The Jordan Times

One aspect of travelling is to be able to read newspapers and gain perspective from the countries’ reporters and affiliated press agencies.

The Jordan Times did not let me down, and there were 3 articles that today caught my attention.

Apart from posting comments on other blogs, I’ve kept out of the DP World debate because it’s already been well-documented – notably through the various posts and reference links on John Chilton’s The Emirates Economist blog.

However, this opinion article from Musa Keilani deserves a mention. It’s a balanced viewpoint from the security aspect of the deal, and addresses this from both UAE and the US angles.

The article made me wonder if after all this, why DP World would want to assume responsibility for the management of the US Ports? It opens up the Middle East and Muslim people to more blame if things do go wrong at these ports. There are people out there who would deliberately cause mayhem to have the ME and Islam portrayed in bad light by claiming that the wrongdoings were carried out by Islamic groups. Why not – it’s probably been done before?

The second article by Hamza Hendawi, uses a barber shop in Iraq to depict how life for the Iraqi people has changed since the US “liberation”. From a people living under fear of a regime, they now live in fear of each other – never knowing when one of their own people is going to find issue and kill them for whatever reason.

All through this article, I had the impression that the barber being interviewed was an older man, and was taken aback to read that this was a man in his mid-30s.

That’s too much death and fear in the life of a man of his age.

Where the Iraqis were once more unified as a people under the Saddam regime, the recent intervention has created an environment where favour has been bestowed on one side, and with that comes unrest from the losers. This is not an environment in which democracy can be introduced: where the sheer numbers of Shiites will outvote the lesser numbers of Sunnis at every turn.

Unless resolution can be found, there's a high probability that there will be civil war and/or years of unrest under US occupancy, as this Reuters' article explains - finishing with the sentence:
"Abroad, there has been concern that Iraqi sectarian violence could inflame the entire Middle East if it gets out of hand."

Overdramatic ending? Perhaps. But a real possibility all the same.

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Dangerous Destinations

Forbes Magazine has just published its list of the most dangerous destinations to travel to in the world - if you're American that is.

Unsurprisingly, there are more than a few places listed that have had “intervention” by countries who vow to go in and save them, and then leave again, once they got what they wanted – mostly assets in the form of natural resources.

Sad to see so many African nations on the list – corruption and civil wars make some of this region like hell on earth. Of course, Iraq and Afghanistan are there - as well as Pakistan.

Click here to see the list – it’s a slide show, so I hope that the link lasts a while.

It makes me happy that we’re currently in Jordan.

We’ll be back with another tale to tell, and more pics, next week!

Wow - did it rain

It rained camels and goats today - it was too heavy for cats and dogs!

Here's what the Marina looked like at 8am.

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The long and winding road..

…that leads from Dibba to Ras Al Kaimah.

Update:  I notice that a lot of people come to this post after googling to find out if there is a passport control between Dibba and Ras Al Kaimah.  At the time of writing in 2006, there was a control at the RAK end, but since then I have heard reports that this route has been closed to through traffic, and only UAE (maybe GCC) nationals are allowed to use it.  

I'm not sure how you would check that information, but entering it from the Dibba end and expecting to turn back would be the best bet, if you did want to go ahead and try it.  At least you'd get to see the most stunning bits through the wadi and on the high mountain route - and carry your passports just in case they let you back in through RAK!

Don't attempt driving through Wadi Bih if it's been raining or looks as if it's going to rain.  Flash floods rip through the wadi, taking everything away.

Also read:  
Rocky Hajjar Picture Show
Through Wadi Bih

  

Click on the images to enlarge

A couple of weekends ago, we again spent the weekend in Khasab showing J's parents the beauty of the place - including the dhow trip and the Hajjar mountains as on the previous trip posted here.

It reminded me that I still hadn't written about doing the journey from Dibba to Ras Al Kaimah as I promised a few weeks ago, when we went diving in the Musandam - so here goes.We decided to travel back the long way – going from Dibba into Oman, travelling over the Hajjar Mountains and onto Ras Al Kaimah.

Although the road officially goes into Oman, no visas are required. However, you do need to show your passports at the RAK end of the road, so we were really pleased that we had thought to pack them!

We had previously travelled on some of this road on an earlier trip into Northern Oman and Khasab, and it had been spectacular. On that journey, we were turned back at the small Omani border post at the intersection of the 3 roads – 1 from Khasab, 1 from Dibba, and the other from RAK – because there is no passport control at this outpost. So we had been determined to do the road on the other side of the border post – and that’s what this story is all about.

At the round-a-bout where the right-turn is for Dibba port, the left turn leads to Khasab. Shortly after the round-a-bout is another left turn that is signposted for Khasab. The road quickly turns from tarseal to gravel, but in dry conditions it's perfectly navigable in a car.

We drove along flat open ground for a while, before the gap between the mountains started to narrow. It quickly became evident that the road was to follow a wadi path through the mountains that in wet conditions would probably be a raging torrent – we were happy that it was still dry!

We were astounded by what we encountered – at times it seemed as if the road had disappeared into a sheer cliff face, only to find that a tiny gap opened up between the mountains to allow the narrow road to continue up the wadi. We were smiling with happiness – the beauty of the surrounding nature was at times overwhelming – and there were no words, just feelings.
  
We stopped many times to take photos and to absorb the scenery – it was so quiet. After about an hour, the gap between the mountains started to widen, and we were soon climbing up the steepest part of the road. The strata in the rocks and hills around us were incredible – there must have been some massive earth movements to have created these layers. It was like looking at waves or water currents, but in solid rock.
  
Before descending to the check point, the road travelled along the top of a ridgeline that dropped off a few thousand feet on one side. We got that “Grand Canyon” feeling all over again.At the check point, there is a barrier across the road. J got out and spoke to the guard, who was rather shy because he didn’t speak much English, and was very apologetic about it. However, a smile from J and the magic words: “Ras Al Kaimah” did the trick, and the barrier lifted so that we could turn left onto the road to RAK.

This part of the road was flat and in the middle of a wide valley. We sped along here before reaching another checkpoint, where we lined up behind 3 other cars. On the other side of the barrier were 6 vehicles coming into where we had just been. The border guard was being extremely diplomatic – he would deal with one vehicle from one side, and then the next vehicle he would service would be from the other side!

It was a bit of a laborious task: the guard collected passports from a vehicle; walked back to his booth; wrote the passport numbers in his book; walked back out to the car to give back the passports; walked to the barrier, opened the barrier to let the vehicle through; closed the barrier; then walked to the next vehicle to repeat the performance!

Luckily we were in no hurry – and M was entertained by a phone call from her photographer friend V in Australia for a few minutes. It was one of those surreal moments – sitting in a vehicle at a checkpoint in the UAE and a long way from Australia; having a conversation with a friend who was driving home in the dark in NSW after shooting an all-day wedding!

We got through the checkpoint where the road was sealed once more and drove through the back suburbs of RAK to the main road. After turning onto the Emirates Road, it was an easy drive back to Dubai, and another want-to-do journey crossed off our list!
  
This is an easy all day trip if you were to start early in Dubai, cross over to Dibba and then travel the road over the Hajjars to RAK. Better still would be to leave the night before and spend it in a hotel in Fujairah Emirate, before doing the drive over the mountains - as we did.

It’s well worth the effort, and I know that we’ll also be going back there with the various overseas visitors, so that we can show off a beautiful and natural part of this country to them.

tooting our own horn

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Visit the toot site to see the list of the best blogs in the Middle East - it's the best opportunity that you have to understand what is happening to the ordinary folk in this region in their everyday lives - and what they write isn't being influenced (censored) by governments or the press.

This is real life.

Your presence is required...

Well, it wasn't really a gilt-edged royal invitation – it was more in the form of a general mailout from ITP to their customer database.M is bemused to be invited to the 4th Dubai International Wine & Beverage Fair to be held at the Madinat Jumeirah (pictured above) on Feb 28th and March 1st.

It seems incongruous to be invited to an event that promotes alcohol-based products in a country that follows Islam.

We all know that Dubai is tolerant and lenient when it comes to alcohol - possibly to its detriment given the number of people being pulled up for drink-driving, and the high proportion of UAE Nationals caught driving under the influence - all of which was published in the Feb 9th edition of Emirates Today.

Expatriates caught D.I.C. are threatened with deportation, but what will the Emiratis face? The authorities can't deport them from their own country!

It also makes us wonder which is the greater sin for followers of the Islamic faith - drinking on its own, or drinking and driving?

We guess that it depends on whether they're caught by a mullah or by the police!

The times they are a-changing – sing it, Bob!

How to win friends and influence people

Quick – someone get Mattar Al Tayer a copy of Dale Carnegie’s book – the man needs all the help he can get!

Mr Al Tayer is the chairman of Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority, and he’s merited with these pearls of wisdom and diplomacy in today’s 7 Days, on Page 2 of the printed edition and here on the website.

It’s to do with the plans for the 6 lane highway through Emaar’s Emirates Hills development.

In summary, here are his comments as reported in 7 Days.

“….the plans were now finalised, but that residents were welcome to write down their thoughts and leave them in a suggestion box.”

“….his staff would be happy to meet the ISC (Emirates Hills’ Interim Steering Committee) to explain the scheme, but would not ask for their opinions or change the plans because it’s “none of their business”.”

““We are not in America or Europe where approval for projects can take up to five years because everyone has to be consulted.”

““We only deal with the developers who own the land and I’m sure they informed their residents. It’s not our job to ask for every resident’s permission.”

Interesting comment, that last one.

I’m sure that Emaar would have let the property buyers know about the road development beforehand, aren’t you? That would explain why so many of them are only now getting upset as the news is being made public. That’s why they paid good money for their properties, only to now find them devalued, due to the highway that will be running along their property boundaries – attractively bordered with buffer zones and sound barriers.

Emaar’s response was to say, “…..that it respects the right of the authorities to propose improvements to the road network, and would “work with the authorities and home owners’ representatives to ensure that any effects and inconvenience of the road construction is kept to a minimum”.”

In other words, the deal is done – the Dubai RTA will sit quietly, smile politely, listen benignly, and possibly even thank you for meeting with them, but they'd prefer that you don’t bother to talk to them, because nothing is going to change.

Mr Al Tayer’s suggestion box will be buried as a time capsule in the foundations of the highway – to be found in a few thousand years by Nakheel’s intergalactic property developers as they build a lunar highway that will transport residents to The Palm Moonbase, located on the shores of the Mare Humorum and which will be “able to be seen from Earth

Like a Circle in a Spiral...

...hmmm - one of my favourite songs!
Today I took this image in the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi.

It was one of those chance shots, where I held the camera out into the middle of the stairwell and shot looking up towards the dome in the ceiling. Only took 1 frame and then moved on to catch up with the rest of my group.

I didn't know what I had got until I got home and loaded it into my computer.

I like it!

Click on the image to open it larger in your browser.

A Cracking Good Idea

I see in the news today that upon meeting with representatives from the “Unite for Children, Unite against Aids” campaign, the Dubai Police Chief vowed to crack down on prostitution in Dubai in an effort to prevent Aids.

"As a body entrusted with ensuring security, we will fight anything that will impact negatively on society," said Lt. Gen. Dahi Khalfan Tamim.

Nice platitude, Sir – but what’s wrong with cracking down on prostitution because it’s just simply ILLEGAL in the UAE? Isn't that what a police force is supposed to do - uphold the law?

Or would that upset too many Wastafarians®©™?

Goodbyeland

Hidden in a little article on page 14 of today’s 7 Days, and buried here in the Business section on their website, comes the news that one of Dubai’s most ambitious projects has been put on hold.

DubaiLand – the metropolis within a city – is to be scaled down, and only 21 already signed-off projects will be completed out of the 200 that were originally planned for the 300 million square metre property.

Does this mean that there’ll be no Dinosaur World and no Space Park?

I’m devastated!

The article is also the first time that I’ve seen official confirmation of a comment that was left on a blog in the middle of last year. The comment inferred that Sheikh Mohammed was to order a slowdown on starting new projects until those already under construction have been completed.

Bloggers spread the news first!

Sunset from Fujairah

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