My First Omani Wedding . . . A Distinctive Arab Experience

The Bride’s Love Seat

The female security guard discretely slips me through a side door and gestures for me to sit at the table in the corner. The Arabic music is pulsating and the room is reverberating with the nervous energy of 400 women. Suddenly, the lights dim and everyone turns to watch. A bride, dressed in a Western-style long white wedding gown with matching trailing veil has a death grip on her bouquet of roses as she takes very slow measured steps down the center aisle towards the “Bride’s Love Seat.” Her unsmiling face is devoid of emotion.

Following the bride are several bejeweled “bridesmaids” moving en mass like a swarm of bees following their queen. Rising above the pounding music, warbling female tongues emit the zaghareet, the high-pitched ululation made by Arab women to congratulate the bride. The level of noise is deafening but I am not going to miss a moment of this.

Surviving Our Move from Dubai to Abu Dhabi . . . First Impressions

Abu Dhabi Corniche skyline
photo courtesy of www.panoramio.com 

When Roger and I announce our intention to move from Dubai to Abu Dhabi many of our friends expressed grave concerns.

“It’s so much slower than Dubai.”

“Do they have any really good restaurants?”

“It is much more traditional than Dubai, it may be hard to make friends.”

“Oh, so sorry to hear you have to move there. Everyone says it isn't as much fun as Dubai.”

Oh dear  . . . . listen up my Dubai friends, this joint is jumping – literally!

Travel to India - The Oberoi Udaivilas Hotel, Udaipur, A Regal Experience

NOTE: . . . . This is the continuation of my “Incredible Elegant Journey” to India with my sister Paty and good friends Jani and Kathryn.  

Arriving in Udaipur after a short plane ride from Delhi, we are once again royally welcomed by a merry band of greeters. The airline people are there inquiring about the flight - "a bit of a hard landing," - a greeter from the hotel welcomes us profusely and a representative from Elegant Journeys (our tour operator) checks that all is in order. They swiftly gather our belongings and whisk us away in a private car.

We are all a bit anxious on this first "in-country" excursion of our 11-day trip to India. Still a bit dazed by the masses of people and the jumble of Delhi, we are not quite certain what to expect.

The Udaipur streets are every bit as chaotic as Delhi, if on a more delicate scale. Traffic still goes in crazy directions, all manner of animals freely roam the streets, entrepreneurs of every description are in every nook and cranny and the people we pass are constantly smiling.

We know "we are not in Kansas anymore" but we are totally unprepared for our "Royal" Udaipur stay.

Travel to India - The Ultimate Elegant Journey . . .Oh my! The Oberoi Hotels

Jani, Kathryn, Paty & Katie at the Taj Mahal

As an voracious traveler, arm chair and otherwise, I have many beautiful memories of extraordinary trips – a romantic sunset camel ride in the Wadi Rum desert in Jordan; a dreamy interlude in an idyllic inn in the small village of Sirince near Ephesus, Turkey; flying falcons and eagles in the desert of Ras Al Khaimah, UAE; a harrowing transatlantic crossing from Lisbon, Portugal to Miami, USA; and superbly simple Corvette road trips exploring Florida’s back roads.

But I have to say that now I have one that tops all of these. India!

This was not just any trip to India – this was the ultimate Elegant Journey (EJ).

The Chedi Muscat . . . A Weekend Excursion to Oman

Chedi Muscat

There is something about the lure of a new road that sets Roger’s motor humming! The recently opened highway from Dubai to Fujairah #102 is calling his name.

“Up for little road trip this weekend?” Roger asks.  

I am thinking, why go for just a "little" ride when you can go for a "real" ride and enjoy an entire weekend away?

Responding with a wry grin I offer, “Good Idea. How about a run to Muscat, Oman? I hear the Chedi Muscat hotel is very nice.” 

36 HOURS in DUBAI . . . Top 10 Things to Do and See in Dubai!

Jon & Elaine & the Burj Al Arab

Expats living in Dubai are delighted to have friends and family visit their adopted city. The lucky ones get to stay for an extended period but in many cases it is simply a pass through on the way to/from other travels.  So in a limited amount of time, what are the “must do/see” places in Dubai?

I had to make this decision recently when good friends Jon and Elaine Krupnick stopped by on their way home from an extensive trip to Sri Lanka and India, immediately followed by my sister Paty Barr and her friend Kathryn Brandt who were stopping by to pick up me and Jani Diedam on their way to our excursion to India (more on that later).

Paty & Kathryn's first trip to the desert

MUSANDAM – the Fjords of Arabia . . . A Weekend Excursion from Dubai

The drive from Dubai to Musandam, called the Fjords of Arabia, is described in tour books as being one of raw rustic beauty but otherwise uneventful.

Not so for our intrepid two car caravan.

Diane discovers that camels love her apples.

As we cut across the UAE desert, traveling from the Dubai to the coastline in Ras Al Khaimah, we encounter a small caravan of camels sauntering along the side of the paved desert road.

They appear to be out for a leisurely morning stroll and are totally unfazed by the two SUVs that stop suddenly ejecting eight gleeful expats.

Travel to Turkey - Blue Mosque, Istanbul Turkey . . . An Architectural Treasure Worth every Painful Step

The gradual crescendo of the alarm is a rising torture. Even the beauty of the first morning’s light through the kitschy curtains doesn't help the pain. I can’t believe it is time to start again. Every muscle and bone in my body is screaming for mercy.

I roll over and Roger is already awake. He is just sitting on the side of the bed, hands bracing him up and head hanging low. He slowly turns to look at me and we both just start laughing. The entire situation is so ludicrous that laughter is the only way to relieve the tension.

Katie & Roger at Ephesus

We are on Day 8 of our 10 day tour of Turkey. 

We survived the first five days in Ephesus with minor complaints but Istanbul has been a different situation all together.

Travel to Turkey . . . TŰRKIYE ODYSSEY – PART 2 – Ìstanbul, the Alpha City

Our Türkiye odyssey continues as we travel from the tranquil rustic landscape of the mountains along the Aegean coast to the majestic but jarring urban bustle that is the alpha city of Ìstanbul.

Ìstanbul welcomes us with an overload of sensory experiences; glorious cool weather, obscene traffic jams, lots of hills, more obscene traffic jams, old men sitting at sidewalk cafes, still more obscene traffic jams, lots of bright young people, still more obscene traffic jams and the national drink of Turkey, “lion’s milk” also known as Raki, which relieves all the pain of the traffic jams.

A Raki toast to traffic jams!

We still find Ìstanbul bedazzling with its kinetic, frenzied atmosphere that is contagious from the moment you reach the city.

As the third largest metropolitan city in Europe, after London and Moscow, it is immense. It is the only city in the world that occupies two continents – Europe and Asia.  


Straddling the Bosphorus, a strait that divides Europe and Asia, this alpha city climbs up the hills that ring the city for as far as you can see. We are enthralled by it all. Well, except for the traffic!

Travel to Turkey - TÜRKIYE ODYSSEY . . . A Glimpse of the Land of Emperors, Sultans and one idyllic mountain-top inn

It was a dark and stormy night ... Just kidding!!!! It was a sun-shiny day in Dubai as we boarded our flydubai flight to Istanbul. We are holding true to our promise to travel the surrounding region while living in Dubai. Roger's long standing appreciation of The Crusades and the rise of the Ottoman Empire sends us on a 10-day trek through Tűrkiye.  

         

Katie & Roger with the Blue Mosque at sunset

Our trip begins in a charming, actually drop dead, breath-taking, boutique inn located above a small village in the mountains along the Aegean coast. 

For four days we explore the ancient sites in and around Ephesus. And while the sites are astounding, we often wish we booked a day to just stay and enjoy this little jewel of a hotel perched on the side of a hill.

From there we travel to the “alpha city,” Istanbul, whose grandeur and sheer size completely takes us by surprise. This is a city of never-ending grand palaces, eerie underground cisterns, luxurious harems, jaw-dropping churches and mosques and ancient history on every corner. Our only regret is we leave before even making a dent in visiting all its wonders. Just means we have a great excuse to return! 

   

Weekend Excursion from Dubai . . . FALCONS AND OTHER ARABIAN BIRDS OF PREY - The Banyan Tree Al Wadi Resort, Ras Al Khaimah, UAE

The sun has not yet peaked over the desert dune outside our villa.  A soft, cool breeze is the only thing interrupting the quiet, predawn calm. Roger is still asleep, but I am up determined to photograph the elusive animals that are said to roam the nature preserve that is our private villa’s “back yard.” 

After almost an hour, my only sightings are small birds that appear just as light begins to crest the ridge.  As the early morning sun lifts higher, the sounds of the desert softly rise and larger birds present themselves.  We have been promised sightings of gazelles and the arabian oryx. I wonder if they will appear.

Travel to Jordan . . . Jordan Journey 2010 -The whole story!

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Travel to Jordan . . . JORDAN JOURNEY – BETHANY-BEYOND-THE-JORDAN – The Baptismal Site

One of the best things about traveling with your own tour guide is changing the itinerary if you find something interesting along the way. After the first day of our 8-day odyessy through Jordan, we realize that we are close by a very sacred site and change our itinerary to include a visit to Bethany-Beyond-The-Jordan (BYB). This is the site much revered by Christians and Jews. How we missed putting this on our itinerary from the beginning is a mystery. It proves to be the most inspirational place we visit.

“This took place in Bethany beyond Jordan, where John was baptized.” (John 1:28)

Travel to Jordan . . . JORDAN JOURNEY - Romantic dining . . spiritual wanderings . . desert romance!

I wonder, wonder who. . .
Who wrote the book of love?

--The Monotones, 1957

Since the beginning of time, romantic journeys have been a beloved subject of novels, the movie screen and stage. Romance comes in so many packages: long passionate nights, wanderings together in foreign places, languid dinners with fine wine, deeply personal conversations, and an ineffable oneness shared with your lover! Romance gives our souls permisson to soar deepening our passion for living life fully.

Add to this, exotic and spiritual places, and you have a most memorable and romantic encounter. Our 8-day Jordan experience proves to be spectacular, where in unexpected places, romance reigns.

Weekend Excursion from Dubai . . . MIDNIGHT AT THE LIWA OASIS - OUR FIRST UAE "IN-COUNTRY' ADVENTURE

The Liwa Oasis

An undated image of a camel train leaving and oasis.

Liwa is part of a crescent shaped oasis made up of 15 small towns that form the gateway to the dramatic expanse of the “Empty Quarter” also known as the Al Rub Al Khali Desert – the largest uninterrupted sand desert in the world - larger than the combined areas of France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Artifacts found in this area, on the western edge of the United Arab Emirate (UAE), date back to the Stone Age, around 5500 – 3500 years B.C. While details are sketchy, it is believed that the first inhabitants of this area were Bedouins of the Manasir tribe followed by the Bani Yas tribe who arrived around the 16^th century.  The ruling family of Abu Dhabi is the al Nahyan family who are members of the Bani Yas Tribe.

With its freshwater pools and palm groves, the oasis of Liwa was a major destination for the early travelers who crossed the desert in camel trains to bring their goods to trade. The first European to enter Liwa was the late Sir Wilfred Thesiger who documented his 1940’s travels on the Arabian Peninsula in his book “Arabian Sands.”