Hello from the capital city of the United Arab Emirates, 

 

After an early breakfast in the Dubai Hotel I hopped a water taxi to reach the inter-city bus terminal on the other side of the creek, paid my 15 Dirham ($4) fare and embarked on the two hour ride southwest toward the Abu Dhabi Emirate.

The bus arrived in the outskirts of the city about noon and I immediately started my usual search for someplace to store my backpack and lay my head. That is not easy in Abu Dhabi for someone reluctant to part with a sizable portion of his life savings just to be unconscious in a safe, comfortable place a few hours each day.

 

The bus terminal is about five kilometers south-east of the city center. However, the Grand Millennium Hotel is right next door to the terminal and I had discovered information on the Internet about special weekend rates at the Millennium. Thinking this must be the one, I eagerly trotted over expecting an astoundingly low rate at this five star grand hotel… in your dreams – the special promotional rate would be $180, "an exceptional bargain" I soon learned from the overly solicitous reception and concierge staff.

 

However, they did provide me with a map of the city and information about another Millennium hotel five or six kilometers away; “too far to walk!”… and offered to hail me a cab. Pointing at my feet and making walking gestures with my fingers I pointed out that if Allah had wanted me rolling around on this earth, he would have provided me with wheels instead of feet. That always gets a knowing/sympathetic/pitiful/incredulous smile.

The map, my compass and the sun-clock navigational tools all conspired to keep me totally confused about my present location. Add to that the bizarre, overly lengthy street names and the tiny font used on the map, I could have been in just about any unfamiliar foreign city. Not intimidated in the least I shifted my feet into high gear and started the daunting hunt for an affordable hotel. Rates being quoted all fell into the 400 to 700 Dirham or $110-$200 range to insure I wouldn’t overstay my welcome in this town. After five hours of non-stop sticker shock I stumbled on the Kingsgate Hotel in an out of the way area called “Tourist Club.”

 

The posted 540 Dirham rack rate initially convinced me it would be pointless to engage in any conversation with the polite reception staff. As I pleaded for suggestions of more budget friendly nearby hotels, the serious negotiations started in earnest and they immediately offered a "very special promotional" 450 rate. As I declined each new modestly lower reduced rate the young Filipina receptionist finally asked: “What rate could you pay?” When I said 300 Dirham she promptly began a feverish series of maneuvers with her calculator, punctuated by a phone call to management and then the announcement: “We can do that… without breakfast.”

 

“But, I want breakfast!”

 

“We can include breakfast for a total of 350 she replied and I accepted, finally agreeing to the $96 rate including breakfast in this four year old, three star Millennium Hotels property. I feel truly pampered and will hang out here while figuring out how to proceed on around the Persian Gulf hugging the coastline.

 

One of my maps of the UAE shows a coastal highway continuing on westward out of Abu Dhabi toward Qatar, but that is a figment of some cartographer’s imagination, as it would appear a more authoritative map clearly shows the UAE ending at a Saudi Arabian border. After a good deal of inquiry the rumored direct bus to Doha Qatar appears to be incorrect and rental cars for crossing the borders are not legal, several rental companies have told me as well. So, my planned surface exploration of the region has come to an end, at least from this direction. Once in Kuwait new information sources could alter perceptions of what is and is not possible. Time will tell; serendipity will decide.

 

Rectilinearly obsessed architects have dominated the design of buildings in this modern city. Almost none of the curved surfaces seen in Dubai have found their way to this Emirate. The forest of towers reminds me of New York City; lots of dark canyons with numerous sprawling, gaudy shopping malls scattered around and throughout the city.

One of my readers extolling the virtues of "experiencing all those fascinating things" prompted me to reply: "You too could have 'exotic' adventures if you could only bring yourself to give up any semblance of sanity and good sense. All that is required is to jump off the cliff and trust that something will catch you before you hit the bottom and the entire great adventure disappears... as it certainly will eventually in any case. I keep hoping you are right about all those fascinating things that must be out there, but so far it has just been more examples of the infinite variety of ordinary human activities, mostly not that different from what I experience at home. I think the main difference for me is that I pay more close attention to the details when I am far from home... and write more about my observations. I'll have to try putting on my traveling eyes next time I am wandering around Las Vegas."

The muezzins have started their evening yelling... er, singing/chanting/calling as it is nearly 6PM and time for prayers once again.  Truth is, not many people pay much attention to the call to prayer, but the yellers do their thing anyway, and there are a lot of them. They remind me of all the church bells in earlier centuries in the West. Church after church ringing their distinctive sets one after another. Here, the muezzins overlap their calls, sometimes harmonizing, sometimes not. It makes for some bizarre sound effects. After a while, all the noise seems like normal background and I just tune out like everyone else.

 

It has now been almost two decades since I forced myself to read an English translation of the entire Qur'an. At the time curiosity propelled the effort as previous academic studies had pretty much explored the more contentious ideas developed in the book. Even then, I clearly understood much of the material carried symbolic meaning hidden in the poetic phraseology and could only be fully understood by long collateral study including a working knowledge of Arabic. From time to time I would search the Internet for commentary on various specific ideas being discussed in the press or in SBCC adult education college classes I continued to enjoy. This reminiscing has been prompted by a remarkable TED talk I recently watched (several times) and recommended to your attention:

 

Lesley Hazleton sat down one day to read the Koran. And what she found -- as a non-Muslim, a self-identified "tourist" in the Islamic holy book -- wasn't what she expected. Watch now

 

Until the next postcard, probably from somewhere in Iran,

Peace

Fred L Bellomy

 

Abu Dhabi UAE: Unusual sculpture/monument in the center of a traffic circle encountered during one of my many bus rides around the city.

Abu Dhabi UAE: BIG BUS Tours offer sight seeing around the city of Abu Dhabi in comfort.

Abu Dhabi: View of the marina from in front of the Marina Mall parking lot.

Abu Dhabi UAE: Fountain in the middle of a major traffic circle near the center of town.

Abu Dhabi UAE: Native dress for shoppers at the Abu Dhabi Mall.