An Arabian Fairytale Part Five: The Princess and the Sheik visit the Musandam

The summer is approaching. The Princess and the Sheikh have been working long hours and it has been many days since their last adventure. During the recent months there was a short trip on a dhow and the Princess was reminded of how she loves to be on the water. In fact both the Princess and the Sheikh are water lovers. The opportunity arose when Sheikh Gary Bin Divin Deep and his wife Suzanne of Darwin, who have lived in the desert for 17 years, suggested a short cruise on a dhow.

The tradition is that three times a year a number of desert dwellers gather together at the port in Dibba, load up a dhow with diving and snorkeling gear, food and water, camping equipment and beverages and take a leisurely cruise along the Omani coast to the northern province of Oman known as the Musandam.

The cruise is led by genies of the underwater world with eyes as blue as the seas they dive and a sharp wit to match the twinkle within. The first genie is Jerry, a jolly and rotund spirit who surprises with his agility and skill. Jerry is devoted to the dive. He spends his time checking and adjusting, repairing and tendering the equipment used by all the desert folk to enter the allure of the deep. He hops from one tank to another adjusting valves and siphoning air. His hands are not still and he constantly wields a screwdriver, or a clamp, a nut or a widget that he taps to this or bolts to that. Quick with a crack he laughs out loud at his own jokes and those of his friends.

Jerry is ably assisted by a nymph with startling blue eyes, Debbie of South Africa. She surveys the sea and supports and guides, picking up a piece here, tidying away a bit there, encouraging here, cajoling there, wiping up this, attending to that and smiling all the while with a sparkle in her eye and a skip in her step. Only when the desert dwellers have descended does she sit back and relax, book in hand to enjoy the sun, the breeze and the peace and await the return of Jerry and the others from the deep.

Sheikh Gary bin Divin Deep had a laid back trip. He didn’t visit the deep this time but spent the trip checking that all the snorkeling spots were still delivering their promised wonders. Swimming around the islands and checking out the nooks and crannies he would arrive back on deck with a grin from ear to ear and announce that the corals were great, or that the fish were schooling. He gave reports on water clarity and temperature and every spot was yet another that could not be missed. I think this Sheikh must have relatives in the district, perhaps in the deep, with whom he communes. His spirit is in this place.

I met Nancy from Florida who had a mischievous smile and darted around the boat chatting and laughing and gathering the strength to face the deep. On one dive she emerged with the statement – ‘the equipment was working fine, but I wasn’t’ – she had one of those moments we all experience when fear takes charge and life looks short. By the time we reached the next dive she had conquered the demons within and spent 25 minutes re-establishing her relationship with the deep. On her next emergence from the deep she can be quoted as saying ‘Now I know why I do it…….the equipment, the fear, the hassle of suiting up……it all becomes meaningless when you are swimming with the fish all around you’

On arrival at the campsite the Princess and the Sheikh assisted all the desert dwellers and the genies to unload the boat and head for the shore. There was much merrymaking and the cove resounded to the popping of corks and the pulling of ringtabs. Sheikh Gary built a fire and the desert dwellers all cooked their food over the coals. On finishing dinner another genie appeared. He was a music genie and had a guitar and a repertoire of songs that the Princess and the Sheikh knew and so we all sang along. This genie was Mike and he was nimble of finger and his memory for melody and verse was supreme! The hours passed quickly with a song in the air and a glass in the hand and soon it was time for sleep.

Some of the desert dwellers had brought along their nylon huts to erect on the beach. The Sheikh and the Princess slept simply under the stars on a mat of air. During the night the ‘djin’ came to visit. According to local legend the djin that lives on this beach is a naked black djin and is 3 metres tall. He has flames coming out of his head and his eyes are a scary red. He only has 3 fingers on each hand so he can’t catch you but he can really give you a fright. Fortunately the Princess was told this in the morning and not before she went to bed. The djin did come though and he picked up the coals from the fire and threw sparks in the air, he breathed hot air over the camp and disturbed the desert dwellers during the night. The Princess felt his presence and hid under a towel. The Sheikh stayed watchful through the night to protect his Princess.

The Princess was once again amazed at how small the world can be when in discussion she discovered a young woman from the Fujairah tribe who had attended the same school as the Princess in the town of Glebe in the far off land of Australia. Debra of Annandale found her French Prince Charming, Christophe, in the sands of the Middle East and they have settled into the life of the desert. A kinship was established and the Princess hopes to meet up with the lovely Debra again one day.

Another thing that deserves a mention in this story is the master and his crew. Mohammed of Dibba was ably assisted by some men of the sub-continent, sailors indeed. Now Mohammed looked more like a genie than all the other genies. His skin the colour of tanned leather he was large and sturdy. His arms and legs were strong and nimble and his smile almost sparkled with the reflection of the water on brilliant white teeth. He told us tales of clashes with pirates and Iranian customs officials (I am not sure that he wasn’t confusing the two!). He dived for oysters the size of small plates and handled a runabout boat with agility and speed. A word from this genie and the boys jumped. They watched his every movement awaiting his direction and respecting his experience. He only had to look and signal and the team had the boat where he wanted it in a few minutes.

On returning to the port the Princess noticed an auction underway. Men of the sea had gathered with their catch and the auctioneer was selling fresh fish (some of it still jumping in the boat) to the highest bidder. It was a busy day in Dibba harbour with men in the various dress of their country of origin vying for the best produce and loading and off loading boats all around.

The Sheikh and the Princess enjoyed all the long hours of cruising and swimming and soon it was time once again to set off for the desert camp. Another adventure to be filed away in the memory of our wonderful Arabian Fairytale.

Only a woman knows the value

of green shoes!

I am firmly of the belief that everyone must own a pair of nice bright red shoes. Not only do they look great with a black business suit or evening dress but they brighten the day considerably. When you slip them on in the morning they make you feel bright and happy and a bit saucy. People always comment on them and they give a nice bit of zip to a casual outfit as well.

Recently I dropped into Banana Republic in Abu Dhabi and bought a pair of ‘nice black office shoes’ that would also do for a night out. As I was shelling out the astronomic price for them I noticed they had the same shoe in lime green….will I …….won’t I….perhaps if they are allright after wearing for a week I’ll come back and pay another king’s ransom for the green pair.

Why would you want green shoes I hear you ask! Well green is my favourite colour – always has been. It was my father’s favourite colour (Mum says he was colour blind and green was the ONLY colour he could see!) It is also my sister’s favourite colour and she has very good taste!

So the black shoes survived the comfort test and the very next opportunity I had to visit Abu Dhabi I ducked in a bought the green ones. Everyone loves them. I never wear them that someone doesn’t make a comment on them. And just this week my friend Sheila who has returned to Canada put a comment on the blog asking how they went. Well I have to say they have been a success – don’t you love them!

Abu Dhabi Air Race

So we went down to Abu Dhabi for a bit of a break from the desert. One nice little perk is that the company I (Ron) work for currently has a vacant apartment in Abu Dhabi – so no accommodation costs when we go to town for the weekend.

The Air Race is sponsored by Red Bull and features aerobatic planes and pilots racing the clock through a series of “gates”. The gates are blow-up vinyl/plastic and, in Abu Dhabi at least, float on the harbour. They are about 12-15m high. - - - - - Yes - this means the pilots must fly their little craft at speeds of over 200kph at a height of 15m. - - - - And THEN, also do amazing flips and spins in-between gates.

Amongst all the gates and parts they have to fly through, there are 2 sets of 3 slalom gates. To get through these the pilot has to fly the plane on its side through one gate, and then switch onto the other side before going through the next gate. And this at a height of 15 m and at 150kph or so. Hairy stuff.

There are some news photos here: http://www.redbullairrace.com/ . FInd the photo with the scripted Abu Dhabi sign on the beach and we were about 100m to the left. And there’s a Cool You Tube video of last year's race at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4aVggpwrbc to give you a bit of an idea.

It was great fun to watch - but B--- hot on the beach. And so we retired to the Hilton Bar after a couple of hours!! - - to rest up before our evening dhow cruise of course.

Return the folder

Well I can't help but have a giggle about this little story. I was in the office today and one of my tasks was to review some documents for the Secretary General of the university. I needed to discuss the changes with a colleague and then type them up. So Abdul Nasser, the Chief Financial Planning Officer, dropped by. He had already done some work on the docs and had pencilled in changes he thought were necessary and put his documents into a folder. We discussed the changes and agreed on what needed to be done and then he left the folder with me to refer to as I was doing the typing and loading them onto our group on the uni portal.

Feeling very satisfied with myself I finished the review, loaded up all the documents, alerted people to some bits and pieces that needed doing and sat back to have a lemon tea. Cleaned up my desk and noticed I still had Abdul Nasser's folder. So I wrote a 'post-it' note on the folder and put it in the internal mail tray. The note said 'Please return this folder to Abdul Nasser, Chief Financial Planning Officer, Level 4'. The office boy came in and checked with me that he was going to the right office - 'yes, right, level 4 - up the same end as the Secretary general's office - yes - Abdul Nasser - ok, ok, everything good - I go now - return the folder' and off he went.

Just before I was due to come home he came back into my office with his face beaming and presented me the folder. I asked why he bought the folder back and he looked at me as if I was not quite sane and said 'yes, madam, bring folder back - good, yes, madam' Well who am I to argue? So I wrote an email to Abdul Nasser saying I didn't know why I got the folder back but that I hoped he had received the notes. He wrote back saying how he and his secretary had really had a chuckle because the boy had insisted on him only taking the notes and giving back the folder. He said he hoped I had good use for the folder and that he thought it was very funny that the boy had told him I had said 'Return the folder!!!!!' It took a few minutes and I just laughed out loud! - Do you get it? The note said - return the folder - so the boy did........and he had really had to convince the secretary to take the papers out so he could return the folder - TO ME!!!!

Only in the UAE! We are not able to attend - oh dear!

UAE stages camel beauty contest

The first camel beauty contest in the UAE took place six years ago Camel beauty contest Ten thousand camels will be fluttering their long eyelashes in a unique international beauty pageant being held in the United Arab Emirates. The contest in Abu Dhabi is one of the richest and biggest events of its kind, with more than $9m (£4.5m; 5.8m euros) and 100 cars in prizes up for grabs. The contest will feature camels or "ships of the desert" from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Organisers hope it will remind Emiratis of traditional desert values. The contest is part of the Mazayin Dhafra festival, which starts on Wednesday, and organisers say it is the biggest contest of its kind to be staged in the Arabian Gulf. A panel of expert camel appreciators will choose the best animals for each age group. Entry is open to anyone who can prove ownership of a pedigree camel, and the animals must be free from contagious diseases, and without any serious defects. The ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, has sponsored the event. It is said he wants Emiratis to help preserve their national identity through the respect of an animal central to Arab culture. The first camel beauty contest in the UAE took place six years ago. Camel racing is a popular sport, with money from the region's oil riches often placed in huge bets. Long before the oil industry moved in, the Bedou tribes prized the animal known as the "ship of the desert". Camels were the main measurement of wealth, along with horses and falcons.

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

The Sheikh Zayed mosque is on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi as you approach from Al Ain. You pass the mosque on your way into the city from the airport so it is difficult for us to miss it really. The mosque looms large on the skyline both in daylight and at night when it is fully illuminated.

Dedicated to the memory of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan late President of the UAE and fondly known as the father of the UAE. the mosque is a tribute to a life that made a huge difference in the UAE. Sheikh Zayed has his photo in many conspicuous places and is seen as the most revered and honored leader of the Emarati population. His sons are the current rulers and his memory lives on through them. I think I could do a whole exhibition of the monuments to Zayed - they are everywhere.

Now back to the mosque.......We have been watching the construction of this building since our arrival in the country. Even at that time the mosque was a magnificently lit building that was part of our introduction to the country. Our limousine driver whisked us past as we approached Abu Dhabi on the night of our arrival. I think our comments at the time were something like - "Holy cow what is that!" We tried to gain access to it in our first couple of weeks but it was not yet open to the public.

Just recently we heard that there were tours being conducted for school children and that the mosque was accepting visitors, so we decided to have a look at it. We took Jenny, the trainer from BCA who is doing management training at the University with us.

Here is a link to some information about the mosque. No amount of written words can describe the grandeur of the place. On leaving Ron said - "I really feel like I have been to church" - he was overwhelmed by the building, even more than the Vatican. I suppose that's because it was just so unexpectedly peaceful and beautiful. It does compare already with the Vatican and I believe when finally finished will have to be added to the list of the great wonders of the world.

Here are some photos - one of them is us in the main prayer hall. Yes that's me in the abbaya and shayla! Women must cover from head to foot and men must not wear short trousers and also need to cover their shoulders. The other woman is Jenny.

An Arabian Fairytale Part Four: Some culture in the desert

Time has passed so quickly in the desert camp and yet the days are slow and the pace is quiet. The weeks race by over days that change little. The Princess and the Sheikh have their daily duties to attend to and the leisurely evenings are cool and pleasant. The Princess knows there will be times like this when each of the days melt into one another.

Having moved to this strange place the need was felt to learn the local language. So the Sheikh, the Princess, some of the ladies of the hareem and Sheikh Brian Ibn Playin Gitar all signed up for lessons in Arabic speaking and writing. This turned out to be similar to a camel endurance race. Ivett of Czech and Blandine of France have proven to be the stayers with Nerissa of Victoria, Moraig of Kiwiland (wife of Sheikh Brian), the Princess and the Sheikh (ie. Sheikh Ron Bin Drinkin Redwine) all falling short of the course and throwing it in just after learning numbers and colours and a few letters of the alphabet!

However that has not meant that the desert has been totally devoid of all culture and the Sheikh and the Princess have been out and about seeking cultural opportunities reminiscent of the old country.

The first opportunity came when the Teatro alla Scala Symphony gave a concert at the Al Jahili Fort. It was indeed an auspicious occasion with visiting Sheikhs from other kingdoms, ladies all dressed in their finery and the Italian military on parade. The symphony was a string ensemble and they played Mozart, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and other composers the Sheikh and the Princess had not heard of before (a lull in musical education perhaps!) The setting was lovely with the fort well lit and looking very fairytale appropriate. A slight breeze lifted the dust from the floor of the desert and puffs could be seen floating amongst the violins and cellos – I wonder what the musicians thought of that! It didn’t stop them from playing and the notes wafted above the fort and out on the air to the desert beyond, settling in the palms and houses of the surrounding neighbourhood.

And just this week the Sheikh once again showed his benevolence with the purchase of tickets to the Bolshoi Ballet performing Swan Lake at the Emirates Palace. Here is a link to photos of the Emirates Palace. http://picasaweb.google.com/CherylandRon/EmiratesPalace it is quite a spectacular spot for the presentation of a ballet and the auditorium was beautiful. The stage design was excellent and the ballet was perfect. Here are some photos, but that can never show the absolute beauty of this ballet and the precision and timing of the dancers. The movement of feet was amazing and the athleticism of the performers was superb.

The Princess and the Sheikh have now returned to the desert camp and the passing of the days - likes sands through the hourglass - and there is plenty of sand around here! The Sheikh and the Princess will be returning to the land of the kangaroos in July and they are looking forward to counting down the weeks as they pass, and yet still enjoying the pleasures of the desert as time goes by.

Is anyone out there?

There are days that go by slowly and some that just fly. Today was a slow mover for me. So I thought I might hop on and do a blog entry and then started to wonder what I might write about this time.
You see it doesn't really matter where you are in the world at some stage everything sort of settles into the mundane. You rise in the morning shower and dress for work, eat breakfast, have a short chat about how the day might go, hop in the car and off to the office. You hang out there most of the day doing what needs to be done and talking to some people and maybe slipping out for lunch; and then you find yourself in the car and on the way home again.
Once home you chat about how the day went, decide what to eat for dinner, check the emails and log on to MSN to see who is about, have dinner and maybe slip out to a movie, or an art class, or Arabic lessons. Ron has a bit more free time than me so he gets to the gym and the pool. I might go for a walk with him or Nerissa.
At some stage you think about planning for a night out with friends and what you might do on the weekend.
So really it is not too much different to living back there on the Central Coast. The company and the climate is different and the work is interesting. We miss people and we are happy to be away sometimes, other times we would like to be back there in the thick of it.
And then there are the interesting things like travelling to strange and exotic places and eating different foods and experiencing different cultures and we are really enjoying that part. Every now and then I wonder though - does anyone read this blog? Is there anyone out there ........... hello ............................. hellooo................h .. . .

Dhow heading for home

This picture was painted for my boss, and friend, Sheila. She is leaving soon to go back to Canada. I hope she likes it!

Al Ain Air Show

Last weekend we went to the local Al Ain Air Show. We’d been to a couple of these back in Oz and so didn’t think it would be anything special, but it was something to do.

And so we were pleasantly surprised to see it was a day of non-stop entertainment. The show was recently upgraded and is now part of the world aerobatic competition circuit. So we were treated to a dozen pilots all making their planes do loops, turns, vertical climbs, stalls, and things that planes were never meant to do. They were followed by a number of formation flying teams from various countries, including the Saudi Air Force. Unlike some countries, UAE has not banned wing-walking, and so this was also a part of the show.

For me, the highlight was the feathered flyer! Falcons have a special place in UAE culture. Emiratis train them and use them to hunt. So it was a treat to see a falcon released by its handler to chase a small remote controlled model plane towing a “bird” target. The falcon chased the “bird” at top speed for about 5 minutes, finally diving and snatching it from the tow line and then returning to the ground with its quarry where it waited patiently for the handler.

For me, the day ended with a flight by the local air group’s recently restored Bleriot plane. However, there was also a typically huge UAE finale – stunt craft flying patterns across the strip in front of the spectator stand, accompanied by explosions of dynamite, sending flames and black smoke erupting into the air. Not for me, but the crowd loved it!

Click on the picture to enlarge it. And there are more photos on our Picasa Album page at: www.picasaweb.google.com/cherylandron