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Published: December 18th 2008
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Everyone knows that oil is a valuable resource. You know it when you fill up your tank at the gas station, when you get your gas bill, or when they add those ridiculous fuel surcharges to the price of your airfare. But I never really, FULLY, understood the price of oil until I looked out across the business district of Dubai from my hotel balcony on Sheikh Zayed Street... 50-story plate glass skyscrapers lining the road, Ferraris and Jaguars racing down it, and the tallest building in the world visible a bit off in the distance to my right. It dawned on me then that the world really, really, REALLY likes oil.
I had gotten into the UAE that day from Muscat, the capital of Oman, and had flown into Muscat from Cairo the day before. When I got to Dubai I was planning on seeking out one of the one or two hostels they have in the city, but my friend Jules had other ideas. She and I go back many years and I haven't seen her in several, so we agreed to meet in Dubai for a couple of nights when I decided I was going. She's worked
in Kabul for the past 2 years and is about to sign a 2-year extension, so I wasn't sure when I'd get a chance to see her again. She apparently, through some connection, got the director of guest relations at the Four Points Sheraton to give us a free upgrade to an executive suite on the 29th floor with a sitting room, kitchen, 2 king-size beds, 2 master bathrooms, 3 flat-screen TVs, 2 balconies, access to the rooftop lounge with pool and hot tub, and a bunch of free stuff. Needless to say Dubai was a blast. The first night we went down to the marina and had dinner and poked around a bit, and the following day we spent on the beach (on the Persian Gulf). We were thinking about going skiing at the indoor ski slope they have at the Dubai Mall but decided that it was unnecessary and quite frankly, kind of a ridiculous concept. I did however, witness from the roof of our hotel the most beautiful sunset I've ever seen in life. I took some photos but they do little justice.
I took the bus back to Oman after 2 nights in Dubai, and
stayed with a guy who teaches German at Sultan Qaboos University, the new public university in Oman. He gave me the general tour of Muscat, which I liked very much. Oman is a surprisingly modern country; people seem to be quite well-off there for the most part and they have virtually all modern amenities along with an extensive, well-paved, well-lit road system. After a couple of days in Muscat I set off for Nizwa, a rather conservative town in the mountains about 150 km inland from Muscat. Nizwa is situated in a thick palm oasis in the foothills of the inland mountains of Oman. It's the #2 tourist destination in Oman, but I think that's largely because there's a lot of cool stuff to see in the surrounding area, not because Nizwa's a particularly interesting place. There was a fort (it was closed for the Eid holiday) and a nice mosque, and the scenery was beautiful, but you pretty much have to rent a 4x4 to do any exploring of the supposedly beautiful mountains and wadis in the area. That was a little expensive for me, so I decided after one night to press on to Salalah in the far
south of the country.
I had attempted to purchase a bus ticket to Salalah from Nizwa while I was in Muscat, but I was informed that they were sold out all week because of the holidays. But just in case I stood at the bus stop in Nizwa for a couple of hours until a bus showed up that happened to be heading Salalah and also happened to have one free seat. So I hopped on and made myself comfortable for the 11 hour drive through the desert. Oman is a very sparsely populated country, and particularly so between Nizwa and Salalah. In fact, the area is virtually uninhabited. It's called the Empty Quarter, and with very good reason: until an hour before we got to Salalah, there was nothing but flat gravel desert in every direction. They had a gas station every couple hundred kilometers, but that was about the extent of it. Truly the most boring drive ever, but I slept for most of it so I did OK.
We arrived in Salalah at night so there wasn't much to see, but I had befriended 3 Omani guys on the bus who live in Salalah working
security at a hotel. The hotel they worked at was actually the one I was planning on staying at, but they told me that the rates had been increased and it was pretty expensive, and invited me to crash at their place. I agreed hesitantly, so not so hesitantly given the experience I'd had with Omanis thus far. I must say, without a doubt, the Omani people as a whole are the kindest, friendliest, most hospitable people you'll ever meet. Every time the bus stopped at a gas station, I'd be accosted for offers of free food or tea from people on the bus. I thought this was an anomaly, but it really wasn't. The guys I stayed with refused to let me pay anything for the taxi to their place, refused to let me pay anything for the dinner they ordered to their apartment, made me breakfast in the morning, and showed me around Salalah the next day for several hours until they had to go to work.
Salalah might as well be on a different planet than Muscat. The differences are obvious. It's a good solid 1,000 km below the Tropic of Cancer so it's, naturally, quite
Dubai at night
The view from the balcony of our hotel room... the tall thin building on the right with the white lights near the top is the Burj Dubai, the tallest building in the world tropical. The entire city is surrounded by coconut palms and banana/papaya plantations. It was particularly beautiful along the beach, where the pristine white sand stretched for miles alongside these plantations. The Arabian Sea was gorgeous too, sparkling, warm water with waves crashing against the cliffs west of the city. I stayed in a great little hotel the second night, and had a very relaxing stay in Salalah. I had some authentic Omani food there as well, and it certainly was all it was cracked up to be. Traditional Omani restaurants consist of private rooms in which you sit on cushions on the floor and eat with your family. I had harees, which is a glutinous concoction of steamed wheat and some kind of meat (in my case dried shark), served with pita. I went back the next day and got some great curry as well, which I would assume is the product of the heavy influence of Indian culture in Oman.
I wandered around the souk a bit in Salalah, where they sell authentic frankincense. Southern Oman and parts of Yemen are the only places in the world where frankincense grows naturally, and while it was quite cheap there,
Daytime view from balcony
Same view during the day, you can see the Burj Dubai a little better here it's something of a luxury elsewhere. In ancient times it was one of the most valuable items one could buy, which made the ancient cities of present-day Oman quite rich. The stuff smells fantastic, by the way.
After 3 days in Salalah I took the bus back to Muscat and met up with my German friend, and then flew back to Cairo the following day. I'm really glad I decided to go to Oman, it was really a totally difference experience than I've gotten in Egypt or Jordan. The culture was incredibly diverse, the food was wonderful and cheap, and the people were downright lovable. Dubai was cool also... nice for a little 2-day vacation, but it's a pretty intense (translation: fast-paced and disgustingly rich) place, I don't know if I could handle much longer than that. I wish I could include more anecdotes than I have in this cursory update, but I'm in the middle of finals and really must get back to the grind. I'll be putting up a few pictures here shortly.
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