DAYS 95–97
Wednesday, April 19 to Friday, April 21. At sea
THE WHIRLWIND
Once we came ashore there was a huge amount of information to take in and digest.
DAY 98 Saturday, April 22. Salalah, Oman
Eid al-Fitr was being celebrated, and Salalah, in Oman, is basically a provisioning port (meaning fuel, mainly), so not much to report.
I went to see the ship’s doctor to see if he could give me advice about my drop-foot. I shared his report with my doc back home. They agree: for now, exercise (Mary has devised a regimen), especially swimming. Then follow up once we return to the US.
Some of the passengers who had gone ashore reported that there wasn’t much to see, so we decided to stay aboard.
DAY 99 Sunday, April 23. Muscat, Oman
Muscat was fascinating. The new sheik has decided to raise the country’s standing in the world by using the country’s oil wealth. He has dramatically increased the number of roads, slashing through the mountainsides, which should certainly enable commerce.
Reports are that he’s also built a new, bigger yacht for himself, and relegated the old one to carry his extra automobiles and so on. Perhaps by bolstering his status he expects to bolster his country’s?
Our bus tour took us all around the city, about an hour’s drive through beautiful, multi-lane highways surrounded by golf-course lawns.
While working to modernize the country the sheik still keeps one foot firmly in his heritage. The government buildings and new schools are beautifully built, but follow classic patterns. Even his palace, while impressive, is sedate and classic in design.
I think my first view from the ship, and the impression I got from it wasn’t changed by the tour we had: An elegant modern building, surrounded by white ones, overlooked by the old Portuguese fort, and backed by rough mountains.
DAYS 100–101 Monday, April 24 to Tuesday, April 25. Dubai, UAE
GOBSMACKED
Wow. Was Dubai ever different! I was totally gobsmacked. The photos you see online don’t even.
When Mary and I went to Chicago a few years ago I eagerly took the architectural tour. Sorry to say, the architecture in Chi can’t hold a candle to Dubai. There were lovely buildings, just plain impressive ones, like the tallest one in the world whimsical ones, ones that looked like they were made of colored Lego block. And there were the just plain, how-did-they-manage-that-it’s-impossible ones. Just gobsmacked.
Here’s my theory: The strategy of this country is to make money by flaunting its wealth. Oil money is not an unlimited source of wealth; it will not go on forever. Fame and cachet are where it’s at. To create a greater source of wealth, draw all the big companies of the world to come and invest. I mean, who owns Rockefeller Center, for example? The Chinese and Japanese interests, mainly. And New York City is richer as a result.
I’m not complaining. When the ship re-provisioned here, I had fresh raspberries in my breakfast the next day.
The weather here was strange. Searingly hot and searingly bright. I tried to capture this with a picture of the city’s skyline in the evening.
DAY 103 Thursday, April 27. Fujairah, UAE
Where the Oil Comes From
After Dubai we traveled to neighboring Fujairah, a port for oil tankers and a major de-salinization center for the country. This was not at all a tourist kind of place. It is a vital center for the country’s economy. This is witnessed by the dozens of oil tankers, parked as far as the eye could see, on our approach. Another hint: there were subtly camouflaged radar installations all along the miles of huge oil tanks that were lined up along the highway.
This was all very interesting, but not for us. We decided instead to take the bus to a posh hotel about an hour’s drive north, and lie on the beach and swim, like I promised the doctor. It was very enjoyable.
After driving through miles of oil tanks we went through a few small towns with typical-looking strip malls and one oddity—a beautiful reconstruction of an ancient Greek theater! No idea why, and it went by before we could catch a snapshot.
There is a lot of new construction going on. By “a lot” I mean whole, brand-new villages, mosques and all, sitting there on bare sand, waiting for inhabitants. I’ve never seen such explosive growth before.
