East coast

Pics here.

Today, for the first time, I drove in the Middle East.  Nicole and I rented a tuna can, I mean car, and headed for the East Coast (the Arabia Sea side) of the Emirates.  I’ve gone swimming on the Persia Gulf side several times, but wanted to experience the other coast as well, and Nicole’s goal is to go to all seven emirates before going home.   Also we’ve been leaning on our dear friend Rana so much that we felt her car needed a break.  So we decided to take the plunge.  Felt so liberating and self-sufficient.  Who knows, maybe I’ll even drive in Lebanon next time I’m there.

Anyway, we drove through the Hajar Mountains, spooky black peaks that span much of the Eastern Emirates as well as parts of Oman.  It was hot, high 90s for those of you who are Farenheit fans, but the tuna can was nicely chilled.  First stop, Musafi (rhymes with Yousefy, our nephew’s nickname!) in the Emirate of Fujairah.  Some say the idea of the “drive through” originated in Musafi.  You can pull up alongside and make purchases from produce vendors and guys selling local pomegranate juice, coconut water, and corn on the cob with lime and salt.  Really lovely, and with few of the modern trappings of Dubai.  Also, rug sellers line the streets with Iranian and Afghani imports.

On to Fujairah Emirate’s main port city.  Coolest thing about Fujairah, Fujairah: the roundabouts.  It looks a lot like Sharjah, Sharjah, except that most roundabouts boast some type of enormous sculpture or statue in the middle.  You have the incense burner roundabout, the boat roundabout, the rose water decanter (I think it’s just a pitcher, but Nicole named it as such) roundabout, and the coffee pot roundabout which comes surrounded by huge clay cups.  Very nice.  Also, delicious Lebanese restaurant called Al-Meshwar where we enjoyed a late breakfast of fo’ul (fava beans), olives, cheese bread, and tea.

Headed north along the sea and passed through Khor Fakkan and other coastal towns that look much older than Dubai and Abu Dhabi and even Sharjah, and with a fraction of the traffic.  Aside from a couple oil refineries (dead give-away), the East Coast almost looks pre-oil.  We stopped in Badiyah to see the old minaret-free mosque, allegedly from the 1400s, and the two ancient looking watchtowers above it.  Climbing the old stone steps to the watchtowers may have been the hottest moment of our time in the UAE.  I mean, great view of the mosque, the sea, a date palm oasis…but THE HEAT!

Kept going north to Dibba.  Dibba is a fishing village.  Part of the village is technically in Sharjah, part in Fujairah, and part in a totally different country: Oman.  Weird.  We wanted to hit the beach in Dibba but mostly the coast there is stony and full of fishing boats.  So we backtracked a bit down the coast and found a pristine looking area.  No changing facilities so we got pretty creative with a skirt and a big beach towel.  Voila, ready for the sea.  Okay, the Arabia Sea can be violent so we didn’t go very deep.  The water felt amazing after exploring those watchtowers in Badiyah, until a wave knocked me on my ass and sent my sunglasses flying.  As in my prescription sunglasses that I can’t drive without even on sunny days in North America.  I was sure they were gone, crazy waves crashing all around us, but Nicole spotted them.  I pounced, knee making contact with a huge rock, and missed the glasses as a big wave came in.  The wave retreated and Nicole saw them again.  I pounced again and got ‘em.  My knee was bleeding, but I miraculously had my glasses, and the sea was salty enough to kill most anything.  At least I hope.  So we swam a bit longer, did another stealth costume change, and found another corn on the cob guy.

Proud to say that my driving and navigation were pretty good.  Through no fault of my own, though, the tuna can did sustain a minor injury, one to match my knee gash I guess.  Driving back to Sharjah, a car in front of us hit something in the road—looked like a piece of coil or heavy cable maybe—and the object came flying at us and hit the front bumper.  Not a big deal at all, but it punctured a hole in the bumper.  Here’s where being married to a lawyer comes in handy.  Nicole went straight to the rental agreement which said that the car’s insurance covers just about any type of damage the car sustains but only if you file a police report.  To the little police station right by campus.  Super nice Sharjah cop totally appreciated the rudimentary Arabic I spoke with him but luckily also spoke English.  He took down all the information and said the police would issue the report in three business days after they wait to see if anybody else (e.g., the person who hit the coil to begin with) also files a report about the incident.  Strange, but we’re cautiously optimistic it all works out.

Stay tuned, readers—and I don’t just mean to see how my knee and insurance claim work out.  We kept our slightly dinged tuna can and are tentatively planning to drive to Abu Dhabi tomorrow.