United
Arab Emirates & Oman & Qatar
If there is any real public face of Dubai today, this has got to be the
defining image. The sailboat-shaped Burj al-Arab "7" star
hotel rises out of the Persian gulf, towering over the Madinat
Jumeirah, a complex of luxury hotel resorts and shopping malls
fashioned in the style of old Persian gulf towns with windtowers
(contrast this to the image of Yazd in the Northern Iran page) .
There is a lovely lagoon (artificial of course), bridges and boats
transporting guests around the Madinat complex. It makes luxury
tourists happy, it brings in the tourist dirhams, and visitors think
they've seen the culture of Arabia.
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The only indoor downhill ski centre in the
world is SkiDubai, situated in the brand new Mall of the Emirates and
not far from the luxury hotels on the Jumeirah beach coast. It's
not expensive actually, about $30 buying you entry, lift ticket, skis
and clothing rental. Inside the freezing ski centre, you can head
up the ski lift to the top of the slope or else mill about doing other
activities in the snow. Hordes of kids and tourists seem to
thoroughly enjoy their experience, and to take a warm break from the
crisp cold Dubai winter air, you can duck into the chalet-style ski
lodge shown here and watch your friends and family through the gigantic
window panes. Indians and Arabs and filipinos who had never seen
snow and tourists like me also gawk through the windows to take in this
unique sight.
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A more natural scene, Indian or Pakistan
guestworkers loiter on the beach in Sharjah, the "twin" city to Dubai
that is much less glitzy and toutrist-oriented. While they've
made clear efforts to build attractions to lure tourists, I fear this
is not working. I was the only non-Arab foreign guest at the
Sharjah youth hostel. It could be construed as a calmer, less
"spoiled" version of Dubai, but even that would be exaggerating.
Old traditional style buildings and hotels
mix in with the fish market and souq near the port of Muttrah, the most
touristed district of Muscat, Oman. Lovely mountains intercalate
between the various districts of the city, lending it more natural
beauty than city in the United Arab Emirates.
Arab traditions are also more vital in
Oman than in Dubai and this is precisely a selling point to many
tourists. Many Omani men wear their hats and gowns proudly,
including this tea-seller and locals who hang out in the shade of the
Muttrah Souq to escape the fierce afternoon sun. Women are rarely
seen in public and usually full covered up when they do.
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The only spot of life on a dead and gloomy
Friday morning in Doha is at the fishing pier, where the morning catch
is sold to locals, mostly South Asian and filipino guestworkers.
In the Gulf, even new projects look like
rehashed old projects. On the left, one of several pearl
monuments to remind people that pearling was the major industry in
Bahrain like in many of the gulf states before oil was struck. On
the right, an ambitious new world trade centre project of Manama,
Bahrain consists of two triangular towers linked by three walkways
which will serve as the axles for functioning windmill turbines.
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