Tell Me There Is Nothing In The Desert Again

Unfortunately there is a tendency among many of the foreigners who live in Kuwait to complain about how there is 'nothing to do in Kuwait'. While it is less developed in some aspects of 'entertainment' compared to many US or European cities it is certainly not true that there is nothing here to do. Usually, those same people who complain are the ones who then look all surprised when you tell them about a wonderful museum you went to or activities you took part in. Somehow it's a vicious cycle I guess - foreigners complain to newly arrived foreigners who then don't make the effort to look for - sometimes well-hidden - places of interest and things to do - and then there is consensus and we can all reassure each other of our belief. Sad, really.

Okay, so you can not go out drinking, or hang out in a bar for after-hours beers, you cannot go to discotheques and night clubs because there aren't any (at least not officially) and it's hard to find concerts, theater plays and the like. But that doesn't mean there aren't other things to do.

It's a bit the same with the desert - 'it's flat, boring and there's nothing worth seeing there'. A lot of people don't even go because they heard that 'it's flat, boring and there's nothing worth seeing there'. Others go and drive right through it in their air-conditioned cars and confirm that 'it was flat, boring and there was nothing to see'. That's just not true. I'm not saying we should all enjoy walking around in the desert looking for bugs and plants (nor do I expect that you all find it interesting to see my pictures from there) - I admit it is a bit nerdy but just don't tell me that there is nothing in the desert!

The pics are from 2nd March and we went to the same place as last time - my previous post is here: Day Out In The Desert.


(A wonderful sunny morning in the desert near Bubiyan Island)

It was extremely windy and probably not the best day to climb a sand hill - but we did anyway:


(My friends looking over the desert and trying not to get blown off the hill)

Down by the water there were still the funny mudskippers we saw last time and there were also some crabs who escaped as soon as we came near. I did get some pictures of the slower-moving creatures there, though:


(Moving around the mud flats)


(Hermit legs sticking out)


(Hello neighbor!)

There were still some flowers in the desert although it was clear that in the 3 weeks or so that had passed since we were last there, the desert has dried out a lot.


(Flowers in the desert)


(Flowers in the desert)


(Flower in the desert)

There were also still some desert hyacinths out there:


(Desert hyacinths)

It never ceases to amaze me how these flowers break through the hard and dry surface of the desert:


(Desert hyacinth breaking through)

The hyacinths aren't the only ones having to break through the sometimes really dry and hard surface of the desert:


(Small plant coming up through the dry flakes of the desert)


(Green plant coming up through the dry flakes of the desert)


(Plant casting its shade in the desert sand)


(Plants, flowers and some dry roots)

There were tons of butterflies everywhere that day:


(Butterfly sitting on some flowers in the desert)

And I managed to get some pretty nice photos of some of them:


(Butterfly on a desert flower)


(This one had wings so thin they were almost transparent)


(Getting ready for landing!)


(Butterfly on a desert flower)

There were plenty of other little bugs and insects - although I have no idea what most of them are (there were birds as well but they were hiding in the grass and flew away so fast that we couldn't take any pictures):


(Small flies inside a desert hyacinth)


(A beautiful shiny bug - copper-colored with black)


(Big ant)


(Another colorful bug - quite flat and with stripes)


(A fast-running bug - black with sand-colored back part that blends in with the desert)


(No idea about this one either - about the size of a big ant)

I finally got a good shot of a ladybug as well:


(Ladybug on a hairy desert plant)

We made a stop near the only tree visible in this part of the desert - unfortunately it is dead but at least it's still standing there:


(Not A but THE tree in the desert)

Nearby somebody must have had a barbecue or some other feast involving a small lamb or goat - all the bones are scattered around the area:


(Leftovers... been in the desert so long grass is growing out of its eye-holes)

Am I the only one who sees a person (two black dots for eyes) with his hands folded in front of him (fingers pointing forward)?


(Bone left in the desert)

With plenty of butterflies comes of course plenty of caterpillars (well, other way round):


(This one had crawled onto a small plant that it was feasting on)


(You can actually see its spiky 'teeth' used for eating)


(Didn't know these things have actual eyes!)

This time the desert was full of grass - it was very nice:


(Grass swaying in the wind - and a Kuwaiti flag from a nearby campsite)


(Grass swaying in the wind - a rare sight in the desert)

A little bit further along, close to where they are currently constructing a new road we made another stop and saw this funny caterpillar - if that's not the cutest thing...:


(Caterpillar of some kind - looks more like a caricature of a dachshund (gravhund))

At first I thought it was a joke or something left behind by campers but this really is melons growing in the desert (in between a table tennis ball and a tennis ball in size). My friend had taken home some seeds and planted them but so far I have heard no news of a desert melon plant at her house:


(Desert melons)

And last but not least a hazy view of the Kuwait City skyline before we went home:


(Kuwait City skyline and greenery)

Way Out In The Oasis Of Al Ain

On the last weekend in Dubai we decided to go for a Friday day trip to Al Ain - a small city of app. 350,000 inhabitants that belongs to the Abu Dhabi emirate and is 1.5 hours by bus from Dubai, right on the border with Oman.

We just wanted to get out of Dubai for a while and see what the United Arab Emirates looks like outside of all the modern glitter. A second reason for going to Al Ain is that it has a real oasis and we had never been to one.

Unfortunately we didn't take any pictures during the bus ride there - an experience in itself as we were the only non-Indian/-Pakistani people on the bus and the only ones who stayed awake during the drive there (apart from the driver, luckily). Al Ain is not a major tourist destination and in fact we only saw 2 other western-looking people the entire day. Most of the drive is on a relatively new road built through the desert with peach-colored sand dunes and camels grazing on both sides of the road. It is a lot more hilly than the desert in Kuwait (which is almost entirely flat) and more picturesque.

We arrived just when the Friday prayer had begun and everything except for the biggest supermarket was closed. We decided to buy some snacks and have a picnic in the oasis.


(The entry to Al Ain oasis - it's good to be a tourist!)

The guards that sit at the entrances to the oasis have found a way to make life more comfortable:


(Arm chair near the main entrance to the Al Ain oasis)

...And they have thought of all necessities...:


(Port-a-potties in the Al Ain oasis)

An oasis is by definition a spot - small or large - of greenery in the middle of the desert and that's what makes it so fascinating. There is ground water here and that's the reason why these palm trees and other green plants and trees grow here in what used to be desert all around but is now the city of Al Ain to one side.

Kuwait has no ground water and thus no oases (all water in Kuwait is either imported drinking water or desalinated sea water and is more expensive than gas for the car!).

Don't get fooled by the fact that it is all paved - that's just something that they have done in modern times to ease the transport of the dates they harvest from the palm trees and to be able to drive through the oasis with equipment etc.


(Al Ain oasis - a huge concentration of palm trees and a system of small roads where you easily get lost)


(Al Ain oasis)


(Part of our picnic lunch - it's a local yoghurt drink but in my native tongue 'laban' is a word for a naughty boy)


(Enjoying lunch under a tall palm tree)

This is a system of irrigation called falaj. It's a method thousands of years old for getting the ground water up to the surface and channeled around the oasis according to where it is needed.


(Falaj channels in Al Ain oasis - guiding the water around the oasis)


(Falaj channels filled with water, Al Ain oasis)

Rocks, pieces of cloth and occasionally some plastic is used for blocking the water and leading it to where it is most needed:


(Redirecting the water, Al Ain oasis)

Speaking of water, this little lizard had fallen into the sink outside a small mosque in the oasis and could not get out because the sink was too slippery for it:


(Lizard caught in the sink outside a mosque in the Al Ain oasis)

The little guy stared right at me (I was probably more scared of him than he was of me):


(Lizard in the sink)

And K commenced a rescue mission to get the poor guy out - look how it is clinging on to the palm leaf:


(Rescue mission in progress)


(Made it to the edge - almost free)


(And finally back in its right element)

Right after we had helped the little lizard out of the sink, the mullah of the small mosque arrived on his bicycle. He was a slim man with a long beard dressed in white and on the back of his bicycle he had his prayer carpet - just returned from Friday prayer at another mosque. In broken English he greeted us with a 'welcome!' asked where we were from and gave us another 'welcome!'. We pointed at the lizard to explain why we were lingering outside his mosque and he in turn pointed to our camera to ensure that we had taken pictures of the lizard.


(Drying the seeds from the top of the palm tree)


(Al Ain oasis)

The oasis is a wonderful place to spend an afternoon - it is relatively cool and shaded, it is very quiet apart from lovely birds singing and it is so beautifully green:


(Greenery in Al Ain oasis - an unbelievable sight in the middle of the desert in a place where the temperature easily reaches 40 degrees Celsius (104F))


(Grass-like plants, Al Ain oasis)

The oasis is home to a lot of birds whose singing is the only sound heard:


(Bird in Al Ain oasis)


(Birds in Al Ain oasis)


(Bird in Al Ain oasis)


(Birds in Al Ain oasis)


(Tree with some serious toothpick-sized thorns)


(Palm tree stems)

After walking around for a while we sat down to relax a bit. All of a sudden this man comes walking into the oasis with a shovel over his shoulder and as soon as he sees us he heads straight for K - he muttered a few unrecognizable words in Arabic and warmly shook K's hand with both his hands before he walked on. Talk about Arabian hospitality and the ingrained habit of greeting strangers and travelers on your way who might hold information useful to you!


(A friendly stranger)

Out of the oasis it became clear that also here a majority of the population is foreign workers doing the jobs that the Emirati don't want to do themselves - and it is very out in the open what's for sale:


(Agency window, a main street of Al Ain)


(Commercial from an ATM where we withdrew some cash...)


(Decorated trucks - feels like being in India in the middle of the Gulf region)


(It gets so hot that it's necessary to cover the gear stick in order to be able to touch it)


(Decorated truck in Al Ain)

We stopped at a local pastry shop for some air-condition and Arabic sweets:


(Baklava-type mixed sweets - am sure it's called something else, though)

The main street of Al Ain has a nice view of the Great Mosque and the mountains in the background (shared with Oman):


(Main street Al Ain)

I had read at a random web page before leaving that the United Arab Emirates' last remaining camel market had reopened south of the city on the border with Oman. We stopped so many taxis asking them if they knew it and all of them said no. We had actually given up finding the camel market when we decided to ask one last time - a taxi parked at the bus station. He said yes with such conviction that we decided to give it a try (plus the taxis are cheap so we had nothing besides time to lose). 5 minutes into the drive he had to call a friend, though and ask for directions and even as we neared the market, he asked several people for directions (people standing 100 meters from it didn't know it?!). We finally found it though and they had the most wonderful camels there.

As we step out of the taxi this guy immediately asks us to take pictures of his camel saying that the small one is only 3 days old. I guess we should have seen it coming but in this region the usual 'let's screw the tourist' behavior is so rare (thank God for that!) and when he started asking for money we knew that this place - although no tourists were to be seen - was that kind of place.


(Local man with an apparently 3 day old camel)

We did not take too many pictures there as the atmosphere was quite tense. In a square in the middle, men from the entire region were trading camels and sizing them up in a chaotic setting. Around the square were closures where the salespeople held their camels. In the afternoon heat, many of the men had walked away from their closures allowing us to take some quick pictures of the camels:


(Camel love at the camel market on the Omani border)


(Black baby camel with cute fat legs, camel market on Omani border)


(Curly-haired young camel, camel market on Omani border)

My all-time favorite baby camel who I wanted to take home and begged K to buy for me (after all, he was the one who promised me a camel if we moved to Kuwait!). It was about a head shorter than me and so incredibly curious. It would not bite or anything, just put its big camel lips around your fingers and I am sure I saw a little smile when we patted it on the neck.


(The most adorable baby camel - I'll be going back for it!)


('My' baby camel, camel market on Omani border)

Quite frankly the camel market is the only place so far where I have felt uncomfortable - the air was just dense. Right before we left, a man came up to me and grabbed my arm to tell me something (or maybe to make me go take pictures of his camels so he could ask for money). Where I am from it doesn't mean much if a man touches my arm but I know that here it is a complete taboo and totally unacceptable. We would have loved to stay longer and look at the camels but the people were just so unfriendly and the atmosphere so unpleasant that we quickly drove back to Al Ain (we had asked the taxi to wait for us with the meter running - after all he had never been there before and also got a look at the camels).

In sharp contrast to the camel market, the Al Ain Palace Museum was so peaceful and pleasant.


(Al Ain Palace Museum seen from the first floor)

The Palace Museum is the birthplace of the late first president of the United Arab Emirates, Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and of course has a room dedicated to the intricate family tree of the past and current rulers and sheiks of the United Arab Emirates:


(Family tree)


(The current President of the United Arab Emirates: His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan - yes, that's Khalifa as in Burj Khalifa formerly known as Burj Dubai...)

It offered a nice look into the not so distant past:


(Bedroom as it used to be)


(A majlis living-room like place for receiving visitors who are of course to be offered Arabic coffee)


(Another place for receiving visitors)

We were there in the late afternoon as the sun was beginning to set and the light was just so beautiful and the shadows long so I went a little photo-crazy (bear with me):


(Trees casting their long shadows on the facade of the Palace Museum)


(A wooden ladder in the garden of the Palace Museum)


(Long, beautiful shadows)


(Al Ain Palace Museum - view from a first floor porch)


(Afternoon shadows on the wall)


(Al Ain Palace Museum)


(Self-portrait, from a bridge connecting two parts of the house)

The inner courtyard garden was really beautiful and pleasant - I could have stayed for hours:


(Garden in the inner courtyard, Al Ain Palace Museum)


(Garden in the inner courtyard, Al Ain Palace Museum)


(Beautiful big tree with fragrant yellow flowers, inner courtyard)

The light was disappearing fast and as Friday is the only weekly day off for many workers (those who are lucky enough to have a day off), people were massively gathering on the squares, in the parks, in front of fountains, in intersections and everywhere it's possible to sit down to chat with friends and enjoy the cooler evening air. During the day we had seen them queue like crazy in front of the various Western Union type offices that allow them to send home the much anticipated money they are earning here to their families in India, Pakistan and elsewhere. We also saw them shop at the local market - stocking up on groceries for the entire week but we were so out of place that it would have been provocative to photograph them. It was quite an eye-opener, though.


(People gathering for a Friday night out in the open - you can click on the picture to enlarge it and see how people are sitting everywhere)


(People gathering for a Friday night out in the open)

It was really nice to see something outside of Dubai but also a really strange feeling of being completely out of place - and of being in India somewhere rather than in the Middle East. During the entire day I think we saw maybe a handful of women in total (in the small fabric shop area in the early evening) and I kept wondering if this is a city of Southeast Asian men only. Apart from the camel market, I never felt really uncomfortable, though - just out of place, but it was a great experience. When the daylight was gone, however, we decided to catch a bus and return to Dubai for a late dinner.