Everyone slept in after the previous night’s debacle, even Samia was up late with an upset stomach. By the time we ate breakfast, showered and read the paper it was about 1PM before we pushed off. I gained consensus to visit Dubai Museum, although Mark was lobbying for a return to Jumeirah. The resort area is pretty incredible, but I have gained some idea of just how big Dubai is: its twenty minutes to the airport; thirty minutes to Deira, and; fifty minutes (at least, I’m pretty sure) to span the distance to Jumeirah. Felt we had our fill of road trips and wanted to soak up some culture before leaving.
Mark & Samia wanted to take me to a restaurant in the historic section of Bur Dubai (the Bastakia Quarter) that is being restored. They had been leveling historic homes in Bastakia for parking lots and cheap housing to accommodate imported labor forces until a timely visit from none other than Prince Charles. During a tour of the dilapidated section with the sheik a few years back Charles commented how crazy it was to let their heritage get bulldozed and the sheik took it to heart.
Unfortunately the diner was closed (Friday being like our Sunday). A friend of Mark and Samia was displaying art at the venue so we were disappointed. Wasn’t hard to find other options and we selected an authentic Mid-Eastern diner almost next door. A fun choice. Samia had chicken soup, Mark the mahawab chicken (sweet), and chili chicken for myself. It was supposed to be spicy, but oh well…still quite tasty. Seating here was al fresco and I caught some serious sun during the lunch hour.
We enjoyed a delightful after-lunch stroll along Bastakia’s quiet streets (the village is submerged in bustling downtown Dubai and most of the streets have no vehicle traffic), savoring the wind towers. Wind towers were the ancient art of air conditioning, a tall steeple facing all four directions to capture breezes no matter which way the wind was blowing. The tower funneled cooling air into the main living quarters and laundry was often hung to dry at the bottom of the shaft, because evaporation further removes warmth.
Strolling the wind towers of Bastakia in Dubai
The Dubai Museum is adjacent to Bastakia and I found it to be well laid out with a wealth of information about the area, the people and the history – even quality displays on wildlife that Spencer would have enjoyed. At the end was a grand collection of artifacts, of which several dated as far back as 2,000 B.C. --- shields fashioned from shark skin, arrowheads remarkably like leaves, etc.
Oh, excuse me…at the true end was a gift shop, where we discovered a stuffed camel that brays & snores, its entire body undulating, when you twist its left ear. Time to start accumulating presents and I scored this for Spencer (but Samia wanted one too!). Also picked up the requisite ‘tacky magnet’, which Kim and I like to buy as mementos (you know, the ridiculous refrigerator magnets from various places). My tacky choice was a camel and veiled woman in a desert setting.
From here we continued down Dubai Creek (towards the Gulf) and stopped at Sheikh Saeed’s palace (believe this was the grandfather of sheikh Maktoum, present sheik of Dubai and #2 official in UAE). Another masterpiece, with the photo collection being the true gem. Lots of pictures from the 1950’s & 60’s, revealing locust swarms (Mark has never experienced, or heard reference to, a locust swarm – would be interested to learn if these occur any longer???) and day-to-day life. The palace itself was quite grand – both Mark and Samia commented to me separately that the layout was “complex” – wish I knew enough about architecture to appreciate their identical remarks…
Sheikh Saeed al-Maktoum’s Palace along Dubai Creek
From the palace we started walking along the creek – a superb area and a true feeling of relaxation crept in. Plenty of outdoor cafes beside the creek and people were sitting around everywhere enjoying coffee, tea and shi-sha (flavored tobacco smoked from a hookah, which was ubiquitous in Dubai and unfortunately I never got around to sampling it). The water is an exquisite sparkling blue, populated by numerous dhows and abrah’s (water taxi’s) gently plying the water and lending an easy-going sense of activity to the scene.
We wandered into the free Heritage/Cultural Museum (albeit admissions are ridiculously cheap…only $2 or $3 apiece to get into the Dubai Museum & the sheikh’s palace) on the waterfront and stumbled upon a splendid tribal dance being performed. Struck me as more African than Bedouin, but phenomenal nonetheless. Mark and Samia scored some traditional food being whipped up by veiled women squatting besides small fires they had built: Samia later clued me in that these were genuine Bedouins.
Music and Dance at the Heritage Cultural Center
Finally, we sat along the creek with all the sippers and smokers for a drink (milkshake, cappuccino and Turkish coffee) while reveling in the din of a busy cultural area with ideal weather. I savored my final view of the Dubai skyline and regretted that I would soon leave this scene behind, particularly the sprinkling of mosques throughout. I commented how visible all the minarets were and asked whether there was a ban on multi-story buildings adjacent to these holy structures. Mark replied that there weren’t any, but suggested it probably wasn’t too smart to build right beside a tower that blares a call to prayer five times every day!
Then, once again, we struggled with the traffic to reach downtown Sharjah. I had really only been in the ‘University City’ section of Sharjah…five linked college campuses…and was unprepared for the hustle and bustle. I learned this city provides low-rent housing for the low wage ex-pat laborers since its right beside Dubai.
In the heart of downtown, dominated by towering apartment skyscrapers that recall the Bronx, we made the Blue Souk, which was brimming with activity at 7:30PM --- another lesson was that Friday was typically the only day off for the ex-pat laborers, so they do all of their shopping then. First stop was to get a pashmina for my mom at another frequented venue of Samia’s. Once again she was heartily welcomed and this time chairs were pulled out so they could sit and catch up over a cup of tea before the bargaining donnybrook.
After scoring the big-ticket item (I will not soon forget how ridiculously cheap everything is in the UAE…probably helps that the Dhiram is fixed against the dollar --- so no big exchange losses like virtually every other foreign currency), it was a fun time of seeking out knick-knacks for friends and relatives.
For our final meal, we drove to a nearby traditional Lebanese restaurant that Mark & Samia frequent about once a month, Al Shiraa Fiskey. Unfortunately I was given no prior introduction, and was surprised when we entered a room with large ice chests and tons of fish laid out…you just make your selection and instruct them to “fry” or “grill”. Mark chose fuch (pronounced something like ‘fresh’, but neither had tried it before or even heard of it…they were confident because the dude behind the counter recommended it) and some squid, asking for both to be grilled. We walked to the ‘family’ seating area (all the restaurants in UAE have two sections…one for families and one for men, they are usually much more separate than smoking and non-smoking sections in our dining places…quite often completely separate rooms) and selected a table.
A waiter soon appeared and feted us with the now familiar salad fixings, and I savored my mint w/hummus one last time. Interesting footnote is that the waiter also deposited a box of tissues on our table…and fortunately Mark was there to inform me this was their version of napkins!
Our calamari showed up quite promptly…so fresh…and the fuch was not long behind. The fish was laid out on a huge platter and our waiter expertly carved out numerous filets and served an initial portion. It was delicious. An Iraqi Mark works with stopped by to say hello as he escorted his family in for supper. Apparently this place is a hit with the college staff and they usually encounter an acquaintance here.
Then we headed home for the last time. I re-packed my bags and was ecstatic at the abundance of room (the goods I brought in to Dubai included five pounds of Kona coffee – Mark & Samia lived for several years in Hawaii and are hooked -- two pounds of soy protein, nine CD’s, two DVD’s, a baby blanket and two other baby gifts…took up over half of my luggage!). The dollar value of my ‘return’ gifts far exceeded what came in, but it was a bargain in terms of cubic displacement.
It was hard to believe my flight home lifted off from Dubai at 2:30AM, but eventually it was time to head for the airport. Mark and I would share one last engaging conversation --- how I miss this --- on the way to Dubai Airport. During this final chat I would articulate a few personal perceptions of global diversity and it didn’t dawn on me until later that these new perspectives had been born from this journey. Got out of the car, grabbed my bags and descended into the bowels of Dubai Airport for the return marathon.
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