Visiting the Gulf States

---

Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. is the home of the 3^rd largest mosque –the Grand Mosque – which took 12 years to build, has largest chandelier in the world weighing 9 tons with 1 million pieces of crystal, the largest single piece carpet in the world with a floral design to signify paradise, 41,000 people attend Friday prayer services, silver and gold inlays in opulence and Italian Moreno glass in the windows. While the Christian calendar has 365 days plus leap year the Islamic calendar is a lunar one with 354 days. The government has planted 100 million trees which are watered daily with recycled water. Day time temps range from 95 degrees in the Spring to 120 degrees in July and August in the shade. Gasoline is $1/gal. with no taxes. Heritage Village has recreation of an early desert village house with products from the date palm providing wood for construction, palm leaves covering the structure, food from the fruit. Recognition of the eldest member of the family provides him with the best bedding, first to eat at meals, deference in daily living. Oil money is creating Louvre and Guggenheim Museum clones. Falconry and Camel Racing are popular sports with robot jockey’s replacing young boys on the camels. Only the camel owners can bet on the outcome as Islamic law prevents betting. Crime is low because punishment is severe, elders are respected and culture doesn’t condone crime. In building the museum Shazayed Bin Sultan Al Hahyan said “History is a continuous chain of events. The present is only an extension of the past.”

Fajairah is the only emirate situated entirely on the Gulf of Oman. We got here over night through the Strait of Hormuz but our tour buses came overland in an hour from Abu Dhabi. Education was minimal in the 1980’s due to the desire to keep children home but then the Sheik, educated in Great Britton, offered $300/per child/per month for school attendance, resulting in a high literacy rate. Early exported products included crushed stone, cement, iron, copper, granite from the mountains. Now have date palm products, corn and tobacco, besides oil money. An oil pipeline is now connecting Abu Dhabi and Fujairah to allow oil delivery without going through the Strait of Hormuz. Forts in Fujairah are being restored to signify the history of this part of the country. The mountains on this side are quite different from the Abu Dhabi sandy desert side. Former watch towers have been restored and old forts are being turned into modern museums. It is apparent that the U.A.E. government is interested in telling the historical story and doing it well with modern, professionally prepared museums. We learn about early Bedouin tribes and the gradual transition to modern living. We drive into the mountains to see an oasis and classical souk, in case we wanted to buy fruit or a rug. Next stop Muscat, Oman.

Arriving in Muscat, Oman on a Friday we’re restricted from entering the Grand Mosque on their Sabbath and so view it and the Palace from the outside. The souk welcomes us and our money while the modern museum tells their history. Muscat is the largest city of Oman and also the seat of government. Throughout its history indigenous tribes and foreign countries (primarily Portugal, Persia and Turkey) have ruled this key trading area. Sultan Qaboos bin Said became its ruler in 1970 and turned the governments energy to improving infrastructure and the plight of the individual Omani. Attracting workers from other countries such as India, Muscat’s economy is now dominated by trade, oil and the use of the excellent port.

Salalah, Oman is our final Eastern Arabian Peninsula port and we’re amazed at the size of its Grand Mosque capable of holding 10,000 praying Muslims at a time. Special rooms are set aside for women desiring to pray at the Mosque vs doing so at home. Tourism is well developed here for the Saudis and others coming from the north for a (relatively) cooler vacation on the magnificent beach. The Sultan is removing locals living on the beach and replacing these humble homes with 5 star resorts. Our guide tells us that the Royal Family selects the successor ruler if there is a question about the oldest son and the Army provides temporary leadership if the family can’t solve the problem. The current ruler has been popular since assuming power in 1970. The coconut tree and Date Palm tree are very popular consumable items and we get another chance to drink coconut milk. All parts of the date palm are used for food, housing, woven floor mats, etc. After a visit to another souk (which includes a fascinating local restaurant with pillow seats on the carpeted floors of small, private rooms off a central serving area) and museum, we return to the pier and our ship. The next four days of sea travel will provide a welcome rest and change of activity.

Sea days on a cruise are usually filled with entertainment, both participative and non-participative. We have an excellent lecturer on board who briefs us on the countries we’re about to visit as does our Excursions Manager. Since most of the excursions are free on Regent, along with the on board drinks, meals and all activities not in the Spa or boutique, we usually go ashore at each port in bus excursions. A day at sea focuses activity on interesting games, movies, lectures, etc. Our English cruise director is a master at devising creative ways to keep us busy and today we’re having an English Country Fair with crew members from the various departments devising intriguing activities so we can win prizes along with our fun. Our available movies are usually thematic for the area, such as Lawrence of Arabia yesterday. As an extra opportunity we hosted a small cocktail party in our suite, arranged by our butler, and including some of the other passengers who are going all the way to South Hampton, England. Since all the drinks and other food items (i.e. shrimp, crab, etc.) are “part of the package” it was a wonderful way to party “on the house”. A capstone for the evening was dinner with the ship’s master Captain John O’Neil at his table.

---