond."

"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder. Help someone's soul heal. Walk out

of your house like a shepherd."

"Poems are rough notations for the music we are."

"All day I think about it, then at night I say it.

Where did I come from, and what am I supposed to be doing?

I have no idea.

My soul is from elsewhere, I'm sure of that,

And I intend to end up there.

This drunkenness began in some other tavern.

When I get back around to that place,

I'll be completely sober. Meanwhile,

I'm like a bird from another continent, sitting in this aviary.

The day is coming when I fly off,

But who is it now in my ear who hears my voice?

Who says words with my mouth?

Who looks out with my eyes? What is the soul?

I cannot stop asking.

If I could taste one sip of an answer,

I could break out of this prison for drunks.

I didn't come here of my own accord, and I can't leave that way.

Whoever brought me here will have to take me home.

This poetry. I never know what I'm going to say.

I don't plan it.

When I'm outside the saying of it, I get very quiet and rarely speak at all.

We have a huge barrel of wine, but no cups.

That's fine with us. Every morning

We glow and in the evening we glow again."

"Out beyond ideas of

wrong-doing and right-doing

There is a field,

I'll meet you there

When the soul lies down in that grass

the world is too full to talk about.

Ideas, language, even the phrase,

each other

doesn't make any sense."

"There are thousands of wines

that can take over our minds.

Don't think all ecstasies

are the same!

Jesus was lost in his love for God.

His donkey was drunk with barley."

"Love isn't the work of the tender and the gentle;

Love is the work of wrestlers.

The one who becomes a servant of lovers

is really a fortunate sovereign.

Don't ask anyone about Love; ask Love about Love.

Love is a cloud that scatters pearls."

"Some Hindus have an elephant to show.

No one here has ever seen an elephant.

They bring it at night to a dark room.

One by one, we go in the dark and come out

saying how we experience the animal.

One of us happens to touch the trunk.

A water-pipe kind of creature.

Another, the ear. A strong, always moving

back and forth, fan-animal. Another, the leg.

I find it still, like a column on a temple.

Another touches the curve back.

A leathery throne. Another, the cleverest,

feels the tusk. A rounded sword made of porcelain.

He is proud of his description.

Each of us touches one place

and understands the whole in that way.

The palm and the fingers feeling in the dark

are how the senses explore the reality of the elephant.

If each of us held a candle there,

and if we went in together, we could see it."

"Today I'm out wandering, turning my skull

into a cup for others to drink wine from.

In this town somewhere there sits a calm, intelligent man,

who doesn't know what he's about to do!"

"Love Dogs

One night a man was crying,

Allah! Allah!

His lips grew sweet with the praising,

until a cynic said,

"So! I have heard you

calling out, but have you ever

gotten any response?"

The man had no answer to that.

He quit praying and fell into a confused sleep.

He dreamed he saw Khidr, the guide of souls,

in a thick, green foliage.

"Why did you stop praising?"

"Because I've never heard anything back."

"This longing

you express is the return message."

The grief you cry out from

draws you toward union.

Your pure sadness

that wants help

is the secret cup.

Listen to the moan of a dog for its master.

That whining is the connection.

There are love dogs

no one knows the names of.

Give your life

to be one of them."

"Be quiet now and wait.

It may be that the ocean one,

the one we desire so to move into and become,

desires us out here on land a little longer,

going our sundry roads to the shore."

"What the sayer of praise is really praising is himself,

by saying implicitly,

My eyes are clear.

Likewise, someone who criticizes is criticizing

himself, saying implicitly, 'I can't see very well

with my eyes so inflamed'. "

"Your task is not to look for love, but to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it."

"You think because you understand 'one' you must also understand 'two', because one and one make two. But you must also understand 'and'."

"Work on your strong qualities

and become resplendent like the ruby.

Practice self-denial and accept difficulty.

Always see infinite life in letting the self die.

Your stoniness will decrease; your ruby nature will grow.

The signs of self-existence will leave your body,

and ecstasy will take you over."

"The way of love is not

a subtle argument,

The door there

is devastation.

Birds make great sky-circles

of their freedom.

How do they learn it?

They fall, and falling,

they're given wings."

"Be helpless, dumbfounded,

Unable to say yes or no.

Then a stretcher will come from grace

to gather us up.

We are too dull-eyed to see that beauty.

If we say we can, we’re lying.

If we say No, we don’t see it,

That No will behead us

And shut tight our window onto spirit.

So let us rather not be sure of anything,

Beside ourselves, and only that, so

Miraculous beings come running to help.

Crazed, lying in a zero circle, mute,

We shall be saying finally,

With tremendous eloquence, Lead us.

When we have totally surrendered to that beauty,

We shall be a mighty kindness."

"Although you see the pit, you cannot avoid it."

"Here is a relationship booster

that is guaranteed to

work:

Every time your spouse or lover says something stupid

make your eyes light up as if you

just heard something

brilliant."

"In Silence there is eloquence. Stop weaving and see how the pattern improves."

"The ground's generosity takes in our compost and grows beauty! Try to be more like the ground."

"Give up to grace. The ocean takes care of each wave 'til it gets to shore. You need more help than you know."

"Learn the alchemy true human beings know. The moment you accept what troubles you've been given the door will open."

"Suffering is a gift. In it is hidden mercy."

"Don't try to steer the boat.

Don't open shop for yourself. Listen. Keep silent.

You are not God's mouthpiece. Try to be an ear,

And if you do speak, ask for explanations."

Belly Dance FAIL

At the closing banquet for the trip I took to Turkey with a Yale group this summer, we were treated to an amazing performance by two talented belly dancers. I had a great view being seated at the closest table, and felt no compunctions about showing my enjoyment, making eye contact with the dancers. To my dismay, this encouraged one of them to pull me from my table to join her in the belly dance. I was not quick enough to wave her off and fumbled badly on stage for what seemed like much too long before they found another victim and I slinked back shamefacedly to my seat, no congratulations to follow, needless to say.

Therefore, with the sole purpose of making myself feel better, I offer you the best Youtube has to offer under the search phrase "belly dance fail". I personally do not believe this is fake although some of the viewers leaving comments did. Sadly, I was not even close to being this good or funny.

Bizarro Law

Yesterday's Gulf News reports that a Filipino man named Joseph Aboutan whose wife died in a car accident while he was driving has been held in jail for more than a year because he cannot pay "blood money" to his wife's family and his children. A court ordered the man to pay Dh200,000 ($56,000) to his own children (two boys aged 14 and 13 and a girl aged 11) and to his wife's family. Apparently under UAE law the father will not be released until he pays the blood money. He says he is poor and will not be able to pay the blood money even if he spends all his life in jail. He converted to Islam while in jail, taking Abdullah as his new name, and says what happened to him is his destiny and he is happy for becoming a Muslim.

"Blood money" commonly refers to the money paid by a murderer to the family of his victim. This assumes that a murder has been committed. While the circumstances are not explained, Aboutan was jailed after the accident and later found guilty of causing his wife's death, a case of what we would call manslaughter or vehicular homicide, which does not involve premeditation or intent, a lesser offense than other types of homicide. Apparently the type of homicide makes no difference in the UAE. The National reported in June that that Indian community is raising money to set up a fund to help expatriate Indians who are stuck in jail for failing to pay blood money, usually after traffic accidents.

My husband has warned me that we could be liable for paying blood money if we accidentally kill someone in a car accident. Perhaps it's covered by insurance? At least we can afford it, assuming it's a set sum and not based on wealth of the victim. What makes the Aboutan case so crazy is that it involves his own in-laws and children seeking the payment. I suspect a heartbroken and/or spiteful mother-in-law, who in this case now has custody of the children.

Another equally bizarre case shares space on the same page of yesterday's Gulf News. This report tells of a Pakistani taxi driver accused of beating his passenger to death. The driver picked up an Asian passenger who became unresponsive and could not say where he wanted to go so the driver called paramedics. When paramedics could find nothing wrong with the passenger, the police began to question them for calling an ambulance for no reason. The passenger became very angry and started to beat the driver, who pushed him away. Apparently the passenger was under treatment for his heart, which couldn't take the pressure of the push, and the man went into cardiac arrest and died. Now the driver is being charged with beating his passenger to death. No good deed goes unpunished, goes the saying. Let's hope truth and justice prevail in this one, but I will stay tuned.

Cases like these seem rare, but not unusual, and I applaud the Gulf News for reporting them if only to shed light on what is happening. The system of justice here seems strange to me, but then I didn't grow up with it and haven't studied it. Our system of justice in the USA certainly is not immune to the occasional travesty or miscarriage of justice. At least we don't have debtors' prisons, with never ending jail terms for the poor. Then again, our jails are so full that we have to let hardened criminals go for lack of space. And we have a lot more crime. Surely there's something to be learned from both sides, if we can manage to keep the light on.

Oman: Oh Man!

I got to visit Oman on two different occasions recently, the first time going to Muscat in April as part of a Pittsburgh-based trade delegation representing the Pittsburgh Middle East Institute, and the second time driving to Musandum on Saturday with my husband on a day trip from Dubai. Both times I was impressed by the dramatic scenery and friendliness of the local people, particularly in contrast to Dubai and the UAE.

A short geography lesson may be in order. Oman is a separate country from the United Arab Emirates, and much larger in area, located on the northeast corner of the Arabian peninsula, with the UAE to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. Unlike Dubai, it has lots of coastland, with the Arabian Sea to the south and east and the Gulf of Oman to the northeast. The part of Oman known as Musandum is a peninsula that points northward to Iran and is separated from the rest of the country by the UAE. Musandum, about 180 kilometers from Dubai, is strategically located on the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow shipping channel which leads from the Gulf of Oman into the Persian/Arabian Gulf. The capital of Muscat is on the Gulf of Oman side and a much longer drive/short flight from Dubai. You make a border crossing from the UAE to go into Oman and need to clear customs and obtain a visa, but this is easy and fairly quick assuming you can pay the fees and the line is not too long.

The Sultanate of Oman became a unified nation in 1970 under His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, who is responsible for the modernization of the country and who continues to rule to this day. He is not married and has no children (and is said to be gay!). Several women hold high offices in government, unlike in Dubai. Also, the outside influence seems much more limited in Oman, and the Omani people are much more visible and easy to meet than Emiratis in the UAE. The staff working on the conference for the Pittsburgh trade delegation were Omani men and women, and as a group they impressed us as very hard-working, friendly and gracious.

The people of Oman have had to work harder to get to where they are today because they do not have the abundance of oil enjoyed by Saudi Arabia and the UAE. There is much more of a local lowkey feel to the place, which maintains its cultural traditions while seeming quite tolerant of outside customs. Tourists like us were made to feel welcome, with no concern about how we were dressed. I especially liked the more colorful attire in Oman. The turbans worn by the men were multicolored and unique, and both men and women wore different colors of robes instead of the stark black and white which is the custom in Dubai. To me, Oman looks like an excellent example how an Arab country can enjoy the benefits of outside influence without sacrificing national identity, as Dubai seems at times to have done in its infatuation with extravagance. Ah, the problems that come with having too much money!

The beauty of the surroundings also makes Oman an attractive destination, with coastline punctuated by mountains and interesting rock formations close by. It now seeks to promote sporting events as a spur to tourism, such as the inaugural Tour of Oman, a staged bike race run in February as a precursor to the Tour de France. The air seems brighter and clearer, free of the haze prevalent in the UAE due to endless construction. There is construction going on in Oman as well, but no crazy skyscrapers, rather more low flung buildings. We were told that an entire village had to be moved to make space for one of the new government projects, which I suppose is not too hard to make happen when you're the Sultan.

In Muscat the PMEI trade delegation enjoyed staying in the lap of luxury at the Al Bustan Palace Hotel (pictured), with fabulous pools, gardens, water sports, tennis, restaurants, shopping and conference areas. Many of the guests we met there were European (especially British and German) and had been coming for years. It seemed like a fun place for families since there was plenty to do. It is definitely the conference center of choice, as shortly after our arrival the hotel was also host to the President of Turkey, who met with the Sultan and various government agencies at the hotel. Needless to say, the security was top notch.

Why would Oman be interested in Pittsburgh, you may wonder? Well, the PMEI had sponsored a large trade group from Oman at its last conference in Pittsburgh, and they were returning the favor. Both of us could stand to develop partnerships in areas of mutual interest. At the conference among the topics explored were solar energy, new oil and gas technologies, wireless technologies, and educational programs and exchanges.

One must-see spot in Muscat that we visited was the Mutrah Souk, a veritable maze of shops selling everything imaginable. Whatever you are looking for, you are likely to buy something else first as you get lost in the maze. This is the place to buy frankincense and the ceremonial daggers called khanjars. I liked the men's Omani costume so much that I bought one for my husband, robe, hat, and khanjar included.

The highlight of the visit was dinner at the home of one of the Omani government ministers who spoke at the conference. We got to enjoy a traditional meal with coffee and sweets served afterwards in a special room in the traditional manner. Our group of seven from Pittsburgh was joined by a high-ranking Omani woman who had served as the ambassador from Oman to the USA and her daughter, who was home from studies in London. Our host even served wine at dinner, which impressed us all as extremely gracious and tolerant!

Our trip to Musandum on Saturday gave us more appreciation for Oman's dramatic scenery. We drove north from Dubai, taking us past the neighboring emirates of Sharjah, Arjan, Umm al Quwain, and Ras al Khaimah. Having already visited Fujairah and Abu Dhabi, we can now say we have been to all seven emirates. The new coastline road was blasted out of the mountainside and weaves and winds its way around the coastal area. Evidence of recent rock slides was apparent so we kept our eyes peeled for a wayward boulder. Traffic was light and the area seemed to be sparsely populated as we made our way to Khasab, the capital of the province. The harbor there is where you can hire a boat to explore the winding coastline with the Middle Eastern version of fjords, and remote islands and villages where the inhabitants still speak their own language. It is said to be only 45 kilometers from Iran, with regular and irregular trade of all kinds going back and forth. It's also a fabulous area for scuba diving with many coral reef sites an hour away by boat, but probably out of our league as novices.

We started up the unpaved steep mountain road which would take us to the highest point in the area, but chickened out after about 8 kilometers knowing we had 22 to go. I was glad we did, as the ride down the rocky road was even scarier than going up. Sanity prevailed as we had lunch at the best (and one of the only) hotels in the area, the Golden Tulip. This would be a good jumping off point for a future boat trip. We wandered on the beach for a while and found the shell collecting to be fantastic. As we backtracked to drive home, we saw massive flocks of cormorants flying by, floating in the water, and standing on the beach. Having noticed just one bird on the way out, the difference was stunning.

Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer

I got back to Dubai on July 4 but missed the Independence Day festivities sponsored by the American Business Council, since these were held on Friday, July 2, a weekend day for the UAE, instead of on Sunday which was a work day. I arrived in time for another Muslim holiday, Lailat Al Mi'Raj, celebrating the Prophet's ascension into heaven, the main impact of which seemed to be that no alcohol could be served from Thursday sundown until Friday at 7 p.m. No problem for those making dinner plans so long as they went around 8 p.m.

My husband's law firm moved from its cramped temporary space in the Gate building into terrific new space in Currency House. When we visited on Friday, the workers were scurrying to finish all the last minute installations, and it had the same clean, modern, bright look of K & L's new space in downtown Pittsburgh, with similar furnishings. The lawyers and staff will now have plenty of space with private offices and conference rooms and room to grow, and a convenient location close to the Gate and all the amenities of the DIFC.

I also found myself back in Dubai right in the middle of another shopping festival called Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS), running from June 17 to August 7, much like the very popular winter Dubai Shopping Festival in January and February, only much hotter. Many stores offer 25% or higher discounts on merchandise, and raffles of cars and big-screen TV's take place every week to lure shoppers to make purchases. (Yes, a minimum purchase of AED200, around $55, is required!) The ubiquitous mascot of DSS is a silly looking yellow spring-like character, called Modhesh, which means "surprising" or "amazing" in Arabic. (Image credit: Gulf News archives). Of course, almost all of the events surrounding the festival take place inside in the air-conditioned comfort of various shopping malls. We went shopping for more bedroom furniture for our third bedroom, as it looks like we will be putting up visiting attorneys from other K & L offices, and it was a good time to buy furniture on sale.

It's hot all right, but not too hot for me. Like many people who live here, I don't find temperatures hovering in the 100's to be uncomfortable. A recent survey showed that 45% of the people living here do not consider it too hot until the temperature gets above 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46 degrees Celsius). I am told that there is a law that workers are not allowed to work outside if the thermometer reaches 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit). (Some cynics suspect that the thermometers never get past 49 for that very reason.) I have been checking temperatures n Baghdad where my brother-in-law is working and Istanbul, where I will soon be visiting, and Dubai is right in the middle, with Baghdad much hotter and Istanbul cooler. But as they say, it ain't the heat, it's the humidity that kills you, and I hear that it can get really bad here with windows and doors dripping in sweat just like the people.

My Dubai orientation continues with my first need to seek medical help for unrelenting back/hip pain. Seeking a word-of-mouth referral I was directed by various friends and acquaintances to physiotherapists, herbalists, chiropractors, orthopedic surgeons--plenty to choose from. I also did some internet research and discovered I might need a rheumotologist or physiatrist, doctors who specialize in treating pain and disorders relating to arthritis, which I suspect may be the underlying cause, since I have not suffered any recent injury. I decided to start with an orthopedic doctor to get x-rays and other tests done, hesitating to even say I wanted a surgeon as surgery would be a last resort option in my book right now. We'll see how the insurance and service compares with what I'm used to in the US. I hope I can at least get some temporary relief as I head to Turkey this weekend for a working trip with Yale alumni.

Things seem to be on a slight upswing here, although it also seems pretty deserted if you look outside at the pools and beaches. The big circular project at the entry to the Palm Jumeirah, called the Dubai Pearl, now seems to be rising from its foundations. It should connect with the monorail leading from the base of the Palm to the crescent at the top of the Palm and the Atlantis resort. I assume it will provide a mix of shopping, restaurants and perhaps more hotel or apartments to complement the amenities available on the Palm. The Atlantis seems to be the only hotel open still but others are under construction with a couple of new ones looking close to complete. The big question is how the additional traffic will impact us. I kind of like it the way it is now, not too congested.

In the interesting news department, Hershey World is now open in the Dubai Mall! I will make a point of looking for it next time I am there, as I spent quite a bit of time there during many wrestling tournaments. On the local crime scene, a man was arrested for running to catch the metro. He was later released with no charges filed. I also hear that it's a crime to drive a dirty car in Oman, not sure about the UAE, but that would explain the car wash services everywhere. Finally, the Brit who spent a month in jail and was then deported for kissing women, no his wife, in public, continues to say it was just a friendly peck and he is only sorry to be forced to leave since he likes Dubai and has many friends here. I guess we expats will just need to be a bit more careful as we live our lives in this somewhat confusing, crazy place.

Taking Sports to the Extreme

In a land of extremes, with the biggest, best and richest of everything, I shouldn't be surprised to find a great interest in extreme sports. I never paid much attention to these when I was in the states, viewing them as on the fringe, but you can hardly avoid noticing them here as the big events are heavily promoted and front page news. For a country that does not seem to produce many athletes of local origin, this seems odd, but then maybe the events are more geared to the expat community or to promote tourism.

Abu Dhabi, about an hour down the road from Dubai, seems to be trying to corner the market. In addition to opening a spectacular new Formula 1 Grand Prix track on Yas Island last fall, Abu Dhabi has hosted ultimate competitions in desert racing and air racing. The latest event to make its debut will be the mixed martial arts competition known as the Ultimate Fighting Championship. This event strikes some as particularly inappropriate for a Muslim country that values peace and harmony given the apparent violence of the sport. Sen. John McCain reportedly called mixed martial arts "human cockfighting" but others note that this was before the sport became heavily regulated and that it is no more dangerous or violent than other popular sports like rugby or football.

Talk radio in Dubai has been canvassing local opinion to see what listeners in Dubai think, and of course the reaction was mixed. The ticket prices, ranging from $1,000 to $100, were the biggest surprise for me. I'm not going to be here for the big event, but I have to admit that I'm tempted at the lower end of the price range to attend and see for myself what it's all about. (That's what took me to the Dubai World Cup last month.) The UFC will be held outdoors with grandstands set up in the Yas Island complex built for the Formula 1 race event, and is being billed as a fantastic video and audio spectacle.

Getting to see something new in a nice arena with a big show has been an interesting part of the experience here in the UAE. I can't wait to see what they come up with next! But I draw the line at Mamma Mia on ice, which I saw a sign for today. Now that just seems ridiculous.

The Empty Quarter

We decided to venture out on a road trip to the Empty Quarter (Rub Al Khali) last weekend. This is the largest sand desert on earth, encompassing most of the southern Arabian peninsula, including a large part of the UAE and Saudi Arabia. British explorer Wilfred Thesinger made two famous crossings of the Empty Quarter from 1945-50, probably the first foreigner to do so, with help from local Bedu tribesmen. His journeys were immortalized in his book "Arabian Sands", just released in a new edition in honor of Thesinger's centenary year.

Book in hand, we headed the easy way, by car, to the place where we were staying, the Liwa Hotel, located in the middle of the Liwa oasis, which on the map looks like a green crescent to the north of the desert. From the hotel we got our first views of the endless expanse of massive sand dunes. These were not the white sand dunes of Dubai or the tan sands of Tybee Island off the coast of Georgia where I grew up, or even the dunes pictured in black and white in Thesinger's book. These dunes stretched to the horizon in colors of gold and red, with streaks in shades of salmon, highlighted against the blue sky. The most striking thing, in addition to the colors and vastness of the dunes, was the sand itself, which was blowing around fast and furious and finding its way everywhere. The hotel was evidently fighting a constant battle to keep sand out of the outdoor activity areas, with burlap sacks hung as barriers on the railing along the walkways. I had a hard time keeping it out of my eyes and mouth and found that it could be quite disconcerting.

There is now a modern highway leading from the coastal cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi to the Liwa oasis, connecting the many farms and small towns of the Liwa oasis area. We were expecting something of an off-road adventure to get out in the middle of the dunes. But we were happy to find a new road, well-marked, going to the area we were looking for, called the Moreeb Dune (Tal Marib), famous for its huge, 300 meter tall dunes. There we discovered expansive flat areas nearby, on the sabkhas or salt flats that run between the dunes, set up so it appeared for desert races of all sorts, including off road vehicles, horses, camels and falcons. The area was largely deserted, with just a few tourists like ourselves, perhaps because a large competition called the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge had just concluded the previous day. We did get to watch a few people try to walk up the dune face--a couple actually succeeded--as well as a guy on a dune buggy going up and around and down. It looked like fun, but definitely not something we would try in a Mercury Mountaineer.

We hesitated to go off-road from there, although we saw some other jeeps doing that, since we had no one to help us if we got stuck. It turned out that there were many areas around the salt flats where it was easy to drive around off the main road. It was fun to get away from the road and imagine ourselves alone in the wilderness. We came across some camels on one of these forays, one of which came right up to our car and seemed much less concerned about us than we were about him! Leaving the car and walking out into the dunes and salt flats, we saw that they were much less barren than they appeared, with small green plants and yellow flowers, rabbits, lizards and insects. Unfortunately, there was also quite a bit of refuse, especially close to the road, including plastic bottles that will probably be there forever. We came across what looked like a burlap sack but turned out to be the hide of a dead camel. It was closer to decomposing than the plastic we saw, with its teeth crumbling to the touch of my shoe.

It's possible and easy to camp out in the desert, and we saw a few campers. Without a good tent, I wouldn't want to, what with all the blowing sand. But it is said to be a magical experience under the night sky. We took many pictures but they don't really capture what I saw in the dunes. Not like the cartoonish pictures I've always had in my head of "desert" and "oasis," but something entirely new, vast and awe-inspiring. Maybe a wide angle lens and filters would help, but it's really worth seeing for yourself.

How did all the sand get here? We don't know, but worth investigating. We get the National Geographic at home and will look for their feature in the February 2005 issue, which has some amazing pictures: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0502/feature1/index.html

After spending some time in the dunes, there's really not much else to see or do in the area beyond the hotel. The local gas station seemed to be the only other option for coffee, and a quite nice one at that (the gas stations throughout the UAE are very nice, like they used to be in the USA in the 60's with uniformed attendants waiting on your car). As we headed back to Dubai, we took a detour to visit a new resort that recently opened on the eastern end of the Liwa crescent, called Qasr Al Sarab. We looked into staying there but decided against it based on location (60 kilometers from the Moreeb Dune) and price (three times more than the Liwa Hotel). But having nothing else to do, we drove 10 kilometers off the main road to look around, and found it stunning. The interior was beautifully done and the views were amazing. (Whether they had problems with the blowing sand, I don't know.) We bought a few things in the gift store, this being the only place that we had found to do so, and the sales person told us that the resort cost $800 million to build! Obviously, the government of Abu Dhabi played a big role, given the need for a new 10 kilometer road off the main highway. But it was not even close to being full. (It might have been busier, as was the Liwa Hotel, during the Desert Challenge the previous week.) I imagine that the price of staying there, expensive as it might seem, was being subsidized by the state, so it was probably a bargain. Definitely worth considering if we ever make our way to the Liwa oasis again.

We also stopped at the Emirates National Auto Museum, which was on the way back to Dubai, but it was closed for no apparent reason. It was Easter Sunday, but in the UAE it was a regular workday--perhaps they were still in mourning for the recently deceased Sheikh Ahmed. We got glimpses of a massive globe on wheels and the world's largest wheeled caravan, but missed out on seeing the world's largest truck and the Mercedes in all different colors owned by the so-called Rainbow Sheikh. No match for the colors of the desert, I'm sure.

A Kiss is Just a Kiss (Not)

The case of the British couple tried and sentenced to prison for 30 days to be followed by deportation for the "crime" of kissing in public has been receiving an unbelievable amount of attention in the worldwide press. The current spate of public decency cases in Dubai, which I have mostly ignored, include the British couple having sex on the beach, the Indian couple exchanging sexy text messages, and most recently, another Brit arrested for giving the wrong person the finger.

It's too bad for Dubai's image, since it is an extremely tourist-friendly, family-friendly, safe and tolerant place, and the public decency laws do not intrude in any way on daily life. I find it amazing that the Brits, of all people, seem to get in trouble the most, despite having been here the longest! Is it ignorance or arrogance, neither of which is an excuse? Alcohol, of course, is often involved, which is another big issue locally with lots of gray areas. But I would expect that most tourists and expats would make the effort to determine the local rules and etiquette and try to behave accordingly, at least in public. What happened to "when in Rome"? The lady in the kissing case reportedly showed up in court for her appeal wearing a miniskirt, of all things!

There could, of course, be more explicit guidance and better public education about the rules. The notice posted in the malls calling for modest dress leaves plenty of room for interpretation. I myself wouldn't know that shorts are frowned upon, especially after having been to the malls and seen many people in shorts, unless I had read it myself in a guidebook. The radio commentary today suggested that a flyer be handed out to all airline passengers disembarking in Dubai, but noted that it would probably have to be written in 100 different languages!

In the occasional cases that are brought, the penalties do seem extreme to someone from a western culture. The same can be said of the penalties for traffic violations, some of which involve confiscation of the vehicle for up to 60 days on top of fines and "black points." (I was surprised to discover that for jumping a red light, the car could be confiscated for 15 days!). Dubai has a real problem with dangerous drivers so I guess an extremely punitive approach to traffic enforcement is necessary. I don't know that the problems with public decency require such an extreme approach, and many of the prison sentences seem to get reduced on appeal. But I have little sympathy for the offenders, who fail to respect the modest requirements of the region and cause so much undue attention with these cases of stupidity. I am much more worried about the dangerous drivers, and the horrific accidents receive almost no publicity.

Pirates plumb the depths, says The National

Pirates plumb the depths - The National Newspaper

At first I thought this article in The National, Abu Dhabi's main newspaper, was about the Somali pirates, who have been busy hijacking UAE boats and taking hostages of late. Imagine my surprise when the Pirates on display, wearing the familiar Bucco logo, were those from Pittsburgh, described as "one very, very, bad baseball team."

Why in the world would anyone in the UAE even be interested in the Bucs? A big case of schadenfreude, perhaps? Many in the USA seem to take pleasure in the whoops and downs of Dubai: the alleged sinking of the Palm island, the leak in the aquarium, the debt default. So I guess the losingest team in North America makes for a good read here.

Certainly a familiar story for those of us (can't be that many) from Pittsburgh, now in the UAE. (I've met a few.) A friend and devoted Bucco fan points out that the margin between losing and winning in baseball is very small, and getting to see many of baseball's greatest players (mostly on the other teams!) in the comfort of beautiful PNC Park more than makes up for seeing a few more losses than wins. So it's not a bad story, really. Let's hope the Pirates have stopped plumbing the depths and hit bottom so things will start looking up in the new season.

A Sheikh's Funeral

It was huge news in the UAE and around the world when Sheikh Ahmed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the brother of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the ruler of Abu Dhabi and President of the UAE, disappeared after a glider he was riding in crashed into a lake in Morocco. It took four days of searching before his body was found, and the funeral was held the next day on March 31, as is the Muslim custom. A three-day period of official mourning followed, with all flags at half mast. More surprising to me, all radio stations in the UAE suspended their normal programming, playing classical music instead of the normal fare, with newscasts focusing on the sheikh's funeral, and many concerts and other events were postponed.

Since there are many sheikhs in the UAE, it is not clear who would qualify for this high level of official mourning. Sheikh Ahmed bin Zayed, still young at 41, was not in the line of succession--his half-brother Mohammed bin Zayed is the crown prince of Abu Dhabi and presumably the next in line for president of the UAE--but Sheikh Ahmed was very powerful in his role as the managing director of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, which may be the world's largest sovereign wealth fund. He was considered modest, polite, a great humanitarian, and elusive, and despite many tributes and the huge outpouring of sympathy and grief among the local citizens, very few details of his personal life have emerged. In marked contrast to the excessive attention paid to minor details of the lives of celebrities, politicians and royals in other parts of the world, the lives of the sheikhs remain a mystery to most of us. No doubt they prefer it that way!