CELEBRATING ARABIAN WOMEN - 2011 INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

What a way to celebrate International Women’s Day meeting the most fascinating woman in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)!  – an Arab woman suffragette (a female advocate of the extension of equality to women)! This 90-year old dynamo is still the “Little Earthquake” she was nicknamed as a child.

Maryam Behnam, an Emirati Woman of the Year, was the keynote speaker at the American Women’s Association (AWA) of Dubai’s luncheon celebrating International Women’s Day. Held at the Dubai Ladies Club, the packed house marveled at the energy and spirit of this remarkable woman who has advocated for women’s empowerment in the Middle East  for more than 80 years . . . yes, this means she started when she was 10! Actually, it appears even her birth “rocked the world” as she was born in Iran the year of the terrible earthquake in Bandar Lingah a harbor in the Hormozgan province of Iran on the coast of the Arabian Gulf just across the “eastern tip” of the UAE. 

Merry Christmas from Dubai and the Middle East!

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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.”

A Thriller of a Tale - Friendly Fleecing at the Dubai Fish Souq

Al Ras section of Dubai

Since I am on hold awaiting deliveries for ALL the furniture and curtains I have bought, I decide it is time to take a break from “have-to” duties, be brave and do some exploring on my own. 


So today, since Roger has previously expressed NO interest in taking me to the Gold Souq, I decide this is a good place to start. A girl can never have toooo much gold!  


Getting really bold, I add the nearby Fish and Vegetable Souq to the excursion. This entire journey will take me to the area of Al Ras in the old part of Dubai.