Camels, Camels and More Camels!

Naturally in the Middle East you expect to see camels!

Talking camels in stores

Friendly camels outside of hotels!

Fast camels inside of hotels!

Even camel tissue dispensers

Whole stores devoted entirely to camels!

Of course the best camels were the live camels!

In Oman camels roam freely but they are branded and have an owner.  Evidently they are very smart and make their way to their homes at night.

Our guide said that an adult camel can be worth up to $2000.  As we were driving along in our bus, suddenly we slowed to a practical stop.  When I looked up, I saw a young camel crossing the road totally oblivious to the bus zipping along.  If you hit a camel in the daylight hours, it is your insurance's responsibility to reimburse the owner.  Camels that are hit in the daytime are often the 'best camel I ever had' or 'a champion camel' thus commanding a large amount of cash!  When a camel is hit at night, the owner is responsible and there is no reimbursement.

Camels are used for meat and for milk.  Supposedly the meat is delicious and much more easily digested than beef.  We passed a strip mall that was all 'camel meat' restaurants.  No we didn't stop!  

Camel milk is very healthy we were told.  It helps to clean out the 'bad bacteria' from your stomach.

We didn't try that either although I was tempted by the 'camel milk' ice cream but couldn't get anyone else to warm up to the idea.

I did buy this camel-milk chocolate camel.  I'm saving it for an 'after the quarantine' celebration!

I think these camels were used to the tourists as they practically posed for us.

Have you ever seen such cuteness as these baby camels?  I have never seen such dark camels, almost black.

Just adorable....and very interested in the tourist paparazzi! 

Camel races are big in Oman.  The jockeys were once children but after a couple of children were killed this was made illegal.  Now they use robots.  Seriously!  The robot jockeys are remote controlled so that the amount of whipping the camel, to either speed up or slow down, can be monitored.  Crazy!  A racing camel can sell for $5-10 million dollars but one recently sold for $30 million.  I read that a race horse sold for $70 million.  Can those numbers be real?

Thought I'd end with a couple of Arab 'camel based' wise sayings.

Lessons and Questions from the Book of Job

In Oman we visited the traditional burial spot of the Old Testament Prophet Job.  Job and the other prophets of the Old Testament, as well as Jesus, are considered holy men in Islam.

Michael Wilcox taught us about Job while we all sat outside his tomb.  He asked us to consider a series of questions from the story of Job.

Why do the righteous suffer?

Why do evil people often get away with what they do?

Who is running the world?

Will you still love, honor, serve and believe in God regardless of what happens to you?

If all your supports are pulled away, will you still love God?

When 'life happens' to you, will you continue to live a good life?  Will you continue to have integrity?  Will you keep trusting God?  Will you keep hope alive in your heart?

The ultimate lesson we can learn from the life of Job is this:

I will validate His trust in me, by trusting in Him.

Souk

The sound and smell of the souk can overwhelm even before you enter the narrow hallways.  A Souk is an Arab marketplace or bazaar. 

George and I have experienced quite a few of these labyrinth old shopping malls! My hubby is convinced that Hell will be like a souk.  He is not a fan of the aggressive venders who won't take no for an answer.  Over the years I've gotten pretty good at navigating my way down the narrow rows and avoiding the persistent vendors.

My personal rules for a souk:

• Avoid eye contact with a vendor
• There is NO need to say "No thank you" to each of their pleas to come into their store.
• Don't stop and look at anything unless there is some chance you will actually purchase it
• If they hand you something, don't take it because they are skilled at avoiding taking anything back
• If there is something you want, don't act too excited.  This lessens your bargaining positing
• Offer about 1/2 or less of whatever price they tell you and be prepared to pay a bit more than that
• If you are taking a photo of a person directly, ask first.  

With the recent downturn in tourism, the first souk we visited in Dubai looked like this.

Imagine the excitement that went through the place when 2 buses of American's descended upon them...

I can honestly say that I came away from this one with photos only.

No matter what you think of souks, they are very photographic.

 Can't you just smell those spices?

 Doesn't just looking at this make you want to try your hand at some exotic cooking? 

Our 2nd souk was the Gold Souk and it was a lot more crowded, although I think most of the people were just tourists and not real shoppers.

This is definitely the place to go if you are in the market for something shiny!

 I think I need one of those gold necklaces!

Some people were actually shopping and were being given personal attention by multiple salesmen! I would have gone into this store, had I been really thinking of a purchase.  It was so  inviting.

In Muscat, Oman we went to yet another souk.

The claim to fame of this one is that it is THE place to buy Frankincense and Myrrh. The woody, spicy smell of the frankincense tempted me and I did buy some although I'm going to use it in a display at Christmas.  I understand that it does have medicinal properties and that older Omanis use it to treat various ills, instead of going to the pharmacy.  This older American will continue to go to the pharmacy!

 Frankincense is an aromatic resin that hardens.  Traditionally it can be used to treat arthritis, asthma, stomach problems and even some cancers.  Myrrh is also a resin and can be used to promote the healing of wounds and stop infection.

 I bought some Christmas tree ornaments for a really good price from a man who agreed way too quickly to my price.  He was so unhappy that rather than wrap my ornaments, he just dropped them in bag. 

Another tip for shopping in a souk, have the amount of money that you really want to pay for something in your hand.  They will often take that amount even when it is low.  There must be an Arab equivalent to the saying, 'A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush' because this is usually a successful ploy!

You can find lots of interesting 'stuff' at a souk!

 Naturally my eye went right to the Barça jersey

 One of these cute bags would be perfect for a church bag!  Why didn't I buy one?  I think sometimes it just is sensory overload.  There is so much to look at, that it is difficult to zero in on an item.

 Cutest locks ever....

 I know that some of the things sold in souks are actually 'Made in China' but who cares - it was bought in Dubai or Oman or Egypt or Israel.  Once while sitting on a bus in Jerusalem early in the morning, I noticed a huge truck near the gate to the Arab quarter full of boxes labeled, "Made in China" so I know this is true.

And Speaking of Fabulous Hotels......

What a totally mesmerizing place!  I loved the two nights we got to stay and am disappointed that we didn't get to end our trip with 3 more nights here.  However, if we had stayed until the day we were scheduled to leave, we would have gotten out on one of the very last flights before the UAE totally shut down their airport so I know we made the right decision.

The complex is a series of beautiful buildings connected by 'Venice like' and meticulously maintained waterways.

You can take small boats to explore either by day or by night.

One area has a complex of villas for rent, some with private pools and all with a butler.  I only want a butler if it is Mr. Carson from Downton Abbey! Tom Cruise stayed in one of these villas for 70 days when he was here filming Mission Impossible.

If you want to go to the Water Park, you simply request a golf cart and are whisked away!

 The water park has one of my very favorite things - a Lazy River.

We weren't totally 'lazy' the whole time, we did do a few of the big more adventurous rides but were holding on too tight to take photos.

Luckily we went to the Water Park in the late morning and headed for the beach about 2:30.  At 3:00 by order of the government, the park was closed.

Ahh the beach! Soft Sand, super comfortable lounge chairs, ice cold water bottles, and an occasional treat like a small popsicle....they treat you like royalty!

John and George were totally relaxed!  I just read that the day after we left,  all the hotels had to close their beaches and pools.  Again, an affirmation that we did the right thing to leave when we did.

And finally a word about breakfast - most important meal of the day!  Right? It was here that we first were introduced to 'breakfast ice cream'.  What a way to start the day!  Reminded me of Bill Crosby's old 'Chocolate Cake for Breakfast' routine!  After all ice cream has milk and eggs.  Doesn't that sound 'breakfast-y'?

Ice cream wasn't the only good part!   Avocado toast

Every kind of pastry you could possibly imagine

What a way to start the day!

I hope we get to come back here sometime without having to deal with COVID 19.

Incredible Dubai

Yes the Dubai skyline is incredible!  When we walked into our room at the Raffles Dubai, the curtains automatically opened revealing this view!  Wow!

It never disappointed....

Burj Kalifa - the tallest building in the world 

The building on the left is supposed to be reminiscent of praying hands.

I think the only rule is 'No completely rectangular buildings allowed.' 

This one reminded us of Singapore.

Burj Al Arab - probably the most iconic of all Dubai buildings .  It is a hotel and the cheapest rooms start at about $1000 per night.  The Royal Suite is $24,000 per night and it even comes with its own butler.  

Palm Jumeirah - a man made island with hotels, restaurants, homes, and even a monorail!

Nope not the Bahamas - Atlantis Hotel out on Palm Jumeirah

Some of the private homes on Palm Jumeirah.  Prices start at about  $1.6 million for a small one - but hey, each one has a private beach! And David Beckham might be your neighbor!!!

On Palm Jumeirah, the overpass is supported by man made trees!  

Dubai just doesn't seem to know how to do anything that is ordinary!