Meanwhile, back in The Sandpit...

The Grey Ghost

2012-01-25T10:08:00.000+04:00

I must have the memory retention of a goldfish. Driving the Grey Ghost down to the Coast I looked in the rear vision mirror and saw what appeared to be another car "Gee that grey car is close......oh its not another car, its the rear spoiler (giggle)". Ten minutes later I looked in the rear vision mirror again and saw what appeared to be another car "Gee that grey car is close......oh its the rear spoiler (giggle)". I could keep myself amused with this for hours.

Rain, rain go away.

2012-01-25T06:58:00.000+04:00

Day 3 on the Gold Coast and torrential rain is quickly losing its novelty value as its poured virtually non-stop since I arrived. The beaches are deserted while the grey waves come crashing in while the malls are full of depressed holidaymakers in their beach gear heading to the movies for the umpteenth time. Like me, I bet they didn't expect to be looking at the gumboot selection in the shoe shops on the Gold Coast! What happened to 'beautiful one day, perfect the next'?
Across the road from my parents' place, the park has flooded and the ducks are very happily paddling around the playground equipment.

Are your eyebrows dying? The dangers of instant translations.

2012-01-15T18:27:00.003+04:00

There are many useful tools available on the internet, one is the automatic language translation software. I have a YouTube channel and often receive messages in foreign (to me) languages and by using the translation sites, I know within seconds whether the message is nice or nasty. All you need to do is go onto one of the translations sites, cut and paste a piece of text written in a language you don't understand and either choose the language if you know what it is or leave the software to figure it out. Simply press 'translate' and the software gives the translation in English. Or vice versa. So far its been great for short sentences or greetings but anything more and the results are, well, sub-optimal. Given a larger paragraph, the translation sites translate literally from the selected language into English. Often this is sufficient and with a bit of thought the meaning can be decoded but unfortunately many times the output is a stew of unrelated, and often amusing, English sentences that leave the reader no wiser than before.

While probably not done by computer software, you only have to look at the name boards outside some of the shops here (Doha) and in the UAE to see the danger of taking easy translations at face value. There are endless examples where an Arabic or Hindi business name has been translated word for literal word, into English. The translators seem to be unaware that to anyone with more than schoolyard English, the business name is either nonsensical eg “Travel and Walk Rent a Car” or amusing eg 'Riff Raff Tailors', the mattress shop called “JoySleep” and the oddly named 'Moist Flower Electronics', then there's the, never fails to amuse, 'Parking at Backside' signs or the vaguely lewd eg 'Fanny International' or 'Gang Massage'.
All this was brought to mind by a local beauty saloon (yes its spelt 'saloon') that's opened up down the road. Below are some pages from their price list. The price list proves that accepting the output from someone who says they 'know English' or running it through Google Translate/Babelfish/Bing can be a dangerous thing to do. I don't know about you, but I am intrigued by the Swishing Programme though I don't fancy cooking any Egyptians thanks.

Moving onto Page 2 where we meet the Department of Cleaning the Skin which offers a session wrinkled skin, though they don't specify whether that removes or adds wrinkles. Feeling energetic? Maybe you need the skin exhausting session. And what the erecta is, well, I hate to think but its possibly illegal here.

Moving onto the next page and I'll leave it to you to enjoy in peace. Its wonderful.

Its a car chase Jim but not as we know it.

2012-01-10T17:15:00.001+04:00

Never thought I'd see a Fairlane -v- Ford Zephyr car chase again but here we are. This is a clip from a 1965 Egyptian film 'Al Mouchaghib' (The Troublemakers) where we see the 'baddies' in the Fairlane, the 'goodies' in the Zeph and the police bringing up the rear in a Peugeot station wagon. You can't bottle this stuff its so good!

A spot of break and enter.

2012-01-03T15:57:00.003+04:00

I headed off into Doha City Centre by taxi this morning I realised I'd left the kitchen window open. After a flash of panic I remembered that the cleaner was coming so I wasn't worried as she usually closes any open windows when she finishes work.

And why was I in a taxi? Well, many of the roads in Doha are so poor that Madame can't go on many of the places I need to go as she's too low to the ground. Some of the speed humps in our suburb are so high that she 'bottoms out' going over them. None of the speedhumps are marked so driving at night in an unknown area is a slow and cautious affair.

Arrived at City Centre which is the largest mall in Doha, its probably about the size of the shopping area at Bur Juman in Dubai. First stop coffee to make an 'action plan'. Surely its an indictment on all the other coffee bars that the best coffee in City Centre is at Starbucks? 10am, the shops opened so I neaded down the hallway to the retail cemetry that is the back section of DCC, where only a few evening dress shops and a row of abaya shops remain. Its reminiscent of the gold souq in Dubai Mall. The perfume shop guy told me that there's going to be another entrance to mall from the new carpark and many of the shops in the retail cemetry will be removed to make it more open and accessible from the main part of the mall. Meanwhile, most of the shops in the back section of the mall have not renewed their leases anyway. He has 3 months to go and then will relocate to Al Rayyan. Even Al Jeida's gone :-(

Dear ShoeMart: If you join a pair of shoes with a security band that's so small that a customer cannot walk in the shoes to try them out, then the customer will not buy! I asked for a pair of scissors so I could cut the plastic band to take a few steps, I mean that's what you do when you buy shoes, but the guy said "No Ma'am only manager have scissor(singular)". WTF! a shoeshop where you can't even take a step in the shoes before you buy them. How will you know if they fit properly? So, like the lady next to me, I walked out (something I couldn't do in any of the pairs of shoes they had on display).

Anyway, after my non-purchase from ShoeMart I headed home. At the front door I tried my key, it didn't turn, meaning the cleaner had left the key in the lock on the other side. No prob, I collected the shopping and went round the back of the house to try the back door. I put the key in the lock, tried to turn it but mafish, nothing, so, sigh, that meant the key was in the lock in that door also. Well that was the end of the door option, now for windows. Fortunately the cleaner hadn't gone round closing the windows before she went home and the kitchen window was still open. I reached up and moved the pots of herbs off the window ledge, hauled the ladder out of the storeroom, put it against the side of the house and up I went. Onto the window ledge (woo, does it collect a lot of dust there), slid the flyscreen back, hopped onto the bench (nice work, very clean) then down to the floor. I went over to the back door and sure enough the key was still in the lock but, when I turned the door handle, I discovered that the cleaner hadn't locked the door when she left, it was unlocked and if I'd thought to try the handle I could have just walked in. Still, the whole ladder up to the window brought back a misspent youth and keeps skill levels high.

Doha to Dubai for NYE

2011-12-30T21:36:00.001+04:00

We left Doha at 6:20am and arrived at the border to exit Qatar just over an hour later. Painless process which took 10 minutes maximum, then a drive through no-persons land to the Saudi border post. We arrived at the Saudi border to find one side blocked because two locals in big 4x4s had had an accident in one of the customs inspection lanes! You stand in a queue at the little window to get a number, then if you're woman you have to get a number written in your passport and then walk over to another building to have your fingerprints done and a photo taken. This was only done 6 weeks ago but I had to be fingerprinted and photographed again. Why the Saudis wanted to do my fingerprints again I don't know, they can't have changed *that* much in 6 weeks surely?
The drive through Saudi takes about 1.5 hours, there is nothing to see except for truck tyres in various states of burial in the sand on the side of the road. They are known as 'desert dolphins'. The condition of the road is, umm, suboptimal. Customs will give you a small piece of paper that looks like a supermarket checkout receipt. Guard this little piece of paper as, even though nobody tells you this, you will need it later on and heaven help you if you don't have it as, first off, you need to show it to the official at the final Saudi exit point who'll give it back to you.
Entering the UAE involves parking your car, going inside (do not feel tempted to use the loo around the back, its a health hazard) the UAE official will stamp your entry visa into your passport and ask to see the Customs paper that looks like a supermarket checkout receipt. Show it to him and make sure when he gives you back your passport that he gives you the little piece of paper too. Now you have to buy temporary car insurance from one of the bored gents in the insurance company booths around the corner from the immigration building, its 70 dirhams for a week. You get back in the car and if you're a woman you can get behind the wheel again at this point, only to have to muscle your way through the queue of trucks down to the final exit check where the man will give your passports the onceover and takes the Customs paper that looks like a supermarket checkout receipt from you. He keeps it this time and you can get on your way.

A Kiwi Night Before Christmas

2011-12-22T09:46:00.000+04:00

A Kiwi Night Before Christmas
(by Yvonne Morrison)

˜Twas the night before Christmas, and all round the bach
Not a possum was stirring; not one could we catch
We'd left on the table a meat pie and beer,
In hopes that Santa Claus soon would be here.
We children were snuggled up in our bunk beds,
While dreams of pavlova danced in our head;
And Mum in her nightie, and Dad in his shorts,
Had just settled down to watch TV sports,
When outside the bach such a hoo-ha arose,
I woke up at once from my wonderful doze.
I ran straight to the sliding door, looking about,
Jumped out on the deck, and let out a shout!
The fairy lights Dad had strung up round the door
Let me see everything, down to the shore.
And what did I see, when I took a peep?
But a miniature tractor and eight tiny sheep,
With a little old driver, his dog on his knee
I knew at once who this joker might be.
He patted the dog, and in a voice not unkind,
cried, "Good on ya, boy! Now, GIT IN BEHIND!"
Now, Flossy!, now, Fluffy!, now Shaun and Shane!
On, Bossy! on, Buffy! on, Jason and Wayne!
Up that red tree, to the top of the bach!
But mind you don't trample the vegetable patch.
So up to the roof those sheep quickly flew,
With the tractor of toys, Santa and his dog too.
As my sister awoke and I turned around,
In through the window he came with a bound.
He wore a black singlet and little white shorts,
And stuck on his feet were gumboots, of course;
A sackful of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a postie just opening his pack.
His eyes - bright as paua shell - oh, how they twinkled!
Like an old tuatara, his skin was all wrinkled!
He had a wide face and a round, fat tummy,
That looked like he'd eaten lots that was yummy.
He spoke not a word, but got down on one knee,
And placed a cricket set under the tree,
A present for Sis, one for Dad, one for Mum,
Then he turned and he winked and he held up his thumb;
He jumped on his tractor, to his dog gave a whistle,
And away they all flew, as fast as a missile.
I called out, "Thanks", as he flew past the gate.
He called back: "Kia ora to all, and good on ya, mate!

We're good sports here in Qatar.

2011-12-20T13:13:00.001+04:00

There'll be a new national holiday in Qatar starting in 2012. The Heir Apparent, HH Sheikh Tamin bin Hamad Al Thani, has decreed that the second Tuesday in February every year will be celebrated as ‘National Sports Day’.
I'll do an extra hour in the gym that day!

Qatar National Day 2011

2011-12-19T09:41:00.011+04:00

Qatar marked its National Day yesterday, 18th December. Introduced in 2007 National Day celebrates the founding of the modern and united State of Qatar by Sheikh Jassim (Qassim) bin Mohammad bin Thani. Sheikh Jassim was born in Bahrain arond 1825 and grew up in Fuwairat on the Qatar coast. To cut a long and really interesting story short, once he was in power, Sheikh Jassim mostly suceeded in balancing the pressures of the regional powers, who were at that time Britain and the Ottomans (Turkey). When he resisted the Ottoman Empire's growing attempts to dominate the area, the resistance culminated in a decisive battle at Al Wajba, south of Doha, in 1893 which the united Qatari tribes won.
Today proud Qataris decorate their cars with pictures of the current Emir and the ruling family.

The pictures are screen printed onto a thin perforated plastic mesh which is then heat sealed onto windows or glued onto the vehicle's bodywork (how that affects the car's paintwork I don't know). Holes are cut out of the mesh to allow for head/tail lights and door handles. The vehicles of both nationals and many expats were decked out with flags of various sizes while buildings were draped with huge pictures of the Emir and the Heir Apparent and flags some several stories high.
The day is a public holiday with events centered on and around the Corniche in Doha including a fly past of planes from the Qatari Airforce.

Throughout the day there cultural shows on the Corniche and in the nearby souq Wafiq.

In the morning there was a military parade along the Corniche displaying the Qatari Armed Forces' most recent purchases. In the evening the crowds were entertained by a light show and fireworks display. We were warned about the traffic schmozzle that would go along with the fireworks display and so we stayed home, this photo of the fireworks is taken from our roof.

All this along with the national day pastime of standing in the sunroof of a speeding 4x4 waving either a national flag or a brandishing a sword.
More photos are here.

Rain, rain.....

2011-11-28T14:54:00.000+04:00

On 364 days of the year there's no need for street drainage in Doha, but on one day of the year, there is:

Pollution cloud in Doha

2011-11-13T14:33:00.004+04:00

We saw this pollution/smoke cloud not long after we crossed the border into Qatar from Saudi yesterday (Sat 12th Nov).

By the time we arrived home, the cloud had enveloped a large part of the suburban area of Doha. There didn't seem to be any smell so I don't know whether it was a rubbish tip fire or what it was.

Not a mention of it today in the newspapers or on any of the usual websites yet to say 'you can't miss it' would have been an understatement.

Meanwhile, back in Saudi Arabia.....

2011-11-08T15:15:00.000+04:00

Music from Qatar

2011-10-30T08:56:00.001+04:00

Qatari musicians onstage at the Doha Film Festival.

Round and round

2011-10-20T22:16:00.000+04:00

Anyone on the road in Doha at 2pm on a Thursday either (a) deserves a medal for bravery or (b) should be put down before they have a chance to breed! Its insane out there today, even the cop who stepped out onto Aramex roundabout to direct traffic had to jump back onto the footpath to avoid being hit by a idiot in a 4x4. The officer's job is to stop the traffic flow on one part of the roundabout so that other cars can get round. The road is 3 lanes wide but in an act of evil genius, he ensured there were 4 vehicles side by side in the front row. By the way the other drivers were eyeing each other off I very quickly realised I was in the front row of a race grid. The other drivers didn't look at me, local etiquette and all (so they didn't see me smirk). Even the truck driver in the far lane was staunch and steely. There was engine revving, even by the truck but Madame didn't bother as she was bored, then the cop dropped his arm and we were off. It was like a police supervised drag race.

UAE to Qatar in 2.20 minutes

2011-10-19T11:12:00.001+04:00

When the KSA driving ban bites....

2011-09-29T21:33:00.001+04:00

The driving ban in Saudi: when it really bites.

I thought you might be interested in getting a personal story on how the KSA driving ban can affect a woman in the region. So here's my story:

We've recently moved to Qatar after a long stint in the UAE and we want to bring our car over from Dubai. The transit route UAE-Qatar is all overland, reasonable roads (though shocking drivers). As you know its the law that women cover in Saudi so I'd change into abaya and sheyla just before the Saudi border and keep them on until I'm in Qatar. I have a cupboard full of abayas so no problem there. The simplest way would be for me to fly back, get the car and drive it over. The trip is just 680kms (422 miles) and if I left Dubai in the morning, even with border crossings, I could be back in Doha by dinner time....but I can't do that. Why? Because for 125kms (that's a mere 78 miles) the transit route passes through Saudi so for that tiny distance I can't drive nor can I hire a driver to do that leg of the trip for me because I can't be in the same car as a man who's not a relative. End result, my husband has to take a day off work, fly back to Dubai, pick up the car, and he'll do the driving within the Saudi borders.

The Plumbing Story: Its all a Plot

2011-09-21T10:16:00.001+04:00

Here's an update on the plumbing situation: The Top Head Director of Plumbing came out yesterday, examined the manholes and announced that the reason the kitchen drain blocks up is because it doesn't have an outlet, the water goes out of the sink, out of the pipe and then just soaks into the ground....somewhere. The reason? He looked at his offsiders and muttered darkly 'Iranian plumbers'.

The Plumbing story continues

2011-09-16T10:22:00.001+04:00

The plumber and his mate came round, borrowed the broomhandle to poke down the floor drain in the kitchen. "Big problem Madame" well there's a surprise. Used our hose shoved it into the laundry waste outlet and pressed 'go' well you can imagine how well that turned out! And then they decided to lift the big manhole cover outside and check the pipes but by then it was dark so there they were both crouching over the hole using the lights from their mobile phones to try to see down to the drain pipes. At least its different from Dubai where, if we called the property management company for a plumber, or an electrician or an air-con tech they'd send the same guys (The 3 Stooges) no matter what we'd asked for.

The Plumbing Story begins.

2011-09-16T10:04:00.000+04:00

15 Sept: Following yesterday's flood of the kitchen floor that was almost biblical in scale, I'm still waiting for the plumber to arrive to unblock the drain. I called Plumber HQ and they told me he will come today IBM...insha'allah, bukrah, malesh.

16 Sept: The plumber came this morning. He borrowed my broom and used the handle to poke around in the floor drain (ha! I did that 2 days ago) then he went outside and banged on the pipes. He then phoned The-Plumber-in-Chief and they had a long chat in Hindi which I didn't understand except for the English words 'full block'. He will come back at 5pm (insha'allah).

Nearly there.

2011-08-31T17:21:00.000+04:00

Gone are the great days when I could leave Dubai airport and walk home. Now there's another leg to the trip home from NZ. I arrived in Dubai at 4pm, collected my bags, chatted to the immigration man as there were no other customers for him, then out the door of the arrivals hall across the driveway into the lift across the road and back into the departures hall which is in the same building I'd just left. Checked in and now waiting for the flight to Doha. The flight is international so I have to check in 2.5 hours before departure, but the actual flying time is only 40-45 minutes, just long enough to get up to cruising altitude before its time to start the descent.

Getting off the ground

2011-08-12T07:45:00.002+04:00

The Air New Zealand website is one of the most user UNfriendly, frustrating business sites ever. As a potential passenger its impossible to access even simple, basic information for example, flights between Sydney and Rotorua (the rumour is they fly direct, probably in a Tigermoth but moving along) without entering a code which I typed in but their site refuses to accept it and gives me another code which their site refuses etc etc. I have now tried 9 different codes in an attempt to get flight details and I've had it with them. Other airlines have websites that give information easily and quickly but Air New Zealand's answer is to give a full page of instructions on how to change your computer settings to access their crappy site as they are too cheap to optimise it for all browsers. If I want computer instruction I'll go to Microsoft, I just want to make a flight booking through Air New Zealand's website but they make it impossible. So I'm going Emirates. Yallah!

Ramadan Kareem.

2011-08-01T09:45:00.000+04:00

Water for Dummies

2011-07-16T08:10:00.004+04:00

We've bought a new water cooler for the kitchen.

It must be part of a special "Drinking Water for Dummies" range, have a look at the choices we have.

The impossible task.

2011-07-15T19:16:00.006+04:00

The task is exporting our 2008 Prado from the UAE to Qatar, the distance of 1,000kms. Not so hard you'd think (well if you don't live around these parts you probably would think that....) and as the vehicle is less than 5 years old it is within the allowable age for import into Qatar. The Prado has stayed in Dubai as Colin used it for work until the day he finished and I've used it since then for all the running round you have to do to prepare to move countries.
First stop in the process was the RTA website and the Dubai Police website then a visit to the big RTA headquarters building in Garhoud by the petrol station. My passport was taken and held hostage while I found the man who could apparently tell me how to export the Prado from Dubai to Doha. He couldn't help me and told me to go the the RTA 'Customer Service' centre in Marakesh Street not far from the RTA building, so off I went. You'll notice that I'm using quotation marks around the words 'customer' and 'service' for a reason. I went there, found there was only on street parking for customers and all the spaces were taken so I drove up the out lane into the staff parking and parked in one of the empty spaces. I figured that as it was 2pm there was little chance of the staff member coming back and wanting their car space. I went inside and took a number from the receptionist to join the queue to be served. After 35 minutes they had served two people so, as there were 13 numbers ahead of me, a quick calculation said that it would be at least 4-5 hours before I was called. So I made a considered decision – I gave up. As one of the papers that has to be produced is a confirmation of import tax payment, I went to the Toyota dealer to collect a letter that was waiting for me confirming that tax had been paid on the vehicle on entry to the UAE by the importing agent. Unfortunately the letter had been lost (sigh) and I had to go away again while they prepared another one.
Next day I was back at the RTA, first in the queue when the office opened at 7:30am to start the process of getting blue export plates. I had all the paperwork that the website listed but sure enough they give you an application form which you can't access online and on the back it lists more required documents. I explained that as my husband now works in Qatar I'd be doing everything on his behalf, no problem, the lady was very helpful and listed the papers I'd need to produce to get the blue export plates. Once the Prado has the blue plates we have 3 days to leave Dubai. Anyway, one of the papers I need to produce is a new Dubai warrant of fitness. So I took the car to the WOF place, the car passed the test, but after nearly an hour of waiting the lady there told me that the warrant of fitness would not be issued. She said that Dubai car registration and immigration records are now linked and because the car is registered in Colin's name and he no longer has a valid UAE visa therefore no warrant of fitness will be given. When I queried this and explained that a certificate is required to export the car she just shrugged her shoulders, turned her back and started to deal with the next customer. I gathered up my papers and left, totally dejected and just a bit angry. Its a circular story: the UAE visa must be cancelled before Qatar will issue an RP (as a foreigner you can't have visas in two GCC countries) and a foreigner has to have an Qatar RP to import a car into Doha but a foreigner can't export a car without a UAE visa. Do you apply for, and hopefully receive, a Saudi transit visa, then drive the car to Saudi, park it somewhere, go back to Dubai, cancel your UAE visa, go to Doha, get your Qatar RP (bearing in mind that it took nearly 3 months for Colin to get his), then once you have your Qatar RP apply for another Saudi transit visa fly to the place in Saudi where you left your car, then drive it across the border to Qatar? Nah, sounds too simple.
So this indicates that we cannot sell the car in Dubai ourselves or even transfer ownership to a friend with a UAE visa in order to sell it rather than export. I needed to drive Madame to work right up to my last day (though I realised later that my employer had actually cancelled my visa the day before). Does this mean that as soon as you are made redundant/decide to leave Dubai you must sell your car and then pay for a hire car before your employer cancels your visa?
This is doing my head in.
(Image: Design Pics Images)

Madame is in the house

2011-07-07T08:24:00.000+04:00

"Madame" our Audi RS6 arrived in Doha from Dubai on the back of a truck about 2 hours ago. Its been quite a marathon to get her here and its so good to have that growling beastie with us again. A huge, huge thank you to Colin who supports my obsession with this wonderful car. Ok that's it, I'm off to the garage to sit and look at her for a while. Fan-bloody-tastic!!!!!

Round and Round

2011-06-02T14:25:00.000+04:00

If you look in the Oxford Dictionary for the word 'terror' the definition given is "being in a car in the middle lane on Decorator Roundabout, Doha, Qatar"....wait, whaddaya mean "Its not"? Pfft, if it isn't there already its only a matter of time!

Outta here...finally

2011-05-30T10:57:00.004+04:00

I finally arrived in Doha last night nearly 3 months after 'The Move' from Dubai to Doha got under way.
Leaving Dubai was a drama right to the end: DEWA (the power/water board) cut off the power to the unit a day earlier than requested which left me with the Prado inside the garage and a non-operating electric garage door. After trying everything I could think of I eventually had to call the the landlord who sent one his guys round. After using a piece of 4x2 to release the door I could get the Prado out. Now both the Prado and Madame are parked under a friend's office. The cars are in the shade. The Prado will stay there until I have my Qatar visa; when I get it we can both apply for Saudi visas so we can fly back to Dubai and then drive the Prado back to Doha. As the drive from the UAE to Qatar involves a short transit through Saudi I cannot drive that section and also I'll be wearing abaya and hijab for the 1-2 hours we are on Saudi soil.
Back to the DEWA story: to get the refund of our deposit on the villa we have to supply a copy of the final DEWA bill with 'Paid' stamped on it to the landlord. Dewa said the bill would be ready in 1-2 working days after disconnection but by Thursday we still hadn't heard from them. I went into DEWA on Saturday but they said the bill couldn't be prepared because there was an 'information error'. What the error was, they couldn't say and I would have to come back the following day to speak to one of the managers. So back I went on Sunday and spoke to Mr Abdullah, The Man Who Knows Things. He told me he'd find out about the 'information error' but that the bill should be ready in an hour, inshallah. Well I've been in Dubai a while so I know what a DEWA 'inshallah' means. It means out of sight, out of mind, if you go away they'll just forget about you. So I got myself a coffee (surprisingly good) and sat opposite TMWKT and waited. And waited. Until lo and behold after a mere 50 minutes the final bill was ready. Oh, and what was the 'information error'? I will never know and I wasn't going to interrupt Mr A.'s flow of good work to ask.
The landlord wanted the bill faxed to him, so I asked whether I could bring it in person and collect the refund cheque? No. As there are no fax sending facilities at DEWA the landlord's bloke suggested I 'just drive around' until I found a typing centre. Blood pressure rising at this point. 30 minutes later having attempted to get to Satwa but only succeding in becoming seriously lost in the back blocks of Deira (don't ask) I decided to head for home and find somewhere there. First stop, the Umm Ramoul Post Office where Mr Mean took pleasure in telling me that they did not have a fax. Next stop was Al Garhoud's own version of Sin Central judging by the vast array of condoms for sale, the Emarat petrol station on Marrakech St. Yes, they could send faxes and in minutes the mission was accomplished. Plus I learnt a lot about the preferences of the male population of the local area......
Then back to John and Vicki's, I got on the phone to FlyDubai, booked a seat on the 8pm flight from Dubai to Doha and now here I am.

Music to my ears

2011-03-31T06:13:00.000+04:00

The local supermarket in Dubai has a reasonable selection of Arabic music. I check the rack for new additions regularly and yesterday, I found a CD in the bellydance section. Normally I wouldn't buy it as violin music isn't much interest to me, but when I saw the title of this particular CD I knew I had to have it. I give you:

Mum and the Kids

2011-03-29T07:50:00.000+04:00

Our old bbq has been occupied by one of the local stray cats and her three kittens. Mum Cat is very skittery and shy of humans and she hissed at me when she thought I was too close to her babies, I hissed back which made it a bit of an impasse. Anyway, Mum doesn't realise that as the bbq is right by the house, I can see her out of the lounge window. (We thought she was a bloke cat but we were seriously wrong weren't we?)

Everything's tickedy-boo.

2011-03-16T09:36:00.004+04:00

I'm back in Dubai sorting, culling and packing. How can people accumulate so much stuff'? We arrived in Dubai with one suitcase each but we'll need a 40 foot container (possibly two) to leave.

It seems like Sunday was the start of an official 'Everything's Tickedy-Boo in Dubai' campaign. The media has bombarded the public with positive stories; Business Bay is surging ahead, there are blokes are on the radio saying property prices have reached their lowest point and the market is bouncing back. Meanwhile, down at the shops, Deira City Centre is confident of an expanding retail market and will be building 55 new shops. Who these potential property buyers are, where they'll come from and most interesting, why they would buy in Dubai is not explained and the commentators have obviously never heard the expression 'Once bitten, twice shy'. Dubai's reputation as a safe place for investment has been muddied by the property market implosion. What rules there were, were shown to be woefully inadequate to deal with the fallout. Currently there are ongoing complaints and some law suits by investors who have lost their money on developments that have been shelved for the foreseeable future. Reputation, like virginity, is something that once lost, cannot be restored (yeh I know about the operation but you see my point?) There would need to be a vast number of people move into Dubai to get rid of the current glut of property units, (those people won't be coming from the construction industry) and did anyone say the magic word "visa"? Where are the jobs for these people? It also comes as a rude shock to prospective purchasers when they find that their 'residence visa' in Dubai only lasts for 6 months at a time and then they have to leave and request a renewal. So why would they? There are markets that welcome their investment, Malaysia for example and its "My Second Home" programme. In response to the current oversupply in Dubai developers are holding back on releasing development units. The hotel sector is reportedly taking the biggest hit, with one example being the shelving of the Kempinski hotel on the Palm Jumeirah which will remain a shell for the next two years Ulrich Eckhardt, Kempinski’s head of the Middle East and Africa said “I’m concerned about what I consider poor planning from those in a position to approve new hotels. He continued, "Building permission was granted without studying “existing inventory, growth rates and future demand." (Just because you get permission to build doesn't mean you have to do it surely? I would have thought the hotel company itself would have taken a look at the state of the market but there you go....)

With oil prices rising due to the Libyan crisis the number of international travellers is expected to fall, and let's face it, the Middle East is not currently the holiday destination of choice.
Back to the Deira City Centre expansion, Q1: How long ago did they shut their 'luxury arcade' due to lack of custom? Q2: Will the expansion take over more of the car park? Will Deira CC end up like Doha City Centre in Qatar? Doha CC is a shopping mall almost the size of Mall of the Emirates but with the car park space of Spinneys in Jumeira. Oh yes and Frederick's of Hollywood is opening 10 shops in the Middle East this despite, and this may come as a surprise to many readers, the lingerie market here being saturated - a strange irony isn't it?

Finally, the metro (which I would use regularly if it ran to anywhere near where I work from anywhere near where I live) and which according to local media carries, I don't know, about 17 zillion passengers every week, is cutting back on staff and decreasing the frequency of services.

But everything's tickedy boo.....

Some of the important things.

2011-03-06T08:47:00.000+04:00

Moving from Dubai to Doha means having to start again finding all the important things. So far its looking good:

1. Sharwama man - tick. The fine food at the Al Mattar al Qadeem branch of 'Lebanese Charwama' (that's their spelling) will do nicely thanks.

2. Juice man - tick. Just a couple of doors down from the sharwama man. When I walked into the juiceshop in front of me there was a cash register on an old coffee table and a group of guys sitting round on assorted chairs, some left over from long forgotten dining room suites, a couple of plastic bbq chairs and an old armchair. There was no obvious indication of who was a customer or who worked there so I gave my order in a sort of general way to the group and then waited to see who reacted. After they got over the shock of there being a woman in the shop, everything went smoothly and one of the guys got up and went behind the counter to make the juice and the man in the armchair reached over to take my money and put it in the cash register. Next time I'll know that the juiceshop owner sits in the best chair!

3. Gym - tick (FF at Doha City Centre). FF used to be a mixed gym like in Dubai until last year when the Doha authorities told them the sexes had to have separate areas. The gym's done a good job in making the space but the two ladies areas (cardio and weights) are now in separate parts of the gym. The female cardio area is in a sealed off corner of the main gym while the weights/machines area is inside the ladies change rooms. Females have to pass through the main gym to move between cardio and weights areas. So the local ladies come to the gym put on their workout gear then put on their abayas and sheylas to walk from the change area to the cardio area. Once inside they take them off and do their workout then put them back on so they can pass through the main gym on their way back to the weights area. In the weights area they take off their abayas and sheylas again and continue their workout.
I've been to a gym in the Grand Hyatt hotel here. While a ladies only gym was provided, men and women can also train together in the main part of the gym which had the most useful equipment. This gym was ultra expensive but the facilities were top class. They also provide a laundry service to wash members' gym gear after use and have it ready when you next come to the gym.

4. Abaya shops that sell completely outrageous, over-the-top evening gowns from racks at the back of the shop out of public view - check, check and check.

On the move..

2011-03-02T22:07:00.000+04:00

The Qatari Army is on the move... a big army ute (like a Silverado) roared out of one of entry lanes to the roundabout, it slid to a stop across 3 lanes of oncoming traffic who all had to screech to a halt like something out of a Hollywood action movie. I was in one the lanes of traffic and I have to say I sat in stunned amazement as a soldier hopped out of the ute and proceded to direct a convoy of Army trucks, APCs and anti aircraft guns through the roundabout. What I liked most was the truck carrying an office building and the last one in the line which carried a portaloo in desert camouflague colours. Then the soldier jumped back into his ute and roared off down the highway in pursuit of his comrades. Just another afternoon in Doha :-)

And now Oman...

2011-02-27T18:04:00.000+04:00

2 protesters killed in the industrial town of Sohar when police opened fire with rubber bullets. Sohar is about 200 kms from Muscat the capital of Oman.

The 'monsters' are being taken care of.

2011-02-27T11:52:00.002+04:00

Adverts for houses to rent in Qatar which teach us all NOT to rely on Google Translate or BabelFish:

Villas for rent in Beni Hajar 6 rooms and a hall and the Council of the monsters required large R. 9500. BC Tel:
Rent Villa for staff behind the university city required slavery 8500 Tel:
Villa for rent 5 rooms and bliss halls and the Council of extension and external monsters 10.000

Its good to know the 'monsters' are being taken care of isn't it?

Q for Qatar

2011-02-27T10:46:00.000+04:00

Doha, Qatar

Like many people in the construction industry we are joining the steady trickle of people who are heading to Doha, Qatar to live and work.

I've been in Doha, Qatar for the last few days. Its hard to believe but the driving there really is worse than Dubai and the roundabouts in Doha are lethal, its a complete free for all and the red stop light is just a suggestion!

Apparently a Facebook page "Freedom Revolution March 16 Qatar" has been set up demanding the removal of the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani. The page was approved or in FB-speak, 'liked', by about 1,600 people. Before we see another Egypt looming let's put that number in perspective as there are over 4 million people who 'like' the Facebook page entitled 'Flipping the pillow over to get the cold side'.
As background, Qatar's natural gas reserves have made the country incredibly rick, and the Qatari nationals, who number about 350,000, have the world's highest per capita income. What's that saying 'Civilization is four meals away from anarchy'. The rest of the population are expats from all over the world.
Sheika Mouza, the Qatari Emir's wife, is a woman with education and opinions who plays an active public role in Qatar. She also acts as a representative of her country overseas. As a result, she attracts criticism from conservatives and one of the demands on the FB page is that she should play no further public role.

Kia Kaha Christchurch

2011-02-22T09:46:00.002+04:00

Rolling online coverage on ABC (Australia) through TVNZ of the earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand. Tragically at least 65 confirmed fatalities to date.

The colonel shows himself

2011-02-22T06:18:00.002+04:00

We pick up several Libyan tv stations here in Dubai. Col. Gaddafi's made a bizarre appearance on Libyan state tv interupting the usual 24/7 'We are great/Everything's fine' programming. His message to the people lasted for around 20 seconds. Filmed while he sat in the back of a small vehicle, like a past-its-use-by-date tuk tuk, he held an umbrella to protect himself from the rain. He said he wanted to show himself to the people so they could see he was still in Libya and 'in control' then he moved the umbrella down so nobody could see him.
Does anyone else think he looks remarkably like Phil Spector?
As I mentioned on another thread, Western companies are moving to evacuate expat staff, but Libyan government rules require exit visas for any foreigner leaving the country. Some French oil workers have 'just up and left' w/o the exit visas and flown to Malta. Also flying to Malta were a couple of Libyan air force pilots who defected in their jet fighters rather than follow orders to fire on protesters. The Libyan government says the pilots were ordered to fire on ammunition dumps.....

Leaving on a jetplane if they can...

2011-02-21T20:57:00.000+04:00

Seif al-Islam Gaddafi offered a tiny olive branch in his tv appearance last night which he then snatched away. He raised the spector of Libya being carved up by unspecified separatists, while threatening the West with disruption of oil supplies (Libya supplies 79% of the EU's oil) then threatening the Libyans with 'the West is coming to get you'. He seems to attempting to rattle all the cages at the same time.

Western firms are mobilising to get their staff out of Libya and two helicopter loads of French oil workers have already arrived in Malta. As an exit visa is required for a foreigner to leave Libya this is, naturally, proving problematic and it seems many people will attempt to leave without the government stamp in their passport. Benghazi airport is shut but Tripoli is currently still open.

The latest rumours are:

a) Gadaffi has left Libya and is heading to Venezuela; or

b) Gaddafi's left Tripoli and is heading to the centre of the country to direct operations when the army moves in...time will tell.

Meanwhile the Libyan tv channel which we can pick up here in Dubai, continues to show pro-Gaddaffi rallies with a soundtrack of 'patriotic' songs.

Al Jazeera signal in the UAE

2011-02-20T09:02:00.001+04:00

I turned on the tv yesterday to find that Al Jazeera English and Arabic had disappeared from the screen to be replaced with a 'Scrambled signal' message. The Guardian in the UK reports that Al-Jazeera television is investigating reports that its signal has been disrupted in countries including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt. A spokesman said: "We are not sure of the cause but we are looking into it." It seemed odd at the time that I couldn't get AJE or AJA, as the seemingly endless channels showing soap operas in every language you can think of were still there loud and clear.

Choppy water in the Kingdom of Two Seas

2011-02-19T12:22:00.009+04:00

Map courtesty of MapZones.com.
Its a pity they can't spell 'Arabia' though. They also
use the term 'Persian Gulf' but in this part of the world
its called the Arabian Gulf.

SMS from a friend in Bahrain: "...its complete madness here! We r home bound and embassy's have advised us to stay indoors. Never seen anything like it. There was a run on the banks and ppl panic buying from the shops. Tanks on the streets and choppers flying past 24-7. If things continue I may get a flight out!"

Many of the non-Middle East based readers of this blog may be asking "So where is Bahrain anyway?' Others may know the kingdom as Michael Jackson's home in 2005, albeit briefly, after his US trial. Geography 101: Bahrain is a group of thirty-three islands located 24kms from the coast of Saudi Arabia and 28kms from Qatar and is connected to KSA by the King Fahd Causeway. The word Bahrain/Bahrayn is derived from the Arabic words "itnain bahr" meaning "two seas' and is the name of the largest island in the group. The nation's 'full name' is 'Mamlakat al-Baḥrayn', Kingdom of the Two Seas.

While Bahrain is an Islamic country, the ruling family belongs to the Sunni minority of the population while the majority of the population is Shia. For those unfamiliar with Islam, the Pew Research Center reported in 2009 that the majority of Muslims in the world are Sunni with only 10%-13% being Shia. The largest Shia country is Iran which has, in the past, laid claim to Bahrain. This claim was tit-for-tat following Bahrain's support of the United Arab Emirates in a squabble with Iran over 3 small islands no bigger than a sneeze.

The current ruler of Bahrain, Sheikh Hamad bin Isa ('bin' means 'son of'') is a member of the Al Khalifa family that has ruled Bahrain since 1782. King Hamad came to the throne in 1999 instituting a programme of political and social reform which has gone some way towards reconciliation with the Shia majority. He restored the Bahraini parliament which had been suspended in 1975 giving a public forum for the opposition Shia Wefaq party to voice its opinions.

The current protests in Manama, the capital of Bahrain, started as a demand for equality for all citizens, The military have moved in to confront the protestors, bullets are flying, people are dying, and the 'if we don't look they'll go away' divisions in Bahraini society are deepening by the hour. However, the largely nationalistic nature of the protests gives a glimmer of hope to the government that 'outside influences' will not prevail (let's not be coy, they mean Iran). However, the actions of the military also signal the likelihood of a power struggle within the ruling family stemming from the 'dissatifaction' of the Prime Minister (the King's uncle) at being passed over for the role of Crown Prince in favour of the current King's son. King Hamad has shown himself open to dialogue whereas his uncle the Prime Minister supports a hard line response. If the actions of the military are a guideline, then it would appear that the PM has prevailed, initially at least.

Sky News reports that UK Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt has revoked 44 individual and open licences for the export of hundreds of cartridges of tear gas and other riot control equipment to Bahrain. Bahrain, as one of the Trucial States, was originally within the British 'sphere of influence' and a close relationship remains. The US also has a vested interest in ongoing stability in Bahrain due to its strategic location and the extensive US military facilities in the country. The Fifth Fleet has a large facility in Manama now something like 62 acres onshore plus offshore. This is centred around what was originally the British naval installation, HMS Juffair, which dates from 1935. The British left Bahrain in 1971 following the granting of independence, the Americans leased part of HMS Juffair and renaming it 'Administrative Support Unit Bahrain'. An agreement was signed between Bahrain and US in 1991 granting US forces access to Bahraini facilities and air space to 'ensure the right to pre-position material for future crises' though the US Navy has been a permanent fixture in the Gulf since around 1949.

With continuing protests in Bahrain, Yemen and Jordan and escalating violence in Libya the old curse 'May you live in interesting times' has never seemed more appropriate.

V8 Supercars in Abu Dhabi

2011-02-16T08:45:00.001+04:00

V8-Supercars-in-Abu-Dhabi

World domination using coffee and bikkies.

2011-02-09T08:20:00.000+04:00

Resistance is futile.

New Zealand has a plan for world domination and the fern shape in the froth is the clue. First we lure them in with coffee:

Then the coup de grace, the biscuits.

At last we can ask for a 'flat white' in at least one coffee shop in Dubai (Costas) and not get an uncomprehending stare in response. The biscuits are from the Lime Tree Cafe - where else?

Egypt shuts down Al Jazeera bureau - Middle East - Al Jazeera English

2011-01-30T15:19:00.000+04:00

Egypt shuts down Al Jazeera bureau - Middle East - Al Jazeera English

Gone in 60 seconds....

2011-01-30T09:13:00.000+04:00

It takes just over 60 seconds for the lift in the Burj Khalifa to travel from the ground level to the observation deck on the 124th floor. The music played in the lift is copyright so I've overdubbed it with a track from a local singer, Hamri Al Arbi, who is happy to have his music heard.

One for Miss Piggy?

2011-01-13T11:47:00.004+04:00

An eyeball searing experience in Dubai.
It even has scroll work (car tattoos).

Coming up roses?

2011-01-11T21:23:00.001+04:00

Maybe the name seemed like a good idea at the time....
(taken o/s Ravis, Satwa, Dubai)

The fog arrives from Abu Dhabi

2011-01-10T07:51:00.009+04:00

The fog that enveloped Abu Dhabi yesterday has meandered down the road overnight and this morning Dubai is shrouded in a thick blanket. This photo was taken from our balcony at 5:45am this morning.
To most drivers, it's simple: Fog = I can't see = danger = slow down but Dubai drivers consider 'driving for the conditions' to be for wusses. The only acknowledgement of the dangerous road conditions will be that they'll have their hazard lights flashing constantly, other than that, and despite there being almost zero visibility, it'll be 'business as usual' out on the roads. Yes folks, they'll be changing lanes at high speed without indicators (indicators are optional extras on UAE cars it seems), the 4x4's will be using high beam to flash the cars in front to get out of the way, the angry Camrys will be tailgating an inch from your back bumper even if you're in the slow lane while the Nissan Sunnys with 20 passengers will be sitting in the middle lane of the freeway doing 60kph when the speed limit is 120.
Of course there's also the new favourite manouevre 'The Dance of Death'. This particularly Dubai piece of lethal lunacy occurs when a car, usually travelling at 120kph+, begins changing lanes without warning or indicating (see above) and despite there being (i) no gap in the traffic and (ii) a car beside them in the lane they want to move to. Ignoring the obvious presence of the other vehicle, the first driver will continue to move into the lane, sometimes the car doors come within inches of each other as the first driver attempts to monster the second driver into giving way. Usually for reasons of self preservation, the second driver will back off to make room and sometimes they themselves are forced to change lanes to make room for the first car but in heavy traffic there's often nowhere for the second car to go. This is when it gets really interesting. The first driver will veer back into his original lane if the second car gives him a blast with the horn or, as I saw on Al Khail last night, swerves towards him to 'push' him back into this own lane.
Take care, its a jungle out there.

Off the menu.

2011-01-09T09:06:00.000+04:00

I don't think I'll be buying these any time soon...

(Carrefour, Mirdiff CC, Dubai)

Yay! Alta Rica is back in Dubai.

2011-01-08T21:20:00.000+04:00

This is the Pyramid of Happiness folks. Alta Rica is back in Dubai on the shelves at Hyperpanda in Festival City. Be quick, stocks are dwindling fast!!

Moving on...

2011-01-04T11:27:00.002+04:00

After a lot of thought, I've resigned from my job, last day 31st January.

So much fun it could be illegal.

2010-12-19T23:00:00.001+04:00

We hired a little dune buggy and went for a spin in the desert out the back of Al Awair. Saw the usual suspects; camels and donkeys but we also saw a desert fox. The fox stared at us for a while before disappearing down a hole under a ghat tree.

Extravagance or obscenity?

2010-12-17T08:09:00.009+04:00

Emirates Palace hotel in Abu Dhabi has unveiled a Christmas tree decorated with pearls and jewellery valued at more than $11million and proudly proclaimed this to be a demonstration of 'religious tolerance' in the Emirate. IMHO, this tree does nothing for 'religious tolerance', its an excuse for a crass display of conspicuous excess, in this case, using religion as a means of displaying one's wealth; yet another 'look at how much I've got' moment. Its the antithesis of the religion it purports to represent and has zero connection to the event that it supposedly symbolizes, the birth of a baby into such poverty that his 'first bed was a cow’s lunch box' (to quote another article).

Yes, this irritates me, and I'm not even religious!

PS Christmas trees aren't 'Christian', the tree was originally a pagen symbol connected with the celebration of the winter solstice.

Article: Emirates 24/7 16 December 2010

==============================

Christmas came in extravagant fashion to the emirate of Abu Dhabi as a glitzy hotel unveiled a bejewelled Christmas tree valued at more than $11 million.

It is the "most expensive Christmas tree ever," with a "value of over $11 million," said Hans Olbertz, general manager of Emirates Palace hotel, at its inauguration.
The 13-metre (40-foot) faux evergreen, located in the gold leaf-bedecked rotunda of the hotel, is decorated with silver and gold bows, ball-shaped ornaments and small white lights.
But the necklaces, earrings and other jewellery draped around the tree's branches are what give it a record value.
It holds a total of 181 diamonds, pearls, emeralds, sapphires and other precious stones, said Khalifa Khouri, owner of Style Gallery, which provided the jewellery.
"The tree itself is about 10,000 dollars," Olbertz said. "The jewellery has a value of over 11 million dollars - I think 11.4, 11.5."
This will probably be an entry into the Guinness book of world records, Olbertz said, adding that Emirates Palace planned to contact the organisation about the tree which is to stay until the end of the year.
The hotel has had a Christmas tree up in previous years, but this year "we said we have to do something different," and the hotel's marketing team hatched the plan, said Olbertz.
The tree is not the first extravagant offering from Emirates Palace - a massive, dome-topped hotel sitting amid fountains and carefully manicured lawns.
The hotel, which bills itself as seven-star, in February introduced a package for a seven-day stay priced at one million dollars.
Takers of the package have a private butler and a chauffeur driven Maybach luxury car at their disposal during their stay, as well as a private jet available for trips to other countries in the region.
And in May, the hotel opened a gold vending machine, becoming the first place outside Germany to install "gold to go, the world's first gold vending machine," said Ex Oriente Lux AG, the German company behind the machine.

Kuwait closes Al Jazeera office

2010-12-14T14:06:00.002+04:00

Kuwait authorities have shut down the offices of news channel Al Jazeera and withdrawn the accreditation of its correspondents in a fresh clash between the network and the Gulf state, the Doha-based news channel said.

The network said it was threatened with closure if it aired a live interview with Musallam Al-Barrak, a lawmaker who represents one of the main opposition blocs in the Kuwaiti assembly.

“The network refused to give in to the threat and proceeded with the interview in accordance with Al Jazeera’s policy of giving voice to all sides of a story,” the news channel said in a statement.

“Despite Al Jazeera’s request, the Kuwaiti government failed to provide spokespersons to appear in the same program alongside Mr. Al-Barrak to give the government’s point of view,” said Al Jazeera.

The news channel said it condemned the closure and would continue to report on Kuwaiti affairs.

In a statement carried by state news agency KUNA, the government confirmed it had revoked the station's network licence and blamed the television station for meddling in Kuwait's domestic affairs.

It is the third time the Gulf country has closed down Al Jazeera’s offices in objection to its coverage.

Kuwait first closed the bureau for a month in 1999 when an Iraqi caller insulted Kuwait’s Emir, Sheik Jaber Al Ahmed Al Sabah, during a live show.

The local bureau was opened again two years later.

In 2002, the network’s offices were closed again after Kuwait officials deemed its local coverage to be biased against the Gulf state.

The Qatar-based network has a record of tense relations with Arab countries over its coverage of sensitive political issues. In May, its Bahrain office was suspended and crew were banned from traveling to the Gulf state after it accused the channel of flouting press rules.

The 3 Little Bigs: A cautionary tale from Dubai

2010-12-03T08:29:00.001+04:00

Anyone who lives in Dubai or anywhere in the Middle East will relate to this tale written by a Dubai resident with a wonderful ear for the oddities of Dublish ('Dubai English') the language stew created when people from all around the world attempt to communicate in, what is to them, a foreign language. My theory is that given a couple of hundred years of fermentation, Dubai English would become its own language virtually unrecognisable to speakers of the Mother Tongue. Dublish will be a cheerful combination of Arabic, English, Hindi/Urdu and Tagalog spoken with a sing-song accent. We'll all call each other 'Mam-sir' and have the ability to insult each other 100 different ways in the most flowery language.
For those who don't live in Dubai, welcome to our daily communication struggle. There are no typos, really. The author, a Dubai lawyer, does know how to spell 'desert'.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Once ubon a time there were three little bigs. The time came for them to leave home and seek their fortunes. So, they straight going to a wonderful land in the dessert [1] which legend has it, was the cleanest Indian city ever. It was also known as Dewbye.Their mother was at first little worried, because she had heard that this marvellous city had recently become the murder capital of the world [2], but they assured her that they would be safe.

The bigs got onto the blane, bought berfume at the duty free, cleared immigration, had their bassborts stamped, smiled and waved at the security cameras at the airbort [3], and they were ready to starting their new lives. Because of the crazy rent, which was too much exbensive, they decided to build their houses, I mean, villas, by themselves.

The first little big was lazy and built his villa of straw. After six hours, the villa was ready.

The second little big built his villa out of sticks, at the backside [4] of the first little big's villa. The villa of sticks was same-same but different, it was stronger and not too weak also.

The third little big took the longest time to build his villa because it was built out of bricks and cement which coming from the north of the country. It suppose to take two weeks, but six months later, it ready. The villa was this much strong and was bit far away from the other two villas. "Mabrouk!!!" said the first two little bigs to the third, once the villa was completed.

One day, the big bad wolf was hungry. He wanted to eat the fat little bigs for sure. He hailed a taxi, and gave instructions to the taxi driver. "Left before Sbinneys, left before Sbinneys .... I SAID LEFT!!!!! OK, turn right before the signal ... no, BEFORE... no, before and after not same same!!!! No, DO NOT reverse at the roundabout [5]!!!! Wallahi, you trying to kill me?"

Two heart attacks later, he reached his destination, told the taxi to double bark and wait, and knocked on the first little big's villa of straw.

"Hello, how arrrre you?" said the big bad wolf.

"Fine thank you. How arrrre you? How is yourrrr family?" said the little big, looking through the window.

"My family is fine thank you. How is yourrr family, yakni? You living alone or no? Or you have family here?"

This went on for about five minutes [6], until the wolf finally got to the boint - "Let me in, let me in little big or I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your villa down definitely, I swear I am so hungry ... this is top urgent!"

"No broblem sir, I opening the door now. Five minutes, maximum," said the first little big. The wolf waited patiently, until four hours later, the wolf got fed up of waiting like some estupid idiot in the sweltering sun. He shouted in rage at the first little big (but did not use any swear words), and blew the villa down [7].

As the big bad wolf was starving, the first little big was eaten as a raw kibbeh, with some olive oil and onion on the side, too much delicious.

The big bad wolf was still hungry, so he took the taxi to the backside of what was once the villa of straw (about 3 metres away, but because of the one way street system, speed bumps and detours, it was a ten minute drive), to the villa of sticks. He knocked on the second little big's villa of sticks.

"Hello, how arrrre you?" said the big bad wolf to the second little big.

"I'm fine, thanks God. How arrrrre you? And your family?" said the second little big.

"My family is fine thank you ...." And so on and so forth... until the second little big got fed up of the niceties.

"What the broblem is? Tell me," said the second little big finally. He obviously did not hear the commotion earlier.

"Sorry to disturb you, but let me in, let me in little big or I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your villa down, no? You are sin, not too fat also [8], but you'll do."

The second little big tried to stall and lie. "Mamsirrr not in today, sirrrr ...I don't have the keys, maybe they coming back before two hours ..." He tried to shake his head from side to side to look more convincing, but sadly, not having a proper neck, it was a difficult task for the big to berform.

But alas, the big bad wolf was not to be tricked this time. He huffed and he puffed, and the villa of sticks was demolished in minutes, and the sticks were used to thread the kebab pieces that the second little big had been transformed into. With mint tea little bit sugar medium sweet, on the side.

After the tasty, non "shariah complaint" [9] meal, the wolf was still hungry, and no anyone could estop him from taking the same taxi estate [10] to the villa of bricks.

He knocked on the third little big's villa of bricks.

"How arrre you ... " We all know the dialogue by now. So, to cut the story short, the wolf spoke.

"Blease, my friend ... I am hungry, let me come in and eat you, ya habibi ... blease, you look like a good big, do this as a favour to me ... "

The third little big was braver, better educated and had good connections. So he shouted immediately at the wolf.

"Haram!!! Yalah, go away, or I call 999 and make bolice report to Insbector Muhammad Green Eyes [11]. He is the cousin of my bestfriendwife. He is the boss of the First Responed Unit [12]. Bas!"

Of course, no obscenities were exchanged, even though the big's life was at stake (or rather, at steak ... he he he). That would have just been too rude and unacceptable.

The wolf tried to huff and puff, but not even the khamseen winds could have blown the villa down. The wolf tried to break open the door, but in fact, because it was so badly constructed by Babu [13] the contractor, and not because of the strong locks, the door stayed firmly shut. Unbeknownst to the wolf, the third little big had been stucked [14] in the villa for 3 days, waiting for building maintenance team to arrive. The team had been promising him every two hours that they would be there after fifteen minutes.

But the wolf refused to give ub. He climbed to the flat roof to look for a chimney, but there was none there. How strange that a country which suffers 50 degree summers should have no chimneys.

Suddenly, he felt a gun bressed to the base of his skull.
"Thought you could get away ...?" a voice said in Chechnyan.

And two seconds before the unidentified assassin bulled the trigger, the big bad wolf realised that he should never have messed around with illegal firearms in his brevious life.

And the third little big lived habbily ever after. Or rather, up to the point he lost all his life savings in the Great Broberty Crash.

Khalas. Yalah bye!

[1] I challenge you to show me a typo free menu in this country
2] especially JBR ... their carpark looks like a typical Malaysian carpark, badly lit, eerie and rape friendly
[3] think no one in Dubai knows what you're up to? Think again!
[4] I can now say this without laughing
[5] true incident, a cab almost rammed into my car when it reversed at a roundabout
[6] typical conversation, any conversation
[7] none of the villas had back doors
[6] actual pick up line used on me[9] taken from a live Shariah transaction I handled ... I swear. The client also mentioned that the bank will beer all costs ...[10] I was literally looking out for a housing estate the first time I heard this phrase. In case you haven't figured it out, get it straight!!!
[11] Remember him? :)[12] actual writing painted on an official security vehicle. Not to be confused with the equally prestigious Second Responed Unit
[13] cheap shot, but I can't have a story without Babu messing up somewhere
[14] according to Azli and Sab, pronounced "stuckered"

Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah dies

2010-10-27T09:48:00.000+04:00

Radio stations in the UAE are playing Koranic recitations or sombre music to mark the passing of His Highness Shaikh Saqr Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah.
Born in 1920, Shaikh Saqr belonged to Al Qasimia dynasty that ruled the northern part of the Greater Oman Region, following the fall of Ya’aribah state and emergence of Al Busayidi state in Suhar and Muscat in 1747.

Look at me Mum.

2010-10-06T22:28:00.000+04:00

The guys who were filmed driving like drop kicks on Sheikh Zayed Road are, surprisingly considering the risks of their actions, still alive. You may remember these morons from their antics back in May and you'll probably also remember that their 'slap on the wrist with limp celery' punishment was a 1000 dirham fine, that's around $300. You could probably be fined more than that for wearing a short skirt in the mall. One article states "Motoring experts claim levying heavy fines will not have any effect on the behaviour of these kind of drivers." Its now apparent that levying laughable, tiny fines has no effect either. These boys must have wasta by the bucketful.
'7 Days' the local shock-horror English language in Dubai has discovered that the fools have a Youtube channel. This has caused some comment in the press, but having looked through the channel's contents, let's not get too overexcited. Most of the clips are taken from tv coverage of the drifting comps which are held in controlled conditions at the MotoPlex at Um al Quwain. However, they do have a clip which shows why they'll leave their mothers' crying:

Changes to visa rules for Saudi Arabia

2010-10-05T13:46:00.001+04:00

Anyone who’s ever applied for a Saudi visa will know that the rules change on a fairly regular basis. It seems that at present Saudi visas are only being issued for 30 days validity. As a result, its a fairly regular process to prepare all the documents just like you did last time, take them into the typist to be translated and typed up for the KSA authorities, only to find that the rules have changed and now you need a different type of application form, or a pre-registration email from MOFA in Riyadh, or a letter of authority from someone else or the company stamp on a document, all/any of which you didn’t need last month.. This week, we have discovered that no Saudi visa will be issued without a signed copy of a form below which is now required for all applications processed in Dubai (could be the entire UAE but the typist’s English was a bit limited) and it is required for all nationalities. ----------------I hereby undertake to give my fingerprints and my eye iris pattern images and comply with the laws of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

I, the undersigned, hereby agree to have my fingerprint & iris data (biometrics) captured as part of the application procedure for an entry visa to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I further agree and declare as follows:
1. If granted the visa I shall abide by all the laws and regulations of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and respect the Islamic customs and traditions of its people.
2. I am aware that all alcoholic beverages, narcotics and other illegal drugs, pornographic materials or publications, which violate the social norms of decency and all other publications, which are disrespectful of any religious belief or political orientation, are prohibited and shall not be brought into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
3. I am also fully aware that the crime of smuggling narcotics and other illegal drugs into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is punishable by the death penalty.
4. I have never been removed, excluded or deported from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia or from any other Gulf Cooperation Council member state or charged with violation of any law or regulation thereof.
5. I agree to depart the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on or before the expiration date of my visa. I am well aware that any violation of the laws and regulations of the Kingdom or any engagement in prohibited activities such as the activities mentioned herein or in the entry visa documentation are subject to the penalties, which are described in the "Dealing with Persons on Entry Visas" statute as enacted by Royal Decree No. 42, dated 10/18/1404AH.
6. I acknowledge and reaffirm my declaration that this application and the evidence submitted with it are all true and correct. I also understand that if I submit any false information or if my name was found to be listed as banned from entering the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia my application will be denied or my visa, if already granted, revoked. Moreover, I may be turned back from any Saudi port of entry at my own expense while I shall have no right to demand compensation.

Name:
Signature:
Date:

Mixing messages as an art form

2010-09-30T15:50:00.002+04:00

Anyone who's ever read one of the weekly women's gossip magazines would at some point have marvelled at the double standards on regular display. As an example, on the front page might be a picture of a rail thin minor celeb, all gauntness and concentration camp-chic with a suitably critical 'shock horror' banner headline. Yet, if you flick over a few pages you'll find photos of other girls who, heaven forbid, might have a shape vaguely reminiscent of an emaciated woman, and there'll be editorial remarks about how overweight that person is 'porky' seems to be the favourite comment. Mixed messages. Meanwhile back in the Sandpit, the business of sending mixed messages has become almost an art form. This week's example is the headline on Arabian Business reporting that Sheikh Mohammed of Dubai has proclaimed "We are back...". He continues, “All the projects that were there are going ahead,” although some may be delayed for six months to a year. Which doesn't seem to correlate with what's directly below, another headline stating that a bond prospectus posted on the London Stock Exchange website on Monday stated that Dubai has cancelled almost half of the real estate projects planned in the emirate due to weak demand following the global financial crisis.
And all the while, back in the real world, the construction industry in Dubai is moribund, jobs are still being lost and so many people I talk to are 'just hanging on'. Reality doesn't seem to fit with the mixed messages.

Folkloric dance from Uzbekistan

2010-09-28T14:26:00.000+04:00

Filmed last week in Bukhara at Nadir Divanbegi Madraasa.

On the Silk Road: Uzbekistan Day 8 Tashkent-Dubai

2010-09-24T22:08:00.000+04:00

Leaving Tashkent

Up at 4:30am and driven through the quiet pre-dawn streets of Tashkent. At the airport the entrance road was blocked by concrete barriers so we walked up the entrance. We had to show our tickets to get into the terminal building and once inside we had to put all our bags through an x-ray. The check in was painless once we'd found the right desk then we started running the gauntlet to exit Uzbekistan. First another x-ray then into the queue to explain where our money had gone, the correct answer was rewarded with a stamp in the passport then along a corridor and into another queue to wait for another stamp. I was standing behind some guys who must have been on the vodka most of the night as they were utterly tanked. One apologised to me for pushing in and the vodka fumes when he spoke nearly overwhelmed everyone within a 5 yard radius. Next another x-ray where everyone had to take off their shoes first and once that was negotiated we were directed to gate B3. There's a B1 and a B2 but no B3, so we just had to lurk around listening intently to all the announcements to hear if the word 'Dubai' was mentioned. After about 45 minutes we heard the magic word 'Dubai' and made a best guess where Gate B3 might be. It turned out the plane to Kiev was leaving from the same gate at the same time as the flight to Dubai so there was quite some confusion as passengers for both flights gathered at the door, which was one person wide, questioning each other. Eventually the passengers sorted themselves out and we boarded the A310 for Dubai. It seemed odd that after all the security checks and x-rays, while I was sitting on the plane on the runway I watched as two locals, one on a pushbike and the other on foot, used the runway as a road and stopped on one of the taxiways to have a chat.

Take off was about 30 minutes late but we made up time and arrived back in Dubai almost on time.

Hayr Uzbekistan!

On the Silk Road: Uzbekistan Day 7 Bukhara-Tashkent

2010-09-23T21:39:00.004+04:00

The Ark, Bukhara, Uzbekistan

The morning started with a visit to the shrine of Sufi saint Baha al-Din al-Naqshbandi then on to Chor Bakr a necropolis developed around the graves of Khodja Abu Bakr and Imam Abu Bakr Ahmed. After lunch of bread, Uzbek salami and two-tone cheese we walked through a maze of small alleyways and lane to see the Hoha Zaynaddin mosque and its surprisingly large pool, then over to see the Ark which is monstrous and imposing from the outside but unfortunately thanks to the bombing by the Red Army in 1920 is mostly in ruins inside. Restoration is underway and the Coronation Hall will be magnificent once work is complete, that's as long as they can control the vendors who have set up business in there. In front of the Ark is a huge public square called the Registan which was a popular site for executions including those of two British Army officers in June 1842.
We had dinner at the hotel and then it was time to head out to the airport for our Uzbekistan Airways flight to Tashkent. Thank goodness UA has stopped using the old ex-Aeroflot Yaks and Antonovs and the flight, which lasted less than an hour, was in the comfort of an Avro RJ85. After landing we walked across the tarmac in the dark to the luggage shed. Despite the luggage being carried from the plane to the luggage area in a truck that I last saw in an episode of 'The Beverly Hillbillies' the system worked really well. Three guys then haul the bags off the back of the truck and threw them through a window of the luggage shed. There is a luggage ramp that runs from the window to the floor but its only a couple of feet long so if you don't grab your bag in mid air or shortly afterwards it just ends up in a big pile at the foot of the ramp. Despite all this and a crowd of army guys who each had a fold-up bed in the luggage pile, we got our bags in record time and within 10 minutes we were on the bus and heading back to the hotel for the night.

On the Silk Road: Uzbekistan Day 6 Bukhara

2010-09-22T13:42:00.000+04:00

Ismail Samony mausoleum,
Bukhara, Uzbekistan

We started the day's sightseeing in Bukhara with a visit to the Ismail Samony mausoleum, a surprisingly simply brick cube shaped building which is the oldest in Bukhara. Once the surprise at the building's squat cube shape passes, the visual attraction is the texture of the brick work which is a basket weave pattern with other geometrical shapes formed out of handmade bricks. It has special resonance for one member of our group whose great (x 3) grandfather embraced Islam on a visit to this building in the 1820s. We moved on to Chasma Ayoub a mosque erected on the site where according the legend, the prophet Job hit the ground with his sick and caused a spring to flow. Next stop, Bolo Houz Mosque which features an iwan (porch), the brightly coloured ceiling of which is held up by 12 metre high wooden pillars. During Soviet times the mosque was used as a workers' club but now if has returned its original function as a place of religion.

Through the back streets to see Chor Minor, a madrassa gatehouse built in the early 1800s. Its 4 minarets (they aren't strictly minarets, just towers) make it unusual. The towers have been restored and topped with turquoise tiles. On two of the towers the year of restoration is clearly defined in red tiles.

From Chor Minor we headed back to Lyabi-Hauz where we watched groups of people having the photos taken with the large statue of a man on a donkey. This mythical figure is 'Hoji Nasruddin'.who in different guises appears in humorous stories and cautionary tales all over the Muslim world. We indulged in a spot of Uzbeki ice-cream then headed to Kukaldosh Madrassa which was at one time the largest in Central Asia and has interesting brickwork inside though the interior is now just a souvenir shop like the next building we visited the Nadir Divanbegi Khanagha. It was impossible to appreciate the dome as the shopkeepers have their wares all over the floor and you can't get near it.

Next stop, and one I'd been looking forward to, was the Iskander Puppet Workshop where the puppet master explained the method for making the paper mache puppets and the roles of the 17 people who contribute to the making of each puppet. Unfortunately we won't be able to fit in a visit to the nightly puppet performance, that'll have to wait for next time. However, I bought my own Hoji Nasruddin puppet who'll be coming home with me.

We then visited the master knife maker in the bazaar and thanks to Colin I now own a personalised super-sharp titanium kitchen knife that has a lion engraved on one side of the blade and my name engraved on the other. Colin has treated himself to twin hunting knives engraved with his name.

In the evening we went back to Nadir Divanbegi Madrassa to watch the cultural dance performance, which was extremely slick and professional with the music supplied by a wonderful group of local musicians. All the dancers are skilled former ballerinas, the costumes are glorious. The manager of the place is possibly the grumpiest person in Uzbekistan but never mind, the show was great.

On the Silk Road: Uzbekistan Day 5 Samarkand-Bukhara

2010-09-21T13:40:00.000+04:00

So here we are on the Sharq train from Samarkand to Bukhara (written Buxoro in Uzbek) passing through what seems to be endless fields of cotton. Uzbekistan is one of the world's major suppliers of cotton but since the breakup of the USSR it has suffered from having an economy based on a single crop.

Earlier in the morning we'd walked around the local area and witnessed an interesting sight at the local bank where a crowd of people were trying to get in while the security guards were pushing them back and only allowing one person in at a time. As the voices were being raised and the jostling on both sides started the scene seemed set for what is euphemistically called in the Western press “an incident” so we left them to it.

While the men wear Western style trousers and skirts the women wear brightly patterned tunics which reach almost to ankle level with matching trousers underneath, then comes the strange part, most wear wildly colourful socks, the sort imported from China, and plastic slip-on sandals.

The Bukhara train station is about 10ks out of town and first impression was a surprise at how many beggars there were, many of them children. As we drove into town we passed long lines of cars waiting for petrol and we were told that over the past 3 months there have been problems with petrol supply in most of the regional areas. One petrol station had high metal gates which were opened to allow individual cars into the bowsers, and we watched as a couple of men pushed their car up to the pumps, it having run out of petrol during what must have been a very long wait in the queue.

Kalon Mosque, Bukhara

Once we dropped our bags at the Caravan Hotel we headed out again to explore the old town area and to my surprise we found that our hotel is a couple of hundred metres from the Kalon Mosque, which is big enough to hold 10,000 people. Built in the 16th century its a glorious building filled with mosaics, intricate brickwork and vaulted spaces. As we left the mosque a martial art display was starting in the central square outside. We walked towards Lyabi-Hauz the centre of the old part of Bukhara, first passing a row of girls selling ceramic tea sets and men selling assorted Red Army hats, assorted army accessories and even a tank commander's helmet alongside fur hats made from fox pelts complete with the paws and eyes, We then walked through the old bazaar then out to Lyabi-Hauz which is a large stepped pool surrounded by tall trees, including a couple of mulberry trees dating from the 1400s, which provide leafy shelter to the many chaikhanas (tea houses) on the pool's edge. We stopped for coffee, possibly the worst I've ever had anywhere, then moved on quickly to have dinner at another place further along the pool's edge. After dinner we headed back to the hotel

On the Silk Road: Uzbekistan Day 4 Samarkand

2010-09-20T09:44:00.001+04:00

Hijar Hizar mosque

Today was a full day seeing the sights around Samarkand starting with the Hijar Hizar mosque on a hill top with a view over to blue dome of Bibi Khanym mosque. The mosque was originally built in the 8th century but was burnt to the ground by Gengis Khan. It wasn't rebuilt until the 1850s. The painted ceiling of the aiwan (porch) is colourful and the red and cream minarets make for great photos.

We then drove out of the city a short distance to the Afrosiab archaeological site so see the ruins of early Samarkand. The small museum is worth a visit for a timeline of the work done on the site, but the ruins are very disappointing. They are indeed 'ruined' and while there seemed to outlines of houses and possibly roads, without any information being given or even names on signs, for untrained eyes its impossible to know what you're looking at.

Next stop was the tomb of Daniel. Legend has it that Tamerlane brought the body of Daniel (the one in the lions' den) back from Susa in Iran and interred it in Samarkand. The tomb is 18m long as, legend also has it, Daniel's body continues to grow at half an inch a year. The length of the tomb is covered in green velvet cloth embroidered with Koranic verses and it looks exactly like the long tomb in Salalah, Oman which is supposedly that of either the Virgin Mary's father, or one of the original pre-Islam inhabitants who were at least 20 feet tall – depends on who you ask. From Daniel's tomb we went back to the Registan and visited the Uzbekistan League of Artists' gallery then to a local chaihana (tea house), then back to the bazaar to chase down more bargains.

The evening was spent at a local restaurant where a birthday party was in full swing in the next room. Every type of music was played loudly, Uzbek, Arabic, Persian, Turkish and some local Tajik songs that had the crowd cheering. Babies were thrown into the air, some seemed to also come down again. Shisha is smoked here though not as frequently as in Middle Eastern countries. Meanwhile as Party Central raged next door, we were working our way through 4 courses including giant plates of shashlik (kebabs) chosen from a menu that included such dishes as “Hen in a Fur Coat”, “Mother in Law Language” (a type of salad apparently), another salad that the menu proclaimed included “carbonate”, there was “Herring on Peasant”(poor girl) and, dare I say it, “Luxurious Balls” for dessert. I bet Samia a whole 1000 sum to ask the waiter if he had luxurious balls, but, once she'd stopped laughing, she demurred.

On the Silk Road: Uzbekistan: Day 3 Samarkand

2010-09-19T17:28:00.005+04:00

Shakhi Zinda, Samarkand

We started the day with a trip to the bazaar. Vegetables of every type were displayed for sale; fruit, herbs, carrots (both orange and yellow), eggs, and dried fruit. I went to take a photo of one of the yellow carrots and the shopowner indicated that I would have to buy the carrot for 1000 cym before I could photograph it. It was a nice carrot, but not *that* nice so I moved on to the next stallholder who was happy to let me photograph one of her carrots for free. There were huge watermelons, saffron at bargain basement prices, pumpkins so big that they'd win hands down at any Kumeu Show and pomegranets galore. The dried fruit section revealed a new wonder in the form of dried apricots stuffed with walnuts, yummo. In another aisle there were hats for men and women including “Cossack” style fur hats (not a lot of call for these in Dubai) and hats made from sheep pelts. I wished I was still dancing as there were crowns for sale in every shape and colour. I bought some music cds ($1 each) including one by an Uzbeki singer named Samir who was on one of the dvds played on the train from Tashkent.

From there we walked a short distance to the Bibi Khanym mosque which was built built in the 14th century by Tamerlane. Elephants imported from India were used to haul loads of marble around the site during construction. The interior courtyard was a nice place to sit and watch the shopowners as every hujra or student room around the inner courtyard has been turned into a souvenir shop. From there we walked around the local residential area behind the mosque and we were invited by a local family to go into their house and see the renovations they were doing to their main courtyard and also to see the painted ceiling in their reception area. We continued our walk around the local area in the process meeting several others of the group. As we came round a corner we found a wedding feast in full swing on a broad porch outside the local mosque with the remaining members of our group seated at a table as special guests. A wedding gathering like this is usually for men only but there was no problem with the women of our group attending. The hospitality was wonderful and we caught a glimpse of the bride as she arrived in her finery and went into her home across the street. The call to prayer was heard and most of the men went into the mosque to pray. After prayer we were invited into the mosque to admire the painted ceilings. Interesting that the mullah said I had to perform wudu (ritual washing) before entering the mosque . It would be almost unheard of in the UAE for a non-Muslim to do this, but the style of Islam followed in Uzbekistan appears very relaxed and also, within his own mosque, what the mullah says, goes. So I trailed after my friend Iman to the mosque bathroom, and, once it had been cleared of men, I followed her lead through the ritual. After using the toilet (roughest toilet paper on the planet) the ritual involves an invocation in Arabic “I wish to perform wudu” then washing hands, mouth, face, neck, ears, head, arms and feet each a proscribed number of times (apologies if I have the order wrong). After completing the ritual I was able to put on my hijab and go into the mosque which, in its heyday, must have had a very colourful ceiling.

Earlier in our trip I'd asked Bahador whether Uzbekis were Sunni or Shia and he said he didn't know, “We are all Muslim, that's all.” The relaxed attitude sees vodka flowing freely on all occasions, pork is not unusual on restaurant menus, there are no directional arrows to the qibla on hotel room ceilings, nor are prayer rugs routinely provided in hotel rooms. I've only seen a few women in hijab, even in the country areas. The main head covering for Uzbeki women is a brightly coloured scarf tied behind the neck which indicates that the wearer is married.

The senior ladies gather to celebrate the
wedding. Note the bride's dowry clothes hung
on the wall. NB: There is no problem showing
this photo in public as the Uzbeki women in the
family do not 'cover'.

Meanwhile, back at the wedding, the sound of car horns indicated that the groom's procession was approaching and he was escorted by his brothers and friends into the porch area while the musicians played (drum and accordian). The women in our group were invited over to the bride's house to socialise with her female family and to congratulate her. The bride was in one room having her photos taken. She was a very young women wearing an explosion of a wedding dress but she was in complete control bossing the photographer around. It was good manners to stay and watch her for a while before moving into the next room where the senior female family were seated on the floor around the edge of the room with a spread of food in front of them. The room had been cleared of any other furniture to make room for a display of the bride's dowry which included several person-high piles of blankets, floor cushions and rugs and an enormous silver glory box. Hanging on the walls on 3 sides of the room were the dresses the bride had been given as wedding presents, there were easily 20 or 30 including highly decorated evening gowns and a few Western style women's business suits. Meanwhile, the bride's assorted female friends and not-so-close female relatives were enjoying their wedding spread at a table in the main courtyard. After a short visit it was time for us to move on after a wonderful experience.

Next point of call was Shakhi Zinda which is a necropolis dating back to the 14th and 15th century. The largest tomb in this avenue of the dead is that of Kussam-ibn-Abbas, a cousin of the Prophet. His grave is at the end of a series of cool, white walled rooms.. Each mausaleum is of a unique design and the small size of each gives an intimacy lacking in the larger though more imposing buildings we'd seen earlier. Despite having fallen into disfavour during Soviet times and at once stage even being used as an anti-religious museum, Shakhi Zinda is again a place of pilgrimage. Adjacent to the complex is a huge modern cemetry which stretches across acres of hillside. The graves here range from grandiose family vaults, looming black marble constructions featuring pictures of the deceased engraved on huge slabs of marble that look like plasma tvs, through to humble graves marked only with a few small tiles. Some couples have purchased joint plots and when one dies they're buried there and their picture is engraved on one half of the marble slab, the other half is left blank for the surviving spouse which might be a bit disconcerting for some. There are 'picto-graves' of old people, couples, whole families with the faces of several generations portrayed above a single tomb, many gents in Soviet era uniforms with acres of braid and medals, and most poignant, small graves with a picture of a sad eyed child engraved on the headstones. I can only imagine what caused the death of the gentleman who is pictured, cigarette in hand, on his tombstone.

From the Shakhi Zinda we moved to the observatory built by Ulug Beg, the grandson of Tamerlane. The park around the observatory is wedding central on a Saturday afternoon with 3 bridal parties vying for the best spots either in the gardens or using the mosaic walls of the observatory as a backdrop for photos. Uzbeki brides seem to know exactly how they want their photos to be taken while shiny wedding suits for men seem to be the rage. I was distracted from the Battle of the Brides by the action on the road below where cars were attempting to do “Tokyo Drifts” during the lull in traffic between light changes. One of 'the drifters' was a Toyota Corolla and the other, you may not believe this, was a Daewoo Microbus. Its a remarkable sight to see a microbus attempting to slide without rolling or at least falling over. The driver also attempted a wheel stand which he completely misjudged resulting in a lot of smoke as the microbus first reared into the air then nosedrived into the tarmac to the amusement of the crowd on observatory hill.

The evening was spent having dinner in the garden at the home of our driver whose wife prepared a wonderful spread which was accompanied by several bottles of vodka. Once a vodka bottle is opened it must be finished say the Uzbekis and after 2 bottles there were the expected results including a rendition by one of our group of the only song in the English language dedicated to the cauliflower. Electricity supply cannot be guaranteed, so all the lights that evening were powered by a small generator.

On the Silk Road: Uzbekistan Day 2: Tashkent – Samarkand

2010-09-18T17:26:00.011+04:00

Just after midnight there was a earthquake which woke several members of our party. Not me though, I didn't feel a thing.

The main task of today was to travel by train from Tashkent to Samarkand. A bus took us to the station where we loaded ourselves into 12 seats in a 2nd class carriage. The train left exactly on time and shortly afterwards the overhead video kicked into life and showed a series of Uzbek pop video clips and a full concert of various singers performing a mix of modern and traditional songs accompanied by dancers in national costume If you're a dancer you may know of Laurel Grey and The Silk Road Company in the US who perform the Central Asian dance styles. The conductor came round taking everyone's orders for tea (pronounced choi here). The most important question in Uzbekistan is “Green or Black”.

Amir Timur mausoleum, Samarkand

In the front of the carriage was a group of young guys who didn't seem to stop eating throughout the entire 3.5 hour trip, all the while sharing bottles of “Coke” out of plastic bags. The contents of these bottles caused them to become louder and more boisterous as time went on. When we arrived at Samarkand we were greeted by many local women selling large circular loaves of unleavened bread called non. We bought a couple and learned that non weighs a ton! We headed to the Orient Star Hotel our base for the next 3 nights in Samarkand. The Orient Star's main claim to fame is that all the hotel room doors open outwards into the narrow hallway. I think the best idea is to knock before you exit your room to give people in the hallway time to get out of the way.

We headed out to have lunch in a local restaurant and I met plov for the first time. If vodka is the national drink of Uzbekistan, then plov is the national dish. It's like a pilau consisting of rice with vegetables, usually carrots, with chunks of meat on top. Its eaten for lunch mainly and restaurants only make enough to sell and once its gone – that's it until tomorrow. It's common practice if someone is looking for a late lunch to phone a several restaurants to find out which one has some plov left over. Uzbeki's claim there are 100 different ways to cook plov and that the best plov is cooked by men outdoors. Our guide Bahador remarked that an Uzbek man would not be considered a good husband unless he can cook an acceptable plov, which is interesting considering how macho Uzbek society seems to be. After lunch we went on to the the mausoleum of Amir Temir, better known in the west as Tamerlane, “The Terror of the World”. Tamerlane lies beneath a glorious dome, his grave marked by a black-green slab of marble, surrounded by the graves of various of his teachers and several of his sons. The tombstones are markers for the actual graves which lie in exactly the same layout in the crypt underneath.

From there we moved on to the Registan Complex, possibly the most famous of Samarkand's treasures, . The Registan is made up of 3 huge madrassah (schools) and like all of the sites we've been to, there's a entrance charge per person (usually about 4,500 sum) plus a charge for each camera (about 1,500 sum). Construction of the first madrassa began in 1417 by Tamerlane's grandson Uleg Beg. Its a large building with a ribbed turquoise dome in a shape reminiscent of a lemon squeezer. The exterior is covered in ceramic tiles in blue, turquoise and green.

The Registan, Samarkand

The second building, constructed in 1619 was the Shir Dor Madrassa which is almost a mirror image of the Uleg Beg madrassa. The Shir Dor is notable for the depiction in mosaic tiles of lions and suns with human faces above its main entry.

The final madrassa is Tillya Kari with magnificent mosaics covering every wall in floral and geometric patterns. Construction of the Tillya Kari started in 1646. One of the hujara (student rooms) contains a small carpet workshop and Cathy and I watched a couple of nimble fingered ladies sitting crosslegged at an upright loam weaving on a silk carpet.

I've been surprised by the popularity of gold tooth fillings here. These went out of favour in NZ in my father's generation but it seems that in Uzbekistan everyone, even young people, have mouthfuls of gold.. The fillings possibly are like jewellery or an investment, the gold can be extracted and sold if times are tough. Some Uzbek smiles are quite literally 'pure gold' and reminiscent of Odd Job, the toothsome villain in one of the James Bond movies.

On the Silk Road: Uzbekistan Day 1 Dubai to Tashkent

2010-09-17T17:23:00.001+04:00

The flight from Dubai to Tashkent on Uzbekistan Airways was smooth and uneventful. There's no in-flight entertainment on UA so make sure you take a book. As there was an unexplained delay in leaving Dubai, the plane arrived at Tashkent 45 minutes late. We were bused across the tarmac after waiting as a forgetful and panic stricken bride-to-be retrieved her wedding dress that had been left on the plane. Once inside the terminal we joined the queue at immigration. As I already had my visa to enter Uzbekistan it was just a matter of waiting my turn but unfortunately it wasn't so smooth for our friends from NZ, Cathy and Stan. They'd been unable to get a visa from NZ before leaving the country and because of Eid it was decided not to try to collect it in Dubai. So the travel agent said that they could pick up their visas at Tashkent airport on arrival, the process would take no more than half an hour....but that only works if everything goes to plan. The first delay was when the airport immigration guys realised that as they had no visas in their passport, they had to call the consular guy to come out to physically insert the visas. The visa itself takes up a full page in a passport, and is then validated with a little blue stamp. For some reason, the consular man didn't like the visa he'd put into Stan's passport and tried to remove it after he'd stamped it with the little blue stamp. To solve the problem he then tried to stick the visa back in the passport. He then stamped it on all 4 corners and handed it back to Stan who walked no more than 5 steps to the other side of the aisle and handed his passport to the airport immigration guys. The airport guys immediately refused Stan's visa because the consular guy had put the 4 little blue stamps in the wrong places and they didn't match up. Consular guy had already left the building and had to be contacted on his mobile and asked to come back. Once he returned, he and the immigration guys had a long discussion which ended with backslapping and hand shaking, Stan's visa was ok'd and we were free to go...total time 1.5 hours. We stayed the night at the Markizay Hotel which was a Sheraton before being nationalised. The bed was comfortable, the door locked, wow, everything worked, what more can you ask for? As we were very late, we went across the road to the Dedeman Hotel and had dinner, very expensive but they had a very good live jazz band. I tried Uzbek manti which is a steamed dumpling containing meat and onions, rather like a dim sim. Its quite a surreal experience to be sitting in a bar in far flung Tashkent, watching Ladas hurl themselves through the traffic lights outside while listening to a band playing the jazz standard “Take 5”.

Back at the hotel we changed some money, US$ into Uzbekistan sum. As the exchange rate is 1800 sum=US$1.00 changing $200 into sum equals many thick wads of notes. I understand now why most Uzbek women carry large handbags and the men all seem to carry sports bags - they're not actually bags, they're Uzbek-sized wallets.

Ramadan Kareem.

2010-08-10T22:31:00.002+04:00

New Zealand eases visa rules for UAE citizens

2010-08-05T09:04:00.001+04:00

The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that UAE citizens can now travel to New Zealand for tourism or work for three months without the need to obtain prior visas.
The ministry said visas will be given to citizens on arrival in New Zealand. This also applies to UAE diplomats and holders of official passports.

Blackberrys banned in the UAE

2010-08-02T19:07:00.001+04:00

The Emirates' looming ban on BlackBerry e-mail, messaging and Web browsing services will extend to foreign visitors too, said the country's telecom regulator, raising the stakes in its dispute with the maker of the popular business tools.
Device maker Research in Motion Ltd. has so far declined to comment on the plan to suspend the services, which Emirati authorities announced Sunday.
The UAE contends some BlackBerry features operate outside the country's laws, "causing judicial, social and national security concerns." At the heart of their concerns is the way the BlackBerry handles data, which is encrypted and routed through the RIM's servers overseas, where it cannot be monitored for illegal activity.
Critics of the crackdown say it is also a way for the country's conservative government to further control content they deem politically or morally objectionable. The smart phones enjoy a following not only among the region's professionals, but also among tech-savvy youth who see their relatively secure communication channels as a way to avoid unwanted government attention.
The Telecommunication Regulatory Authority had left the question of phones run by foreign operators unanswered in announcing the ban, scheduled to take effect Oct. 11.
But in an e-mailed response to questions Monday, the regulator said the service suspension would apply to all users in the country, including visitors using roaming services on foreign BlackBerry phones.
"Roaming for BlackBerry Messenger, BlackBerry e-mail and BlackBerry Web browsing will also be suspended," the TRA said in its unsigned e-mail. "They won't be able to use the mentioned services in (the) UAE as it's suspended (in) the country."
That would put BlackBerry service out of reach for business travelers and others passing through the Mideast's busiest airport in the international business hub of Dubai, which averages about 100,000 passengers a day.
The UAE has singled out BlackBerry devices for scrutiny before.
Last year, RIM criticized a directive by the UAE state-owned mobile operator Etisalat telling the company's BlackBerry users to install software described as a service upgrade. Tests showed the download actually installed spy software on users' phones that could allow authorities to access private information stored on the handsets. It strongly distanced itself from Etisalat's decision and told users how to remove the software.
The TRA says there are 500,000 BlackBerry subscribers in the UAE.
Telecommunication officials in Saudi Arabia have also said they are planning to curtail use of the BlackBerry messaging service, but not other services on the phones.

Where's the justice in that?

2010-07-14T22:49:00.002+04:00

So, we now know that doing idiotic driving stunts on a main highway in Dubai is apparently no big deal as a AED1,000 fine (a bit more than $300) without loss of points to the drivers was considered a fair punishment. However, we should all be aware that the heinous crime of driving the wrong way down an aisle of a Dubai hotel carpark is so, so much worse. In fact its 4 times worse. A colleague was given an on-the-spot fine by the police in a Jumeirah hotel car park yesterday for 'driving the wrong way' and has this morning received an SMS telling him that he's also lost 4 points on top of the instant AED400 fine. 4 points deducted for a car park infringement! Somehow this punishment seems a little out of proportion to the crime. When he gets his licence back (it was confiscated and will not be returned for 3 days) he may head out to Al Khail Road to do handbrake slides and burnouts in rush hour traffic as he can't afford to lose any more points tootling round in carparks at 10kph.

Dubai rejects all-seeing airport scanners

2010-07-14T13:52:00.000+04:00

Source: 'The National'
==============
Full-body security scanners will not be used in Dubai airports, it was announced yesterday.
The decision was made because the devices do not correspond with national customs and ethics, said Brig Ahmed bin Thani, the Dubai Police’s director of airport security.
“I do not feel that it is necessary for us to implement such a technology while we are operating different methods and have different avenues that have worked so far,” he said.
“The use of such a device violates personal privacy and it raises a very sensitive issue for passengers, in addition to the fact that it does not complement our national ethics.”
The devices, also known as millimetre wave scanners, or backscatter X-rays depending on which technology they use, have raised privacy concerns because they allow authorities to see underneath clothing to the surface of the skin, although special software normally masks some parts of the body.
The scanners could also affect human DNA by interfering with processes such as DNA replication, a study for the Los Alamos National Laboratory in the US has shown.
The rejection by Dubai is at odds with an announcement by federal authorities at a regional aviation security conference last month that they intended to introduce body-imaging machines at airports.
Federal officials are reviewing the technology because of the radiation concerns, said Saif al Suwaidi, the director general of the General Civil Aviation Authority.
“We don’t have full information on the side effects of using this kind of equipment on frequent flyers,” he said.
The screening devices have already been deployed in the US, Canada, the Netherlands and Italy, among other countries. Around 1,000 full-body scanners are due to be operational in US airports by the end of next year.
Some countries, such as the Netherlands and the UK, are attempting to further address privacy concerns by digitally blurring the images of passengers’ faces.
Other countries store passengers’ images for only 24 hours before deleting them.
Brig bin Thani said security measures in place in Dubai were sufficient to keep millions of travellers safe. He noted the scanning technology is not required by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
“The acquisition of such devices is based on the decision of every member state of the ICAO and is not a mandatory measure instructed by them,” he said.
“The majority of crimes that we deal with involve forged passports originating from East Asian countries.”
Some 3,700 people have been trained to deal with security threats and public order at the Dubai airports, Brig bin Thani said.
Dubai International Airport is also looking into the possibility of introducing face-recognition technology to enhance safety, said Brig Omar al Amri, the deputy director of airport security. The system has been tested but has yet to be fully implemented. “For the technology to be introduced only a software upgrade is required,” said Brig bin Thani. “We are currently testing it and reviewing its potential uses.”
The airport has more than 3,200 operational security cameras in its three terminals.
Dubai’s airports are expected to process 46 million passengers this year, compared with 40 million last year, after the opening of Al Maktoum International Airport in Jebel Ali last month. Security personnel have been kept busy, dealing with 732 criminal cases thus far this year, compared to 1,382 in all of last year.
Officials have developed a new initiative to deal with the 15 to 20 illegals apprehended trying to enter the Emirates through Dubai airports each day.

Tiger, tiger

2010-07-14T10:35:00.000+04:00

Following on from the article in '7 Days' about the two tigers in the Dubailand office, here are photos of these magnificent animals taken in December 2007. They are in a glass fronted enclosure inside the, now defunct, Dubailand sales office near Arabian Ranches.

The brain dead receive their "punishment"

2010-07-07T14:18:00.000+04:00

Do you remember the Sheikh Zayed Road antics of a couple of brain dead drivers?

What was their punishment? Hold onto your hats! They've been fined the grand total of 1,000 dirhams each by the Dubai Court of Misdemeanours. That's $321 Aussie dollars! No black points. And while they get off with nothing more than a slap on the hand with limp celery, stories are coming to light of motorists who have received fines and/or lost black point for incidents that have not taken place. For example, a man fined for speeding at 3am in Sharjah when he was asleep in Dubai, another story of a friend who has received a fine for speeding on Beach Road. At the time of the 'offence' she was at work and her car was in a secure parking area all day. The RTA have told her to pay up.

Bullfighting Omani-style

2010-06-27T08:19:00.001+04:00

Omani style bullfighting isn't Man -v- Bull, its Bull -v- Bull. I filmed this clip in Ghadfan a small town near Sohar in Oman last Thursday evening (24/6/10). The bulls occasionally sustain cuts and bruises in what is a contest of headbutting and brute strength. The biggest danger is to the audience who have to get up and run fast when the bulls get bored or one decides to make a quick exit and heads off into the crowd.
The only way the bulls could be disentangled from each other or moved out of the audience if they'd 'done a runner' was by attaching a rope to the animal then a line of guys formed holding onto the rope. The men would then start pulling on the rope, a bit like a tug of war.

Ramadan to fall on 11th August 2010 : UAE Astronomer

2010-06-22T14:50:00.000+04:00

Source: WAM 22nd June 2010
====================
The Muslim's fasting month of Ramadan will start on Wednesday, 11th August 2010, and the Eid Ul Fitr will fall on Friday, 10th September 2010, according to a UAE astronomer.
Ibrahim Al Jarwan, Astronomy Researcher and Supervisor of Sharjah Planetarium, said the crescent moon of the holy month of Ramadan will be astronomically born on Tuesday, 10th August 2010, at 7:08 am (UAE time) and will disappear after sun set on the same day and Wednesday will the first day of Ramadan.
''The crescent moon of Shawwal will be born on Wednesday 8th September, at 2:30 am local time and sink down 14 minutes before sun set.
''It's impossible to sight the crescent by naked eye at that day and therefore Friday (10th September) will be the first day of Shawwal,''he said.
Citing astronomical calculations, he added that this year's summer season will begin on 22nd June and end on 23rd September but it will start on 21st June in the UAE at 3:28 pm when the sun is directly overhead on the Tropic of Cancer.

Nescafe coffee in Dubai recalled over safety reasons

2010-06-14T11:02:00.004+04:00

"Dubai Municipality says that the situation is not serious as the product [is] not commonly found in UAE."
Not serious? NOT SERIOUS? They're kidding. So there's the remotest chance of bits of glass in the coffee, oh for %^* sake, I'll sift it through my teeth if necessary. This is a disaster of Titanic proportions. The reason Alta Rica is not commonly found here is because all us rabid 'Alta Ricans' raid the supermarket shelves and buy all the stock as soon as the Coffee Boat comes in to Dubai. After buying 8 jars from the last shipment, and kind friends also buying jars for me when they saw them, I'm now down to the last half a jar. NOT SERIOUS? Aaaaagh! Does anyone know the baggage allowance for bringing jars of coffee into the country? Can we still get it in Oman? Can I swap my alcohol allowance at Customs for a coffee allowance?
Source: Gulf News 20th May 2010
Photo: http://www.nescafe.co.uk
=======================
A range of Nestle coffee has been recalled over concerns that the jars may contain fragments of glass, the manufacturer announced in a press statement.
Products that may be affected are in a speciality soluble range in 100g jars, including the Alta Rica, Alta Rica Decaff, Cap Columbie, Suraya and Espresso types, which have a distinctive plastic sleeve.
Some of the jars may be susceptible to breakage during the delivery process to our customers and consequently may contain small pieces of glass, the statement read.
However, Dubai Municipality said that this isn’t serious.
“This is not a serious issue as the product is not commonly found in the UAE,” Khalid Mohammed Sharif, Director of Food Control department at Dubai Municipality said.
“The product is produced in South East Asia and is only found in limited quantity and in select stores,” Sharif explained.
He added that the recall is only a precautionary measure and that Nestle had already informed the Municipality of its decision to recall.
“We were informed about it two days ago by Nestle as they wanted us to be in the picture. We have since taken all the necessary action is such situations and made sure the product is removed from stores.”
The Nestle statement continued: “The quality and safety of our products is a non-negotiable priority for our Company. Only products in this specific jar format are affected. We will be changing the packaging format before we reintroduce this coffee range to the market,” the statement continued. It also included an apology to consumers and customers for any inconvenience.

Its no laughing matter in Iran: new curbs

2010-06-13T09:22:00.000+04:00

Source: Bloomberg 10th June 2010
===============================
“Producing and distributing inappropriate clothes, those not complying with Islamic and Iranian culture, should be avoided,” Abbas Miraei, who heads the Office of Supervision of the Public Sphere for the Iranian police, was cited as saying today by Iranian Labour News Agency. Further details weren’t immediately available.
Iran has set aside $1.5 billion to promote “moral conduct,” including enforcement of its dress code for women, “to solve the cultural and social ills” in society, Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar said on May 10. His comments followed the introduction of a code of conduct at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences that bans loud laughter, nail polish, high heels and immodest clothing for women and men.
Since the revolution that brought Shiite Muslim religious leaders to power three decades ago, women in Iran have been required to cover their hair with scarves and obscure the shape of the body with loose-fitting coats. The government, which sees the U.S. and its influence on culture as a threat to Iranian society, also seeks to prevent young women and men from following the West’s pop culture and fashion trends.
The police will “deal firmly” with violators of Iran’s laws on moral conduct, Mohammad-Najjar said last month. A cleric at Tehran’s main Friday prayers, Iran’s largest, said in April that women who dress immodestly cause earthquakes.
Iranian authorities increase their enforcement of the women’s dress code annually to prevent them from abandoning Islamic dress amid summer temperatures that can reach 42 degrees Celsius (107 Fahrenheit) in Tehran.
Under Shiraz University’s code, in effect since Feb. 20, women must wear loose, long coats in subdued colors that go below the knee. Men aren’t permitted to wear jewelry, except for a wedding ring, nor short-sleeve shirts, and their trousers should be loose. Shoes shouldn’t have pointed toes, make noise or have heels higher than 3 centimeters (1.2 inches).

Dubai connection to sacked Oz politican exposed

2010-06-11T10:27:00.001+04:00

The Sydney Morning Herald has revealed that Sheikh Mohammed and his horsebreeding company in Australia are linked to a disgraced former NSW politician (honestly, sometimes I wonder if there's any other sort). The Premier of NSW refuses access to key documents on the matter. The current Premier is some American woman who seemed to appear from nowhere. I guess either there was nobody else left to do the job or The Boys know they are going to get a hammering in the next election and they want a 'fall-girl'. In an interesting development, the press is now asking whether Sheikh Mohammed's horsebreeding organisation was allowed to move horses during the equine flu outbreak in Australia despite a total ban on horse transportation being in place at the time.
Source: Sydney Morning Herald
Photo: Sydney Morning Herald (Sheikh Mohammed/Ian MacDonald
==============================
Ian MacDonald's controversial trip to Dubai was organised by a company owned by the country's ruler, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, shortly after the disgraced former NSW minister made decisions benefiting the sheikh, who breeds racehorses in the Hunter Valley.
However, key details of the trip - including emails between Mr Macdonald's staff and the sheikh's company - are being kept secret by the NSW government.
The Premier, Kristina Keneally, refused to make key documents public and the head of the Department of Premier and Cabinet, Brendan O'Reilly, referred the report of his investigation to the Independent Commission Against Corruption.The report, released yesterday, finds Mr Macdonald and his deputy chief of staff, Jamie Gibson, spent almost $20,000 of taxpayer funds on airfares, meals and accommodation at the Le Royal Meridien Beach Resort and Spa in Dubai, also owned by the sheikh, against the orders of the then premier, Morris Iemma.
It highlights a mysterious expense of $1594.67 charged to the hotel by Mr Gibson, for which he cannot account, and raises questions about an extra room booked by Mr Macdonald ''for no specific purpose''.
The report was ordered by Ms Keneally after the Herald revealed Mr Macdonald, his wife and two friends were given upgrades on Emirates Airlines, also owned by the sheikh, shortly after Mr Macdonald made a decision to allow racehorse breeding to continue in NSW during the 2007 equine influenza outbreak. The Herald also revealed that the upgrades were requested by members of the Hunter Valley thoroughbred community.
Among emails provided to investigators by Mr Gibson are some ''which appear to indicate'' Mr Macdonald's itinerary was organised through an employee of the Darley organisation, Emma Ridley.
''Darley is a global racehorse-breeding operation belonging to [the sheikh],'' the report notes. ''It operates horse-stud interests in the Hunter Valley.''
Ms Ridley also organised hotel bookings for the visit, using details of Mr Gibson's personal Visa card. When she was asked to provide the card's expiry date, Ms Ridley opted to confirm the reservations against Darley's ''credit facility''. However, the facility was never charged.
The report concluded that Mr Macdonald - who quit Parliament this week over the affair - charged the taxpayer $2815.50 for his flight to Dubai without the authorisation of Mr Iemma. He also improperly spent thousands of dollars on meals for his wife, Anita Gylseth, a colleague, Nick Papallo, and his unnamed wife, and Mr Macdonald's daughter, Sacha.
However, Mr Macdonald told investigators he did not know the flight had been booked through the government travel company. This was backed up by his secretary, Selina Rainger, who said he had not asked her to charge the flight to the government.
Mr Gibson told investigators he believed he was given permission by Mr Iemma to travel to Dubai at taxpayers' expense. The report finds Mr Gibson ''had some grounds for his belief'' - information provided to him by Adam Badenoch, Mr Macdonald's then chief of staff who recalled a letter authorising the flight.
However, Mr Iemma told investigators he had no recollection of the letter and it could not be found.
Tabling the report in Parliament yesterday, Ms Keneally said Mr Macdonald's resignation had been appropriate. ''Given the findings of the … report it was the proper course of action. Ian Macdonald would have had no option but to resign.''
She said the Department of Premier and Cabinet would review Mr Gibson's actions and would take disciplinary action if required.
Ms Keneally said attachments to the report would not be released publicly. ''They are being reviewed by the ICAC and contain personal and private information of both public officials and private citizens.
Last night, Mr Macdonald told Channel Nine that he was a victim of ''self-destructive'' leaks within the Labor Party.
He told the Herald: ''I have a clear conscience.''
He said the trip was ''worthwhile'' and any expenses outside of ministerial guidelines were taken mistakenly.
He has repaid the cost of the flight and a portion of the cost of the meals.
Darley said in a statement today: "Darley rejects all suggestions in the Australian media of impropriety regarding its actions relating to former Minister Ian Macdonald’s travel to Dubai in January 2008. Darley acts with the highest integrity at all times. Darley will cooperate with any official inquiry in relation to this matter."

The Ras al-Khaimah "coup": The Georgian connection

2010-06-09T16:50:00.003+04:00

The 2003 coup in the Emirate of Ras al-Khaimah concluded when the UAE military took to the streets and restored order. The UAE military would only have been involved if approval had come from the highest level ie the President with the approval, implicit or otherwise, of the rulers of the other Emirates. Staging any sort of 'takeover' in RAK now would be to take a stand against, not just the current rulers of RAK, but the authority of federal law in the UAE.
This piece from the Georgia Media Centre makes for interesting reading.

Source: Georgia Media Centre

================================

Events in a small Gulf emirate could be about to turn Georgian politics upside down, with the ruler of Ras al-Khaimah, part of the United Arab Emirates, facing the prospect of being dethroned by the country's former ruler, Sheikh Khalid bin Saqr al-Qasimi.

Khalid was overthrown by his brother and father in 2003 - allegedly because he sought to improve women's rights in the absolutist statelet, whose name means "top of the tent" in Arabic.

Now, reports London's Guardian, Khalid is in the UAE negotiating to return to power - the culmination of a multi-million dollar campaign to return to the throne which, rather incongruously, seems to have been run out of a family solictor's office in the London suburb of Uxbridge.
The significance for Georgia is, following the Rose Revolution of late 2003, the new rulers of Ras al-Khaimah became the biggest single foreign investors in Georgia, through the state-owed Ras al-Khaimah Investment Authority (RAKIA).
The standard drill has been for RAKIA to get given an asset at a knock-down price (often because it was seized from the owners) and then, at least in theory, invest money. The signs for Rakeen - RAKIA's property arm - are a common sight around Tbilisi (such as Mtatsminda Park - pictured), but often the investment seems to be slower to follow.
RAKIA were also said to have financed the purchase of Imedi TV from Joseph Kay - the controversal US-based businessman who claimed that station founder Badri Patarkatsishvili had willed the station to him (a claim fiercely disputed by the widow and family of Patarkatsishvili, who died in England in 2008 after being forced into exile by the Saakashvili regime).
Joesph Kay, while protected in Georgia by the country's notoriously pliant courts, began to lose case after case to Patarkatsishvili's family and earlier this year the Ras al-Khaimah aithorities, in a less than fully convincing fashion, denied having ever been involved with Imedi.
If the current rulers of the emirate fall there could be profound implications for the Georgian government's finances and propaganda machine.

The RAK "coup": Sheikh Khalid replies

2010-06-09T16:49:00.000+04:00

Sheikh Khalid's response to the Guardian article about a possible coup in the Emirate of Ras al Khaimah can be found here.

Abdullah Brothers: Poachers turned gamekeepers

2010-06-09T08:31:00.002+04:00

The Abdullah Brothers ran Damas International, a jewellery company, and over time they 'used for unauthorised transactions' ie knicked, $165 million in cash and gold from the company. They were found out, dismissed and ordered to repay the amount. They then missed the first repayment but that's not considered a default (it would be for anyone else..) and now, lo and behold, the company they took the money from, gives them jobs as 'advisors'.
Source: ArabianBusiness 8 June 2010
============================================
Jewellery retailer Damas International said on Tuesday that it had appointed the company founders as senior advisors, just months after they were ordered to be dismissed for $165m of financial irregularities.
The company said Tawfique Abdullah, Tawhid Abdullah and Tamjid Abdullah had been appointed with immediate effect.
In March, Dubai's financial regulator said the Abdullah brothers owed the company $99.4 million cash plus the value of 1,940 kilograms of gold.
They were ordered to repay $165 million in "unauthorised transactions".
The brothers missed the first scheduled repayment of $55 million due in April but Damas said in May that the skipped payment, part of a settlement agreement, was not considered a default.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Damas said the appointments were "in line with the terms of the Enforceable Undertaking signed with the Dubai Financial Services Authority".
A spokesperson said: "Damas International Limited is pleased to announce the appointment of the Abdullah brothers as senior advisors to the company.
"At a time when Damas is going through a period of transition and pursuing a renewed strategy for its sustainable growth, the involvement of the Abdullah brothers in an advisory capacity provides us significant depth of knowledge and insight.
"In their roles, even though the involvement is strictly non executive, the company will benefit from their valuable advice on the unique aspects of the jewellery trade."
Last week, Damas said it expected to reach a debt restructuring deal with lenders by the end of June.
Damas is in talks with banks to restructure $872 million and is operating under a standstill agreement. The lenders, some 20 banks, include foreign names like Barclays and BNP Paribas.

A coup plot in RAK

2010-06-08T14:45:00.003+04:00

Source: The Guardian 6 June
==================
A bloodless coup to take control of an Arab Gulf state is being plotted by an unlikely alliance that includes a powerful firm of US lobbyists and a provincial English high-street solicitor.
Peter Cathcart, a 59-year-old lawyer from Farnham, has been hired by the ousted crown prince of Ras al-Khaimah (RAK) in the United Arab Emirates to co-ordinate the plot aimed at returning him to power after seven years in exile.
Documents seen by the Guardian show that Cathcart has acted as a paid agent for Sheikh Khalid bin Saqr al-Qasimi in a multimillion-pound campaign to "undermine the current regime's standing" and to force the leadership of the UAE in Abu Dhabi, which has powerful influence over the emirate, to "make a change".
RAK is a strategically important part of the UAE, 50 miles from Iran across the Strait of Hormuz, through which 17 million barrels of oil are shipped each day. Sheikh Khalid, 66, was ousted by his father and brother as de facto leader in 2003.
The campaign alleges the regime presents an international security threat because the kingdom has become "a rogue state and gateway for Iran", allowing the shipment of weapons, including nuclear weapons parts, drugs and blood diamonds as well as military personnel and terrorists from al-Qaida and other networks.
Cathcart, a miniature steam train enthusiast and chairman of his local parish council who operates from modest offices in the outer London suburbs, cuts an unlikely figure in the plot, which involves highly paid US PR consultants, Washington lobbyists and former US-special forces strategists hired at a cost of at least $3.7m (£2.6m). They include BSKH, the lobbying firm which helped Ahmed Chalabi, the Iraqi politician who opposed Saddam Hussein and was widely blamed for providing unsubstantiated evidence about weapons of mass destruction used as justification for an invasion of Iraq.
It is not suggested that Cathcart's involvement is unlawful.
The plotters have claimed the RAK regime is implicated in an alleged terror plot to blow up the world's tallest building in Dubai, and a possible Iranian attack on US participants in the America's Cup yachting race, due to take place in the emirate but later cancelled.
The campaign to return Sheikh Khalid to power comes amid international concern about Iran's nuclear programme, and the deposed sheikh's focus on links between RAK and Iran appears calculated to turn international opinion, particularly in Washington, against the family who rejected him.
Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, is among the US politicians including more than a dozen congressmen from whom Sheikh Khalid has sought support. In February, he made a speech in Washington in which he stated: "I am troubled that the current regime has allowed RAK to devolve into a rogue state and strategic gateway for Iran. Published reports in the Gulf region have repeatedly indicated that Iran has taken advantage of our free trade zones, using them as a transfer point to smuggle cargo, including arms, electronics, weapons parts, drugs and even humans to Africa, Europe and Asia."
His US communications team insists the claims are "well sourced", but they were rejected by the UAE embassy in London. The UAE also denied the Sheikh's claim that RAK has links to Iran's nuclear programme and that a port in RAK has in effect become an Iranian base, allowing Tehran to avoid international sanctions.
"These appear to be old, scurrilous rumours which Sheik Khalid has made on numerous occasions," a spokesman for the UAE said in a statement. "His claims are baseless and without foundation and should be seen in the context of his long-standing dispute with his family. We are surprised that these old allegations are now being rehashed once again."
Sources close to the plot believe it is now entering its endgame. Sheikh Khalid is understood to have returned to the UAE from exile in London last month and has been in Abu Dhabi meeting officials from the UAE federal government, they said.
The ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan, is the UAE president and ratifies changes to the leadership of the emirates.
The plot has been under way since at least 2008, according to the documents seen by the Guardian. They show that Cathcart has overseen the disbursement of several million dollars to fund the plot and acted as an intermediary between PR consultants, lobbyists and Sheikh Khalid. Cathcart has also met congressmen in Washington DC on behalf of the sheikh and oversaw requests for new appointments to the team. On one occasion he was asked to approve win-bonuses for would-be US advisers of $250,000 per person if the sheikh returns to power.
Cathcart declined repeated requests by the Guardian to comment on his role.
Asked by the Guardian if "regime change" was a legitimate goal, the sheikh's communications team replied: "If you believe in the peace, prosperity and security of the region and in protecting US national security interests, of course. If you are pro-Iranian or believe that the questionable activities in RAK should be allowed to move forward without any concern, then you would probably not approve of our activities."

Laing O’Rourke to close its Middle East division

2010-06-07T10:44:00.000+04:00

Source: building.co.uk, 6 June 2010
=====================
Laing O’Rourke will shut its Middle East division in the latest sign of the toll the global downturn has taken on the company.
The move follows deep cuts to the firm’s global workforce that have almost halved staff levels over the past year.
According to a Laing O’Rourke source that returned to the UK business from the Gulf this year, the worldwide workforce has been cut from 35,753 to about 20,000, largely as a result of the downturn in the UAE.
The closure of the division marks a significant change in strategy for the UK’s third-largest contractor, which relaunched the business with a three-region structure in 2006. The remaining hubs are Europe and Australasia, but the Middle East was the largest in terms of headcount.
The source said: “It’s been a nightmare for my family and hundreds of former colleagues who are out of work. The firm can’t employ more than 4,500 workers and 900 professional staff in the Middle East now, which is down from about 16,000 and 5,000 during the boom - a fall of about three-quarters.”
The closure follows the return of Norman Haste, formerly chief operating officer of the Middle East hub, to the UK late last year to spearhead the company’s push into the energy market. He was not replaced as head of the regional business, whose remaining operations will be overseen by the firm’s head office in Dartford, Kent.
The move to cut the division, which included south Asia, also follows the winding down of a joint venture with Indian firm DLF, which is understood to have little work on its books.
Despite the closure, the £4bn-turnover firm is expected to maintain a presence in the Middle East and will continue to have a relationship with Abu Dhabi developer Aldar, with whom it is working on the 54bn dirham (£10bn) Al Raha beach project. Previous jobs in the region included the 5.5bn dirham Atlantis hotel in Dubai.
The source added: “They will keep good relations with the ruling families, but will never be in a situation again where there is such a dependency on a market where it is hard to get your money back if things go wrong.”
The extent of the company’s debt in the Middle East is unknown, but according to its 2009 accounts its turnover in the region doubled to £829m, which compares with £300m at Balfour Beatty and £600m at Carillion, the two largest UK contractors.
A Laing O’Rourke spokesperson declined to comment.
Meanwhile, Laing O’Rourke is using its Australasia business as a springboard into Hong Kong. It is is pushing to win rail infrastructure work in the Chinese territory

Standards must be maintained.

2010-06-01T08:51:00.004+04:00

"I'm off to the Co-op Darling"

As you probably know, Dubai's malls and many individual shops in the suburbs display posters at the entrances warning customers to wear 'respectful clothing'. Most of these posters show a sketch of a female dress that covers both shoulders and knees. Now, in an interesting possible development, the Union Co-Op in Satwa has a 'respectful clothing' poster at the entrance which shows a female figure wearing a floor length dress not unlike an abaya. This is the first time I've seen a 'full length dress' poster. I have one floor length dress, its a ball gown and I'm sure as hell not wearing it to the Co-op in Satwa. (The Co-op was full of Phillipinas in shorts and spaghetti straps, not one of them was wearing a full length ball gown so it seems the clothing message has been lost in translation along the way somewhere.)

There's a s*x shop in the Gulf somewhere?

2010-06-01T08:34:00.008+04:00

Not many details in this article, no location given, though that might be deliberate, and the photos in the article show the sort of stuff you can buy in any of the fancy shops in the malls. Still, the publicity is sure to cause a stir and I imagine the owner will be receiving a visit in the near future from the Ministry of Labour or somesuch.
Source: NineMSN (Australia)
==============
Wearing a veil and modest, flowing abaya, Khadija Ahmed looks an unlikely owner of the conservative Gulf's first sex shop.
She sees nothing wrong, however, with selling "joy jelly," edible undies or the vibrating accoutrements offered by such niche boutiques around the world, insisting that nothing in Islam forbids the pleasures of the bedroom.
"It's not a sex shop in the Western sense," she explained, "but a place to help married couples, and only married couples, enjoy sex to the full."

Family of murdered singer drop lawsuit against Egyptian tycoon

2010-05-30T08:06:00.000+04:00

Oh, what a surprise.
Source: Reuters
=====================
The family of a murdered Lebanese singer has dropped a civil lawsuit against an Egyptian tycoon accused of planning her killing, a source close to the family said on Saturday, but a criminal trial in Cairo will continue.
Hesham Talaat Moustafa, a member of parliament in Egypt's ruling party, was sentenced last year to hang along with Muhsen El Sukkari, the security man whom the tycoon is charged with paying to stab Suzanne Tamim to death in Dubai.
Moustafa, former chairman of Talaat Moustafa Group, was granted a retrial in March on grounds of legal errors and the new trial began on April 26.Tamim's family had been pursuing a separate civil lawsuit seeking monetary compensation, the Lebanese source said.
"They dropped the civil case because they are convinced that it wasn't Hesham (behind the murder). Evidence has appeared that shows another person is involved," the source said, adding the family had not received any money.
In Cairo, Moustafa's top lawyer Farid el-Dib said: "The waiver of the civil case does not affect the criminal case and the judicial process is still running."
The legal notices, signed by Tamim's father, mother and brother and printed in Ad Diyar newspaper on Friday, stated that the family's accusation against Moustafa "has no truth or basis of fact to it".
"We have completely amended our false assumption ... we each confirm that we waive our civil suit in this case."
The media have described the murder as an act of revenge after Tamim ended an extramarital affair with Moustafa.
If found guilty in the Cairo trial, Moustafa and Sukkari will be allowed to appeal the new ruling and could face a third and final trial if that appeal is accepted. They were arrested just months after Tamim's murder in July 2008.

Dubai sees surge in number of converts to Islam

2010-05-27T14:41:00.002+04:00

From The National, 27 May 2010
====================
The number of converts to Islam in the emirate has increased rapidly in the past three years as Islamic authorities step up efforts to promote the religion.
Almost 60 per cent of all conversions to Islam tracked by Dubai’s Department of Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities occurred in the last three years, according to statistics obtained by The National.
The majority of the emirate’s new Muslims convert to Islam at the department, while a small number do so at Dubai’s courts.
There has been a steady rise in converts since the body began tracking them in 1996, when it recorded 169 conversions.
In 2006, just over 800 people converted to Islam, and the figure doubled in 2007 to 1,617.
Last year alone, there were 3,043 converts. Huda al Kaabi, the head of the New Muslim section in the department, said: “The numbers are increasing year after year.”
Most conversions were during Islamic seasons like the Haj pilgrimage or when Muslims fast in Ramadan. They also spike when visitors converge on Dubai, primarily during the emirate’s shopping festival.
Government officials attribute the rise to efforts to promote a moderate version of Islam to visitors as well as special programmes that counsel prisoners.
“Dubai is a moderate city where we have a mix of religions and cultures, and visitors see that in the way Muslims treat others in the street,” Ms al Kaabi said.“When foreign visitors come during the Dubai Shopping Festival for example, we intensify our efforts.”
These efforts to draw non-Muslims include distributing brochures and holding lectures and workshops that introduce tourists to Islam and its pillars.
The Government also sends its preachers to visit prisons, where Ms al Kaabi said many are introduced to the teachings of Islam.
Enver Zekaj, senior adviser for education and religious guidance at the department, said: “In Islam, for people who are guilty, the door to repentance is open."
Preachers tell inmates that they still have the opportunity to repent from any sins they committed, Mr Zekaj said, and this helps blunt any desire for revenge within them.
Dubai and Sharjah began sending preachers to prisons in 2002. But the practice raises concerns over how appropriate it is to preach Islam to non-Muslims and whether it detracts from society’s acceptance of other religions.
Ms al Kaabi insists the decision on whether to convert is up to the individual. “Religion is a choice, this is an introduction only,” she said.
Mr Zekaj said: “We invite people to discover Islam, we do not focus that they should convert because guidance is from Allah.”
Jihad Hashim Brown, the director of research at the Tabah Foundation, who delivers the Friday sermon at the Maryam bint Sultan Mosque in Abu Dhabi and is a columnist for The National, said it was not a concern since there is little active proselytising for Islam.
“I’m not aware of any significant proselytisation in Dubai and definitely not Abu Dhabi,” he said.
Mr Brown said that chaplains of different religions provide spiritual and moral counselling to prisoners and combat troops in the West. “I wouldn’t say sending chaplains to the jail is anything out of the ordinary,” he said.
Islam enjoys a moderate image in the UAE because its practice “is not driven by secondary objectives like political or sectarian motivations”, he said. “Islam in the UAE is ideology-free.”
Mr Brown said part of the reason for a rise in converts is that non-Muslims will scrutinise Islam when it is exposed to bad publicity, such as terrorist attacks by Muslims.
“Every time international attention is directed towards Islam, even bad publicity, people are going to want to find out what Islam is all about,” he said.
He said there were spikes in conversions to Islam after the September 11 attacks, and more people converted to Sunni Islam after the 1979 Iranian revolution.
Most of Dubai’s converts are labourers and maids, but Ms al Kaabi said the group is diverse, including managers and priests.
To embrace Islam, a non-Muslim who visits the department sits through an explanation of the religion’s five pillars: testimony, prayer, fasting, alms, and pilgrimage to Mecca.
Government clerics then answer questions the convert has, such as ones comparing Islamic beliefs to those of other religions. The clerics’ languages include Arabic, English, Tagalog, Urdu, Tamil and Russian. The individual then fills out a certificate, formally embracing Islam.
Many choose to enrol in post-conversion courses detailing the different aspects of Islam.
Dubai does not track the number of Muslims converting to other religions, which, technically, is not allowed in Islam. It is also not allowed to proselytise other religions.

Bellydancer fears her art is dying

2010-05-27T14:11:00.000+04:00

From The National, 30th June 2008
Despite the date its a very interesting read and the situation hasn't changed.
=========================
At about 2.30am on a Saturday, Dina, Egypt’s most famous belly dancer, slinks on to the stage of Haroun el Rashid Night Club wearing a revealing pink outfit, accompanied by the sound of her trademark music.
Without an introduction she eases into her routine, gyrating her hips and rolling her stomach in slow, sensual motions, gradually raising the tempo with ever more daring and titillating movements of her thighs and torso.
The audience, made up of upper class Egyptians, Gulf businessmen and tourists as well as a smattering of westerners, is enthralled.
Dina is practising an art that dates back to the Pharaohs, but belly dancing, or raqs sharqi, is these days more often condemned as immoral than celebrated as a national pastime, as religious conservatism grows in Egypt.
In May, Dina caused an uproar after giving a brief performance at a high school party. Apart from the storm that ensued in the media, 17 Islamist and independent lawmakers filed an urgent inquiry with the education minister, and Nabih al Wahsh, a well-known lawyer, filed a lawsuit against her for “seducing students”.
Ali Laban, a legislator and member of the Muslim Brotherhood, called for talks with the culture, education and interior ministers, while Sherif Omar, who heads the education committee in parliament and is a member of the ruling National Democratic Party, referred to the incident as a “catastrophe”.
Dina, in her forties and who goes only by her first name, was taken aback by the reaction, though it is far from the first time her dancing has raised the ire of conservatives.
“When I heard that my dancing for five minutes while wearing a jeans and T-shirt in the prom party [caused such offence], I was shocked,” she said, sipping a cappuccino and smoking a cigarette in the cafe of the Semiramis InterContinental Hotel in Cairo, where she performs three times a week.
“Sometimes I feel I get used to these things, but I don’t, because they never cease to amaze me,” she said.
In Oct 2006, Dina was widely blamed – by officials, the media and the public – after scores of young men chased women through downtown Cairo groping them and pulling off their clothes – even those wearing Islamic headscarves and face veils.
She had been dancing with a popular singer in front of a downtown cinema to advertise a movie that was playing during Eid, and allegedly aroused the men, causing them to run riot.
“This accusation made me laugh,” Dina said. “I couldn’t believe I could be responsible for unleashing a sexual uprising by hundreds of men. It’s just unbelievable.”
Famed for her green eyes, long black hair, and voluptuous figure, sculpted by more than 20 years of dancing, Dina is now one of the only well-known belly dancers in Egypt.
“I see no hope or future for belly dancing in Egypt,” she said. “Ten years ago we were so many. Each one had her own style and audience, whether first-class belly dancers, or second and third class. Now I look around and see nobody.”
According to the Egyptian Arts Authority, 5,000 professional belly dancers were registered in the 1950s, compared with less than 100 today.
While belly dancing is legal, dancers cannot perform on state-owned television in Egypt. And in an attempt to reduce the number of dancers, authorities are giving fewer licences to foreigners and making it difficult for them to renew existing ones.
Police also monitor nightclubs to ensure that dancers’ costumes are sufficiently modest, with slitted skirts that must start below the knee. The navel is always supposed to be covered, if only by transparent material.
According to Dina, who holds an master of arts in philosophy from Cairo University, the belly dancing outfits are the main cause of controversy in Egypt, rather than the dance itself.
“I think the problem some have with belly dancing here is the dancing costume; but it has always been seductive like this, we [our generation] didn’t invent it. Like ballet – can the ballerina dance with a different outfit? We too can’t dance with our bodies covered,” she said.
Wearing a beige tank top and tightfitting pants, and a golden necklace studded with blue charms, Dina said it was becoming increasingly difficult to be accepted as a belly dancer in Egypt, where 90 per cent of Muslim women wear the veil and the trend towards conservative Islam is growing.
“If I had a daughter, I would advise her not to become a belly dancer,” said Dina, who is a widow and the mother of an eight-year-old boy named Ali.
“It’s very tough being a belly dancer in Egypt.
“I surround myself with people who love dancing, and who are very understanding, so I don’t get the feeling that I’m doing something wrong at all,” she said. “But when these problems happen from time to time, it’s a reminder that many people look down on dancing, and that it’s [seen as] shameful.”
Yet demand for belly dancing in Egypt is still high among those who approve of it, especially among the rich who can afford to pay the LE12,000 per hour (Dh8,250) rate that Dina and her band charge to perform at private functions.
“I still dance at many weddings,” Dina said. “Most of the brides are veiled but they don’t stop dancing with me and their groom all night long. For Egyptians who can afford it, a wedding means a belly dancer.”
Suha Abdel Wahab, 30, is one such Egyptian. “Of course I would never imagine myself being a belly dancer,” Mrs Wahab said. “But I had Dina at my wedding, that was a dream come true.”
Still, people like Mrs Wahab seem to be the exception.
“At my wedding, I slaughtered sheep and distributed to the poor, by the same amount of money that I would have paid to a belly dancer,” said Rasha Moustafa, 29, who wears the veil.
“I think God would bless a marriage that begins by feeding the poor not wasting money on belly dancers.”
Nonetheless, in the face of growing disdain for her profession, Dina sees herself as “the guardian of belly dancing”, and vows to continue doing what she loves.
“Belly dancing is in our blood, it’s deeply rooted in our soil,” she said. “I can’t imagine myself doing anything else.
“When I get old, and can’t dance anymore, I will train belly dancers. I just hope there will be ones to train.”

The braindead are arrested

2010-05-24T15:44:00.000+04:00

Source: ArabianBusiness.com Monday, 24 May 2010
======================
Dubai Police have impounded the two vehicles at the centre of last week’s ‘stunt’ driving controversy on Sheikh Zayed Road, and arrested the cars’ owners.
Police were able to track the vehicles by identifying their number plates, an official told Arabian Business. Bader Dakash, a media coordinator with Dubai Police, said that a full statement would be released shortly.
Viewers from around the world watched as two large vehicles – a Nissan Patrol and a Toyota pickup truck – executed a series of tricks including driving on two wheels and performing do-nut manoeuvres, where a car circles around with smoke coming from all four tyres.The video, which was posted on internet site YouTube and reported on ArabianBusiness.com, sparked a wave of criticism from driving experts as well as regular users of the 12-lane highway.
Peter Richardson, the general manager in charge of technical operations at the Emirates Driving Institute, said: “Those drivers, whoever they are, should be identified and should be punished for that behaviour."
The posting of the video came just a day after Robert Marks, a senior official of International Safety Council, said that Middle East roads were among the world's most dangerous with 18 of every 100,000 people losing their lives in crashes.

Internet 'down' in Dubai

2010-05-20T09:18:00.006+04:00

The internet was 'down' in Dubai for 20 minutes this morning, no YouTube, no blogs, no newspapers, no Facebook, no explanation. Every website except, interestingly, Bank of America and Citibank seemed to be blocked. When a site is banned in the UAE the screen on the left appears. Its Um Saloom from the UAE cartoon series 'Freej' telling you that the site you want is very naughty and that you ain't goin' nowhere. The lurid pink background is quite a surprise initially but that passes.

The braindead strut their stuff on Sheikh Zayed Road

2010-05-19T20:26:00.005+04:00

Ever thought I was exaggerating about the lousy standard of driving in Dubai? This video, was filmed on Sheikh Zayed Road the busiest road in Dubai, though fortunately not at peak hour. Apparently it was all ok because it was part of a 'victory parade' for a local football team that'd had won the Gulf Cup. Keep an eye out for the 2 Landcruisers and the FJ that are blocking the rest of the traffic.
And only yesterday there was an article in the media about roads in the Middle East being the second most dangerous in the world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uzrf7F1rbgY

Sun, sand, sex - why Dubai's strict code is a sham

2010-05-17T08:49:00.003+04:00

Source: New Zealand Herald, 17 May 2010. Written by 'William Butler' a pseudonym for a writer who lived in Dubai for four years.
The article, unlike so many others, is the viewpoint of someone who's lived here, not just flown in for 3 days and immediately become an expert. While some quotes in the article are just too convenient, he appears to know what goes on here, and he knows (possibly too much) about the topic he discusses.
Its also the first time I've seen anyone write about the Dubai phenomenon of the "Summer Bachelor"; the married man left on his own in Dubai while his wife and family returns to the home country for the Northern Hemisphere school holidays. Ye Gods, another summer looms here and no woman, even an old one, will be safe. Scene last summer: empty Costas, me at table reading WWE wrestling magazine and drinking my coffee. A bloke with coffee in hand approaches, "Can I sit here?" as he indicates the seat next to me. I look around at the otherwise deserted coffee bar, think "*%^$!" but smile, "Sure" I say. As he plonks his middle aged backside on the seat I pick up my bag, coffee and wrestling mag and move to a table on the other side of the room. Maaaaate! Anyway here's the article:
=====================================
The bosomy blonde in a tight, low-cut evening dress slid on to a barstool next to me and began the chat: Where are you from? How long are you here? Where are you staying?"
I asked her what she did for a living. "You know what I do," she replied. "I'm a whore."
As I looked around the designer bar on the second floor of the glitzy five-star hotel, it was obvious that every woman in the place was a prostitute. And the men were all potential punters, or at least window-shoppers.
While we talked, Jenny, from Minsk in Belarus, offered me "everything, what you like, all night" for the equivalent of about $1000.
I turned down the offer.
This was not Amsterdam's red-light district. This was in the city centre of Dubai, the Gulf emirate where Western women get a month in prison for a peck on the cheek; the Islamic city on Muhammad's peninsula where the muezzin's call rings out five times a day drawing believers to prayer; where public consumption of alcohol prompts immediate arrest; where adultery is an imprisonable offence; and where mall shoppers are advised against "overt displays of affection", such as kissing.
Ayman Najafi and Charlotte Adams, the couple recently banged up in Al Awir desert prison for a brief public kiss, must have been very unlucky indeed, because in reality Dubai is a heaving maelstrom of sexual activity. It is known by some residents as "Sodom-sur-Mer".
Beach life, cafe society, glamorous lifestyles, fast cars and deep tans are all things associated with "romance" in the fog-chilled minds of Europeans and North Americans.
And there is a fair amount of legitimate "romance" in Dubai. Western girls fall for handsome, flash Lebanese men; male visitors go for the dusky charms of women from virtually anywhere. Office and beach affairs are common. But most of the "romance" in Dubai is paid-for sex, accepted by expatriates as the norm, and to which a blind eye is turned - at the very least - by the authorities.
The bar where "Jenny" approached me was top-of-the-range, where expensively dressed and coiffured girls can demand top dollar from wealthy businessmen or tourists. Virtually every five-star hotel has a bar where "working girls" are tolerated, even encouraged, to help pull in men with cash to blow. But it goes downhill from there.
At sports and music bars, Filipinas vie with the Russians and women from the former Soviet republics for custom at lower prices. In the older parts of the city, Deira and Bur Dubai, Chinese women undercut them all in the lobbies of three-star hotels.
It is impossible to estimate accurately the prostitute population of Dubai. But what makes Dubai prostitution different is the level of acceptance it has by the clients and, apparently, the city's Islamic authorities. Although strictly illegal under United Arab Emirates' and Islamic law, it is virtually a national pastime.
I have seen a 15cm-high stack of application forms in the offices of a visa agent, each piece of paper representing a hopeful "tourist" from Russia, Armenia or Uzbekistan. The photographs are all of women in their 20s seeking one-month visas for a holiday in the emirate.
Maybe young Aida from Tashkent will find a few days' paid work as a maid or shop assistant while she's in Dubai. But most nights she will be selling herself in the bars and hotels and the immigration authorities know that. So must the visa agent, who gets his cut out of each £300 visa fee.
All UAE nationals are entitled to a number of residence visas, which they routinely use to hire imported domestics, drivers or gardeners. But they will sell the surplus to middlemen who trade them on to women who want to go full-time and permanent in the city. The higher the social and financial status of the Emirati, the more visas he has to "farm".
Thousands of women buy entitlement to full-time residence, and lucrative employment, in this way. Three years in Dubai - the normal duration of a residence visa - can be the difference between lifelong destitution and survival in Yerevan, Omsk or Bishkek.
It also ensures a convenient supply of sex for Emiratis. The other big category of punters is Europeans and Americans, and it is remarkable how quickly it all seems normal.
A few drinks with the lads on a Thursday night, maybe a curry, some semi-intoxicated ribaldry, and then off to a bar where you know "that" kind of girl will be waiting. In the West, peer group morality might frown on such leisure activities, but in Dubai it's as normal as watching the late-night movie.
In the long, hot summer, wives and families escape the heat by going to Europe or the US, and the change that comes over the male expat population is astounding. Middle-aged men in responsible jobs - accountants, marketeers, bankers - who for 10 months of the year are devoted husbands, transform in July and August into priapic stallions. Tales are swapped over a few beers the next night, positions described, prices compared, nationalities ranked according to performance. It could be the Champions League we are discussing, not paid-for sex.
In my experience, many men will be unfaithful if they have the opportunity and an expectation that they will not be found out. For expats in Dubai, the summer months provide virtual laboratory conditions for infidelity.
There is the Indonesian maid who makes it apparent that she has no objection to extending her duties, for a price; the central Asian shop assistant who writes her mobile number on the back of your credit card receipt "in case you need anything else"; the Filipina manicurist at the hairdresser's who suggests you might also want a pedicure in the private room.
Sodom-sur-Mer is flourishing. But would-be snoggers beware - your decadent behaviour will not be tolerated.

And now for something completely different

2010-05-09T12:07:00.001+04:00

Sand drags from the emirate of Umm al Quwain in the UAE. Love it.

Mice in a Maze

2010-05-04T17:00:00.019+04:00

So we all thought we had 'Dubai Decency' figured: kissing is illegal, public displays of affection (known here as "PDAs") are illegal and can result in jail and deportation, hand holding is frowned upon but "tolerated" if the couple are married etc etc. But now the Gulf News reports on a couple who've been acquitted of public indecency and they weren't just holding hands or wearing shorts in public, they were having %& in their car in a suburban street. The trusty '7 Days' had a field day describing the 'frisky couple' as being caught 'romping' in, wait for it, their Honda Accord. Two door or four door? Thank goodness the couple is young and apparently flexible, anyone else would need a hip replacement after 'romping' in a little Accord. Aside from having a good lawyer (1)Their car had tinted windows, (2) They'd put an umbrella across the windscreen and most important (3) The 'rompers' were married to each other.
Now if this happened in Auckland, the couple would have been arrested after first being beaten up by other drivers for hogging the parking place.
As a poster on another board said, the decency laws are so hard to understand that Dubai residents are like "mice in a maze".
Source: Gulf News
Photo: Rubberball Photos
=======================
A court has acquitted a married couple of public indecency after their lawyer argued that their tinted car, in which a policeman caught them making love, was a private place.
The Dubai Appeals Court recently acquitted the Pakistani assistant manager and his wife of committing an indecent act in public.
The Appeals Court overturned the primary judgment of one month's jail followed by deportation after the couple's lawyer Dr Riyadh Al Kabban argued that the policeman could not see them committing an indecent act in public since they were inside their car when he sneaked up on them at Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR).
According to the chargesheet, prosecutors had charged the husband, 28, and his wife, 24, of public indecency, by having sexual intercourse in their car at JBR's public parking.
"The policeman breached my clients' rights and privacy and he didn't have the right [as a law enforcement officer] to peep inside the car without obtaining a permission from Dubai Public Prosecution. He testified before the Dubai Misdemeanors Court that he could not see the indecent public act because the car was fully tinted and had an umbrella at the windshield… he also claimed that he failed two times to see what was happening inside the car due to the tinting. When he failed to see the car's inside, he knocked at the window and saw the husband naked when the latter opened the window partly," argued Dr Al Kabban.
Charge dropped
Prosecutors dropped the charge of having consensual sex against the couple after they produced their marriage contract. They were only charged with public indecency.
The policeman testified during prosecution questioning that he was standing nine cars away from the defendants' fully-tinted vehicle when he noticed something suspicious inside the vehicle at around 9:00pm. He told prosecutors that he had to peep into the car because the tint and a windshield shade prevented him from seeing inside.
"That behaviour by itself is a breach of human rights and a clear violation of my clients' privacy… it's as if he walked into the couple's bedroom and caught them making love. Law enforcement procedures were carried out unlawfully against my clients. They were illegitimately arrested and without a warrant. According to article 53 of the Criminal Procedures Law, a private car is deemed private property, hence the policeman should have obtained a prosecutors' warrant to search and look into the car… what he did is considered a clear violation of my clients' privacy and rights," argued the advocate.
The lawyer asked the appeals court to cancel the deportation order and acquit the couple of the charges.
The Appeals Court judgment remains subject to appeal before the Cassation Court within three weeks.
Defence argument
According to the primary judgment sheet, the Misdemeanors Court considered that the couple was caught red-handed committing an indecent act in public. Dr Al Kabban countered that argument before the Appeals Court and based his defence on the fact that the car's full tint and the windshield shade made it a private and not a public place.
"The policeman should have obtained a written prosecutor's warrant to search the car… otherwise this will allow any law enforcement officer to walk into private places without a warrant," argued the lawyer.

Internet ban for tourists

2010-05-03T17:00:00.003+04:00

Sigh...why doesn't someone think these things through before making a public announcement? The latest idea reported in Emarat al-Youm a UAE Arabic language newspaper, is to restrict use of 'public internet' to holders of UAE National ID cards only. Public internet would include hotels, coffee shops, the airport or internet cafes. And who uses these places for net access? And who doesn't have an ID card? Why, every tourist who comes to Dubai. Can you imagine a visiting businessman coming to Dubai and finding he is banned from using the internet? The people this ban seeks to target aren't sitting in internet cafes surrounded by tourists writing emails to Mum or playing "Halo". They're in their own homes in a room with the door shut.
Tourists expect access to the net while they travel, business people expect internet access so they can do business. All this ban will do if it comes into effect, and surely someone will see sense before then, is to make selling Dubai to tourists/businesses even harder.
Source: ArabianBusiness
=========================
People will be barred from accessing the internet publicly in the UAE without a national identity card under an initiative by the Interior Ministry to crack down on cyber crime and child sex abuse, UAE daily Emarat al-Youm reported on Wednesday.
The initiative will allow authorities to monitor everyone who accesses the internet from public locations such as internet cafes, coffee shops and malls, the Arabic newspaper said.
Emarat al-Youm said the Interior Ministry is working with the Emirates Identity Authority to introduce the internet restrictions.
The newspaper said the restrictions would be come into force “soon”, without being more specific.
The UAE aims to issue mandatory national ID cards its citizens and expatriates by the end of 2010 under an ambitious population registration programme.
The single card is expected to later replace other forms of identification in the UAE such as labor permit, health card and driving license.
Emarat al-Youm said the technology would also be made available to parents to monitor their children’s internet use.
Major General Nasser Lakhraibani-Naimi, Interior Ministry secretary-general, said the initiative would “develop levels of awareness and protection of children against the potential risks from the use of the internet”.

Etisalat says UAE internet service fully restored

2010-05-01T13:43:00.001+04:00

Source: ArabianBusiness 29 April 2010
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Originally Etisalat said on Tuesday that it expected the work to be completed by Friday April 30.(supplied)Repair work on a damaged Mediterranean Sea cable, which had caused internet problems in the UAE, has been completed and internet services in the UAE have returned to normal, according to telecoms company Etisalat.
“Etisalat announced today that the cable repairs on the submarine cable (SE-ME-WE-4) have been completed and the Internet services have been fully restored. Etisalat has re-routed the internet traffic to the submarine cable (SE-ME-WE-4) that has now been completely restored,” the company said in a statement issued Thursday.
“Etisalat customers did not face major slowdowns in Internet browsing owing to its robust network with multiple redundant links to major global Internet hubs in Asia, Europe, and USA,” it continued.
“Etisalat’s network has been so designed to avoid disruption of Internet traffic during such an eventuality. Etisalat has invested heavily in building a robust network with multiple redundant links to major global Internet hubs in Asia, Europe, and USA, so that the traffic can be re-routed to ensure that Internet services can remain operational at reasonable speeds in the UAE.”
Graham Nonweiler, group managing director of global telecoms specialists Nonweiler Associates, which monitors global internet cable connectivity around the world, confirmed that the SMW4 cable lit up early on Thursday morning and began operating again.
Originally Etisalat said on Tuesday that it expected the work to be completed by Friday April 30.

Muslim-phobia is so entrenched that it's gone beyond a joke

2010-04-30T11:12:00.003+04:00

This article from the Age newspaper in Australia comments on the death threats received by the creators of the popular American tv cartoon series "South Park". The writer of the piece is Irfan Yusuf, a lawyer and author of the comic memoir Once Were Radicals: My Years as a Teenage Islamo-fascist.
Like many people, I gave up watching 'South Park' years ago as the creators seemed to have a checklist of every religion/race/minority group in humanity and were working their way down the list making sure they offended each one. Source: The Age 30th April 30, 2010
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Just mention Islam and any ludicrous threat will be treated seriously.
Infidels of the world, lend me your ears! We the Coburg Jihad (Coburg is a suburb in Melbourne, Australia), representing every Muslim in the galaxy, wish to warn The Footy Show against depicting the prophet Muhammad as having any involvement in the Melbourne Storm salary cap affair.
We (as in myself and some bloke I mentioned the idea to at Coburg McDonald's while everyone else was at the mosque) have had enough of your evil filthy infidel media insolence. Ignore our warning and we will put a jihad on you. Or maybe that should be fatwa. Whatever.
Sound ridiculous? Well, it's almost as ridiculous as the media overkill triggered by a dozen numbskulls from New York who called themselves "Revolution Muslim" and made imbecilic threats against the makers of South Park. The New York Times reported that some 20-year-old calling himself Abu Talha al-Amrikee (literally "Talha's-dad-who-also-happens-to-be-American") clarified things on Revolution Muslim's blog as follows:
"We have to warn Matt [Stone] and Trey [Parker, the co-creators of South Park] that what they are doing is stupid and they will probably wind up like Theo van Gogh for airing this show. This is not a threat, but a warning of the reality of what will likely happen to them."
The executives at Comedy Central, which broadcasts South Park, may have wondered whether to take such blogospheric fantasies seriously. Normally, a warning coming from 12 bloggers claiming to represent 1.3 billion people worldwide would be treated as ridiculous. Unless, of course, we're talking about Muslims.
My guess is that most Americans, Muslim or otherwise, have never heard of Theo van Gogh, a Dutch filmmaker murdered by a lone psychotic Dutch-Moroccan man. And even fewer will have heard of Revolution Muslim. But that didn't stop Comedy Central taking precautions and censoring the depiction of Muhammad in the broadcast episode.
But I'm seriously wondering what all the fuss was about. I mean, the prophet Muhammad was apparently shown wearing a bear suit or had his visage covered with black spots.
Compare this to the depiction of the Virgin Mary in an earlier episode, in which her statue was shown as a place of pilgrimage where people were healed by the blood flowing from her backside.
The episode, entitled ''Bloody Mary'' and broadcast in December 2005, offended millions of Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christians and should have been extremely offensive to Muslims. We won't know if this miraculous menstrual fluid "joke" at the heart of the episode triggered some wacko bloggers in Latin America, eastern Europe or the Philippines to issue threats. Perhaps that's because our media are even more ignorant about non-Western Christians than they are of Muslims.
The fact remains that I didn't read of too many Muslim religious groups complaining about it, which leads me to ask: What would Muhammad say about South Park?
Or, better still, would he even have bothered with it? Muslims should know that their prophet had bigger concerns than a few jokes. He and his extended family were forced to live in the wilderness in conditions so dire that at one stage they ate leaves. He was then driven from his home by his own people. The city where he sought refuge was invaded three times. When he finally overcame his foes and returned victorious to his home town, biographers record him as saying to his former oppressors: "As Joseph said to his brothers in Egypt, so I say to you - go, you are free!"
Muslims know of Muhammad as a man who happily forgave the men and women who murdered his followers, even the woman who chewed the liver of his uncle slain on the battlefield. Perhaps Talha's-dad-who-also-happens-to-be-American and his blog colleagues could learn some basic Islamic history before their next online outburst.
Talha's father might also recall that one of the canonical books of Muhammad's sayings, collected by Imam Tirmidhi, contains an entire chapter devoted to Muhammad's jokes. Maybe Talha's old man should watch some of the cable TV broadcast across Muslim countries and see what blasphemous humour is broadcast in Urdu, Arabic, Turkish, Bengali, Bahasa Indonesia and a host of other languages commonly spoken by Muslims.
Talha's papa might, for instance, consider an episode of Late Night With Begum Nawazish Ali, the comedic talk show hosted by the openly gay Ali Saleem cross-dressed in a sari and playing the widow of a Pakistani colonel. Among Saleem's guests are leaders of Pakistani religious parties who happily shake her hand on the basis that she is really a he!
Who knows? After this controversy, Abu Talha himself might be invited on to the show. Certainly he'd be more useful to Muslims there than behaving on the blogosphere like a caricature terrorist from Team America: World Police.
And so, dear infidels, let me end this fatwa with a reminder that Team America, that hilarious movie which enabled many of us (Muslim or otherwise) to laugh ourselves senseless during the senseless days of Bush, Blair and Howard's disastrous "War on Terror", was brought to us by none other than the makers of South Park.

Deadly actions with minimal consequences

2010-04-29T08:54:00.001+04:00

Very much in keeping with the subtitle of this blog: In February, two young men, both 19 year old Emiratis, were racing their hotted-up 4x4s in Al Khawaneej which is a residential suburb here in Dubai. According to Traffic Prosecution, the two students had "made modifications to their cars for acceleration and enhancing engine performance." They were doing 130kph in a 60 kph zone when one of them hit a car, killing the other driver. High speed racing in a suburban street.
Do these young men have to take responsibility for killing someone due to their reckless disregard and negligence? As if! It seems they're old enough to have the fast cars and drive them recklessly but apparently not old enough to take the consequences of their actions. So, what’s the punishment?

3 months in jail. This is the same sentence given to the ‘sex on the beach’ couple. Strange, I would have thought that killing someone was a more serious crime but there you go...;
A 500 dirham fine each. 500 dirhams converts to the grand sum of $147;
Between them they have to pay 200,000 dirhams in blood money to the family of the dead driver. 200,000 dirhams converts to $59,111;
They are both banned from driving for 1 year (yeah right).

The drivers are not kids, these are 19 year olds who, one assumes possibly incorrectly, are old enough to know right from wrong, who know that suburban streets have other cars on them and who have the resources to 'soup up' their cars and know the horsepower that will result. One of the drivers also had his licence endorsed as requiring glasses to drive but he chose not to wear them.
Meanwhile the RTA continues to tell Dubai motorists that they are targeting dangerous driving, but what’s the real message that some drivers are getting? The message is that they can do what they like because they’ll get away with it.

UAE internet woes to continue until Friday

2010-04-28T08:49:00.001+04:00

Source: ArabianBusiness 27 April 2010
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Repair work is ongoing on the undersea cable, UAE telco Etisalat has confirmed. Repair work to the damaged Mediterranean Sea cable, which has caused internet problems in the UAE, will affect services until at least Friday.
And while UAE telecoms giant Etisalat has said it expects the work to be completed by April 30, a leading analyst has estimated a complete restoration of service could take until late on Sunday May 2.
The work was originally scheduled to be completed on April 20, according to rival telco du. A second deadline was set for April 27, however the Etisalat confirmed a new delay due to bad weather.
“The management committee of the SEA-ME-WE-4 cable which suffered damage in the Mediterranean Sea last week, has updated its customers on the status of repairs,” UAE-telecoms giant Etisalat said in a statement on Tuesday.
“The cable ship tasked with repairing the cable arrived on April 24 and started the repair process on April 25,” the statement continued. “A delay was experienced in this process caused by bad weather. It is now expected that the repairs will be completed on April 30 and Internet normalisation within the UAE will be seen immediately afterwards.”
However Graham Nonweiler, group managing director of global telecoms specialists Nonweiler Associates, which monitors global internet cable connectivity around the world, said that “the current best estimate for complete restoration of normal service on SMW4 is late afternoon UAE time Sunday 2nd May.”
Nonweiler added that when repairs started on Sunday April 25 the entire European section of the cable, from Egypt to France, was switched off and “this is why connectivity in the UAE took a nosedive on Sunday afternoon and has progressively got worse since then”.
He added that at present “Etisalat's broadband customers are being routed Eastwards across the Pacific in to the US, and onwards to Europe as needed. This has placed additional loading on those routes, so they too are now saturated.”
Etisalat’s statement added that it “is continuously monitoring the situation and has provisioned more capacity across different cable systems to compensate for the lost cable fibers”.