… where we'll soon be visiting for a while.
• For one thing, we've never been to the Middle East, at least on this side of the Iron Curtain. Back in the days of détente we did eventually get "mosqued-out" (you may have guessed that's Betty Lou's phrase) in Tashkent, Samarkand, and Bukhara, in the recently-relevant republics of Uzbekistan and Tadzhikistan.
• A friend who has been there for two years and will be returning this summer has invited us to visit. She established libraries in Zayed University, a university for women in a Muslim country! And the timing is such that November to April is most bearable, temperature-wise.
Actually, we were prepared to make reservations just before we left for Spain; as you may recall, the week included 9/11. When we read that some of the hijackers had come through Dubai on their way to the US, we decided to hold off to see what might happen afterwards. We later learned what some of you probably knew, that Dubai is a major international hub airport, like Frankfurt, through which others also had passed. Our friend said that they continue to feel very secure in the United Arab Emirates.
The travel guides state that "Contemporary Dubai is a fascinating crossroads where the past meets the future, where tradition has embraced modernity. Contrary to popular belief, the city's bountiful wealth was founded on trade, not oil. Dubai is one of the last bastions of unrestrained capitalism: it's Hong Kong meets the Middle East." We've heard that it's a great place to buy custom-made clothing, electronics, carpets — and gold.
Situated on the Persian Gulf, Dubai has beautiful white sand beaches and is within easy reach of archeological sites, forts, fjords and, of course, deserts and camels. It's also adjacent to the attractions of Oman and is not far from Jordan, as well as Egyptian Nile cruises. We'll see how much traveling we'll do; it might be pleasant just to relax for once.
We hope that one part of our overseas travel luck changes. We were living in Frankfurt when Desert Storm began (See Frankfurt During Desert Storm) and were in Spain last fall when the bombing of Afghanistan began. At least then we were fairly remote from the action; this time two of the "Axis of Evil" members are in the neighborhood, as you can see from the map!