Why on earth would you ever want to go there???

Last night, I was having a conversation with a friend, and a friend of hers that I had just met. Of course we all talked about what we did and I said I work for a tour company that specializes in the Middle East and North Africa. My friend, who knew this, said how interesting and exciting the tours sounded. The woman I had just met exclaimed “why on earth would you ever want to go there?!?”

As you can imagine, we at Caravan-Serai, hear this a lot. To us and our clients, the region is a world of amazing sights, people who are extremely hospitable, a land with a deep history and traditions rooted in their land and environment. There are modern cities and traditional villages, an exciting variety of foods and shopping in markets as old as Moses. Invariably, though, the conversation turns to women and the requirement to cover in some of the countries.

Me, in Iran near Yazd. This is an ice-making building!

So here is what I said: First of all, we are visitors and we respect the cultures and traditions of the countries we visit, and I can handle wearing a scarf on my head for the short time we are there. And while some of the reasons for the requirement of the scarf or abaya are religious (women are commanded to be modest), it is also part of the culture of the region from before Islam. And there are practical reasons for the traditional dress we often associate with the Middle East, mostly it’s protection against the elements. A scarf covering your hair and part of your face can go a long way to keeping blowing dust and sand out of your eyes, mouth and hair! If you are wearing an abaya or galabyia, it also keeps your cloths from getting dirty and gritty. There have been several times when traveling that I have found that covering up is actually helpful and more comfortable. Our American casual dress isn’t always suitable for every environment we find ourselves in!

My friends said they had never thought of it that way. This is just another reminder that when we see something that we don’t like, it can be very helpful to learn a little more about it. You might just find there is more to it than what first meets the eye.

I was also asked about the safety of traveling to the Middle East, and I have to say, the thing that scares me the most about being there, is trying to cross the street in some of the major cities! Really, that is a hair-raising experience to try and cross the street in Cairo, Fes, Tehran, etc.!

Members of our group talking to a group of school girls in Tehran.

As for the rest of the discussion we had about travel, I told them of my trip to Iran a few years ago, and our trips coming up. Iran remains one of my favorite places to visit, and I hope to go back there again soon. With all the saber rattling going on, I know people are shocked to find we still have tours to the region at all. But once you get there, you find that the people are most welcoming. And not going means missing out on the best history lessons and cultural experiences of your life.

~Brenda Pierce

Caravan-Serai Tours

Last day in Oman

May 5th was our last day in Oman and we started with a tour of the Grand Mosque. It was built not too long ago and it was the Sultan's gift to the people. No on knows how much it cost to build or how many people worked on it. It can hold thousands and thousands of worshipers at a time, and is absolutely beautiful inside and very elegant outside.

After visit the mosque we headed off to the mountain oasis city of Nizwa. It is located on a former trade route and has an ancient fortress in the old city that is a main attraction. The giant round tower is different than what most people expect in a fortress.

After visiting the town, we were taken to a mountain-top camp to enjoy the views and the cooler breezes. This is one of the newer places being developed for people to stay one or two nights in a camp, enjoy the wilderness and get away from it all. After lunch we took the dirt road back down the mountain and headed back to Muscat for one last hotel inspection and dinner. The hotel we visited is called The Chedi and is a very nice place that I would not hesitate to recommend - it's in the middle of the new part of Muscat, on the beach, is in a quiet, serene setting, closer to the airport, and has excellent food. Maybe next time I will get to stay there!

We had an early flight back the next morning to Dubai to catch our flights home. Yet again, the service on Emirates was impeccable. When we arrived a week earlier in the evening at Dubai airport, it was pretty quiet. Now, in the morning, the place was extremely busy. Every gate was full and the shops and restaurants in the departure hall were crowded. Make sure, if you are departing from Dubai airport, that you give yourself time to make it through security and through the huge terminal- the walk to your gate alone can take much longer than you might expect. They have moving walkways, but still it can be a long ways to your gate.

Also, a note about going into Oman. If you are traveling by land from the Emirates into Oman, the process is a bit different than arriving by air as I described in a previous post. Be sure to read back through Rita's blog post as she went by land.

Caravan-Serai plans to have a group tour to Oman and the Emirates later this year so keep checking our website or sign up for our email alerts. We also can put together a private tour of these countries at any time for you, just give us a call!

Last day in Oman

Sorry for the long delay in getting this posted! We have been busy at the office getting ready for our next tours coming up - Iran, the Caucasus, a private group going to Morocco, clients on independent tours to Turkey, Israel, Lebanon, and more. And Maha is in Egypt right now - I have a post from her that is going to be entered next! - Brenda

Monday March 12th

Today is the last day in Muscat and there is a lot to do and see before we leave.  We start out early this morning at 7:30am and go straight to the Big Mosque, built by his Royal Highness Sultan Qaboos.  It is about a 20 minute drive from our hotel.  The rules to go into the mosque are more restrictive than most.  Before getting on to the property of the mosque, women need to have their arms, legs, and hair completely covered.  No hair showing at all, no short sleeves - the sleeve of your shirt need to come down to your wrist.  Once you get to the door and the guard sees that hair or skin is showing he is able to turn you away.

The mosque is beautiful but not elaborately ornate.  The dome is made from gold and the marble has been brought in from Italy. The mosque can accommodate 20,000 people at one time.  The carpet was made in Iran and weighs over 27 tons, and covers the floor of the prayer room. The driver, who is Yemeni, said he prayed there only once since he kept looking around at everything that was there and you should not do that when praying.  

 I had a discussion with some of the guides outside the mosque while the group toured around, asking them questions about marriage, etc.  There is no civil marriage in Oman, most Omanis do marry someone from their own country.  A couple of drivers knew Omanis that went out of the country and fell in love but with other Arabs in Morocco or Syria, etc.

They talked about watching TV and seeing the American stations and how families lived, and about divorce and the fighting and what happens to the kids.  This is the impression they have of us.  The discussion went on about the age of the person when they get married is about 18 for the girl and older for the man.  If he finds a younger girl he is interested in he will tell his family and they will talk to her family and say they are interested but will wait until she is old enough for the marriage.  The average price that is given is 4,000 riyals and it can go up depending on the family wealth, but it will not be less.  If for some reason the woman wants to get a divorce and is able to prove he is not good or something they will get divorced and she or her family will need to repay 50 percent of the price they were given.

When the group came back I discussed this with them and they asked questions, it was a good conversation. After the visit to the mosque we were rushed to the port for dolphin watching. We drove to the Marina to embark on a search for dolphins and we found them - beautiful coastline and clear blue waters with a variety of fish and other sea life here.  

Oman is a blend of the old and new and it has done very well with the architecture incorporating all of this.  While on the sea we were able to see the city skyline and also the rugged mountain range that come right to he city walls. The city builders built right next to the mountains so you have the jagged mountains blended with the Islamic architecture of white stucco buildings.

We went after this to the Bai Al Zubai museum which shows you the traces of Omani history and development.  I remember the first time I came here, it was about 10 ears ago, and there was a small city and the center was near the marina and the fish markets- now it has spread so wide and far, and a bigger population, and new industries.

Took the group to the souk, which is ok but it is mostly run by Indians and Pakistanis, rather than Omanis.  If you have traveled in the Middle East before you will be somewhat disappointed with the markets here – they are not like Syria, Egypt, or even Turkey, but for the first time visitor it is a good introduction to bargaining and seeing the buildings of the covered souks and the small alley ways. There are a lot of different buildings and some old homes inside, and you do need to wander around to see them. 

Still one more visit to a hotel before we leave for the airport.  We were invited to the Grand Hyatt and also had a hosted dinner at the property- very nice and upscale.  They tried to incorporate Middle Eastern design and also North African in this place.  They had a meeting of Ministers so a metal detector was brought in to check people at the door, otherwise Muscat is a very safe city and this is not normal to have these in the hotels - first time that we saw this in Oman and also in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

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It is 2:30am and our driver and guide are downstairs to take the group to the airport. This is still the old airport but there are plans on the walls of what they are planning to do for a future airport.  The flight is 45 minutes only to Dubai and then you get to this incredible new airport with masses of people from all nationalities and so many different languages being spoken.  It is a huge shopping mall - everything you heart can want is available - almost too much that you just want to find a spot to hang out in and get away from the mobs.

Our flight is almost empty we have only 82 reservations in economy class and a full business class - I decided to spread out on the four middle seats and just sleep. The 15 hour flight to Seattle was not as bad as I thought since I was able to relax.  One of the people in the group mentioned that each flight attendant was more beautiful then the next.  It seems that we are back in the days of PanAm, where you had to be a certain size and look and weight, etc. They were all so pleasant and so accommodating to the passengers.  Also, the trip back had a number of languages spoken - I think it was about 8.  Now to sleep and I will wake up in beautiful Seattle.  I was told it snowed there so I am looking forward to the cold after the heat of the Arabian Peninsula.

Kuwait: Visit to the Arab Fund Building

Below is a report from our client Dr. Kiracofe who is traveling around the Arabian Peninsula before joining our group in Riyadh next month. He has sent us this entry about his visit in Kuwait. More to come about his visits in Oman. Thank you Dr. Kiracofe for sharing this!



It is 7:36 your time, 3:36 pm here. I leave for the airport at around 7:30 pm. Just came in from spending the day at the Arab Fund Building. It is the most fabulous building in the middle east, and one of the most amazing buildings I have ever seen. I showed up unannounced and asked to be permitted to see the interior, which I was told is very beautiful, an understatement if ever there was one...

I was told to take a seat in the spectacular lobby, filled with remarkable antiques from all around the Islamic world. 20 minutes later security showed me to the first floor to a huge atrium with a very elegant cafeteria to one side where i was shown to a table and invited to take coffee and little cookies. There a highly educated gentleman engaged me in conversation about Islamic culture, and we talked for half an hour or more about pattern formation and the meanings behind the patterns... Then he suggested we take a walk around, and for the next 4 1/2 hours he showed me all through the building, built for the Arab Fund, like the World Bank of the Islamic world, with office space, meeting rooms, dining rooms, sitting rooms, auditorium, one more beautiful than the next.

Islamic traditions applied to modern architecture with the most lush use of exotic materials and exquisite workmanship in all types of material, stone, marble, ceramic mosaic, brass, copper, leather, glass, wood, wool for carpets and tapestries... simply amazing... the finest artisans from all over the Islamic world, perhaps mostly Egypt and north Africa, but also Syria and Turkey... and the facility is available to the public for meetings, conferences, events, also to the diplomatic corps, universities, private companies, anyone may apply to use the spaces and they are equipped with every possible modern amenity for presentation and broadcast... extremely well done. The man who showed me through the building is the director of maintenance, he was the electrical engineer responsible for supervision of the electrical and mechanical systems during construction and has remained with the building since it opened, more than 10 years ago, but it looks like a new building. Everything is spotless and in perfect condition.... as i left he gave me a book about the building... gorgeous photography... worth coming to Kuwait just to see this building!

anyone coming to Kuwait with any serious interest in cultural things should come to this building. The man to contact is Ziyad Reja M. Khalil, zraja@arabfund.org They welcome people with a serious interest and are happy to show the building and encourage photography. I am very glad I went to see it!

More from Oman tomorrow...
best,
b

Ramadan Karim!

This is the holy month of Ramadan for Muslims around the world. It began around August 22 and will end about September 20 (The exact dates of Islamic holidays cannot be determined in advance, due to the nature of the Islamic lunar calendar. Estimates are based on expected visibility of the hilal (waxing crescent moon following a new moon) and may vary according to location). There are many resources available on the meaning and practices during Ramadan, so I won't get into that here- and I am not an expert on the subject so a detailed explanation is best left to those who know so much more about it than me.

As we plan your tours, we will always let you know when major holidays are taking place and what to expect while traveling in the Middle East and North Africa during these times. In many of our destinations, because the populations are predominantly Muslim, there will be public observances of these holidays. Business hours are usually shorter, and sights might also have shortened hours. Keep in mind that in observance of Ramadan, people are fasting all day and it is respectful (if not mandatory in many places) to not publicly consume food or drink. Many western hotels will continue to serve food and beverages throughout the day, but you may not take food outside the hotel. This also goes for carrying around bottles of drinking water. You may have them in the car or bus, but leave them there when you get out to visit a site. In the evening, families gather to break their fast when the sun goes down, so not much will be happening during this time.

The end of Ramadan is marked with the Eid Al Fitr, a feast day to end the month, and a big celebration. We hope if you are traveling during the month of Ramadan (or any other holiday, be it Mulsim, Jewish or Christian), that you will take this opportunity to learn about this important holiday and how it is observed around the Muslim world.

Muslims in the US also observe Ramadan, which can mean that some embassies may have shorter hours and work weeks, so things like processing visas can take a little longer.

Ramadan Karim, wishing everyone a joyous, peaceful Ramadan.

Brenda