post vacation details

Well, we are just back from a week in Sharjah and Al Ain. Sharjah is an emirate to the north of us...so close to Dubai that they are kind of blending together as construction expands the sprawl. It markets itself as the cultural capital of the UAE because of it's many heritage and arts attractions. It's much more conservative a culture, and still dry, unlike Dubai or Abu Dhabi. We were in the older area of town, which was interesting to say the least. The kind of place where you have a restored historical fort next to a normal looking highrise bank building next to a crumbling slum where the poorest labourers live. I would stay in this same location again, actually, because it was a facinating mix of places and people within walking distance of the galleries, historical and heritage areas, and souks, but I would NOT stay in the same hotel. we were right above a taxi stand and a square with a tent market selling cheap goods where hundreds of the local Indian and Pakistani men came to socialize and hang out every evening. So very noisy 24/7, very crowded, and extremely difficult to drive in and out. Strangely, the traffic and the crowds disappear about a block in every direction! Also, the restaurant in our hotel was terrible. I actually got sick one night we were there, though fortunately it came on quickly and did not last long and I was fine for the remainder of the trip.

We saw many more men holding hands and walking with their arms around each other than you do in Abu Dhabi. Actually, we saw very few women on the street period! I don't know if the population in this district was made up more of men who left their families at home to work here, or if it was just because more of the women were at home or running home-related errands, due to the more conservative mindset, rather than out on the street with the men. We saw very few other Western expats there.

We paid a visit to the central souk and ended up buying a couple of Caucasian carpets--deep reds and greys, and bolder tribal patterns. The souk is also known for its jewelry stores...I don't think I have ever seen so much gold in one place in my life! Beautiful Asian styles, totally unlike the things you see at home. We also visited some historic buildings and a couple art galleries.

After 3 nights there we travelled on to Al Ain, an oasis city in Abu Dhabi that borders on Oman. *Much* nicer accomodations there--the only options in Al Ain are 5 star!--and it is a quiet, peaceful, relaxing city. Unlike the other places we've seen in the UAE so far, the city is made up of low rise buildings, and since it is an oasis there are lots of trees and working date palm farms. There is also a mountain--Jebel Hafit--that we could see from our hotel room balcony. The woman we had our first UAE job interview with lives there, so we got to meet her in person; she took us up the mountain and out for dinner one night and met us for coffee the next day, where she introduced us to some other librarians that live and work there. We visited local coffee shops, the Al Ain Palace Museum, a couple of the oases, the Al Ain National Museum and Sheik Zayed Fort, and also managed to find time to relax by the pool and hang out.

So for the most part a very good vacation.

Almost every woman I saw had lovely henna for Eid. I wonder about it though...whether it was wholly natural or not. The colour was such a uniform mahogany, and often little to no variation from fingers to hands to wrists and forearms. It would be sad if adulterated henna was the norm here. I still haven't gone out and found a salon to do henna on me, so i don't have any personal experience yet. Mostly the very flowery Gulf/IndoArabic style, with a lot of dipped fingers.

Lots of the little girls were out in their sparkly new Eid clothes...so cute!