...but I have to because it would just be crazy not to.
The other day I was working away in the Sales office and I happened to glance out the window (yes, they have windows in the office...but if you are reading this and you happen to work in a hotel sales office somewhere else and be jealous of said windows, don't be. The windows definitely do not make up for the rest of the grey environment, the smoke smell, the lack of good equipment, and general disarray I assure you). Walking past the window was a man dressed in dirty grey pants, a dirty striped button down shirt, and scuffed and torn shoes. He had something in his hand.
I took a closer look and said to my colleague from Cairo, "Oh my god, that guy has a gun". She glanced up and nonchelantly said "Meh...he's probably a plain clothes officer". I said "Really? He doesn't really look like one". To which she replied "Well...maybe not in Canada or London (where she is originally from)...but he could definitely be one here".
Alrighty then.
I've gotten used to having to go through metal detectors everywhere I go. Coming into the hotel. The shopping mall. Office towers. And I've gotten used to the 5 or 6 armed guards I see around the hotel every day and the uniformed lads with their machine guns and bomb sniffing dogs at every security check point approaching every hotel I have visited during my competitive set tours. I've even gotten used to the fact that the hotel that I am here to open lists "bullet proof glass" as one of its unique selling features and boasts about it in their local press releases.
But let me tell you what is a bit more difficult to get used to.
The other night during our 6 PM daily wrap up meeting the General Manager of the hotel did his usual "these are the priorities I see for the coming days and I thank you all again for being here" schtick and then he said:
"You are going to think that I am not serious when I say this, but I assure you that I am very serious. Tonight we have staying in our hotel the leaders and senior members of both Fatah and Hamas. They have been invited here by the Egyptian President for meetings. You will definitely see increased security presence around the hotel. I am going to advise you that before you go to bed you should lay out some clothes and your running shoes and ensure your passport is near by. If you hear commotion or an alarm goes off during the night, get dressed, grab your passport, leave the hotel through the back emergency exits and meet on Corniche el Nil, the street that runs behind the hotel."
That brings a whole new meaning to our inside joke about "evacuation outfits" hey Dr. Bonnie? And, to all my peeps at the Sheraton Suites, we've always thought we had the most interesting groups stay with us? I have to say, I never thought I would say that I stayed at the same hotel as not only the ruling violent and extreme political party in Palestine, but that their marginally more sane and peaceful opposition party was there at the same time.
Strangely enough I slept very peacefully that night.
Sunday, 16 September 2007
Today I...wish you all Ramadan Kareem
To which you are meant to reply "Allah akrem"
Which, loosely translated into English means "Teri is getting just a touch grumpy and cannot concentrate because she has been essentially fasting for Ramadan for the past four days and has not had more than a few pieces of fruit between sunrise and sunset and has not had her morning latte since Wednesday!"
So, even though I am clearly not of the Muslim faith, I have been trying to show respect to all of my Muslim colleagues here in Cairo by not eating or drinking in front of them. And perhaps there is something to this Ramadan thing because it has definitely made me think about self-indulgence, what I really need as opposed to what I want, and again about the mystery of why one is born when and where they are as opposed to in a different time and place. My sister sent me this quote the other day and I love it. It completely reflects what I have been contemplating seeing the life of women in the middle east and the poverty that so many people live in here.
"The woeful fright in the coal-smutted face made her suddenly so sorry that she could scarcely bear it. One of her queer thoughts rushed into her mind. She put her hand against Becky's cheek.'Why,' Sara said, 'we are just the same ~ I am only a little girl like you. It's just an accident that I am not you, and you are not me!'"~ A Little Princess, F.H. Burnett ~
So...I shall continue to do my best not to offend but I think I am over the lack of a morning latte already. I just finished my 8th day of work in a row with no opportunity to go out and explore the amazing city I am in. So I figure it is worth a latte to ensure my sanity until I can get some pool and pyramid time hooked up.
Oh...and for those who are curious...Ramadan Kareem means "Ramadan is generous to all" - and it truly is. It is like Christmas for a month. People may be fasting all day but they get to leave work at 3 PM and promptly crash hard when they get home because once the sun goes down it is just one giant feast and a party. The response Allah Akrem means "Allah's generosity is even greater." That one I am not so sure about. He seems like a pretty exacting and unforgiving dude but perhaps my friends here will educate me and I'll come to see him in a different way.
Which, loosely translated into English means "Teri is getting just a touch grumpy and cannot concentrate because she has been essentially fasting for Ramadan for the past four days and has not had more than a few pieces of fruit between sunrise and sunset and has not had her morning latte since Wednesday!"
So, even though I am clearly not of the Muslim faith, I have been trying to show respect to all of my Muslim colleagues here in Cairo by not eating or drinking in front of them. And perhaps there is something to this Ramadan thing because it has definitely made me think about self-indulgence, what I really need as opposed to what I want, and again about the mystery of why one is born when and where they are as opposed to in a different time and place. My sister sent me this quote the other day and I love it. It completely reflects what I have been contemplating seeing the life of women in the middle east and the poverty that so many people live in here.
"The woeful fright in the coal-smutted face made her suddenly so sorry that she could scarcely bear it. One of her queer thoughts rushed into her mind. She put her hand against Becky's cheek.'Why,' Sara said, 'we are just the same ~ I am only a little girl like you. It's just an accident that I am not you, and you are not me!'"~ A Little Princess, F.H. Burnett ~
So...I shall continue to do my best not to offend but I think I am over the lack of a morning latte already. I just finished my 8th day of work in a row with no opportunity to go out and explore the amazing city I am in. So I figure it is worth a latte to ensure my sanity until I can get some pool and pyramid time hooked up.
Oh...and for those who are curious...Ramadan Kareem means "Ramadan is generous to all" - and it truly is. It is like Christmas for a month. People may be fasting all day but they get to leave work at 3 PM and promptly crash hard when they get home because once the sun goes down it is just one giant feast and a party. The response Allah Akrem means "Allah's generosity is even greater." That one I am not so sure about. He seems like a pretty exacting and unforgiving dude but perhaps my friends here will educate me and I'll come to see him in a different way.
Wednesday, 5 September 2007
Today I...had Shish Taouk for dinner...
...so its a good thing I'm not kissing anyone good night because I think I ate a few cloves of garlic!
I don't have a lot to say today other than the fact that I wanted to add some commentary to the photos I posted on Smugmug. Yesterday I got to go for a tour of the Burj Al Arab. For hotel geeks like me that is a big freakin' deal!
This hotel has a PR machine behind it and has really been the first thing to position Dubai as a destination in the minds of most people. They even created a new rating for themselves - they call themselves a 7 Star hotel. Presumably because no other hotel could possibly come close to that level. It is an amazing sail shaped building that sits out on the Indian Ocean just slightly off shore. The building is phenomenal...
...the interior design on the other hand is completely garish and over the top. It is this crazy Arabian - Asian fusion. A mad mish mash of every possible design principle you can imagine.
It needs to be over the top to live up to expectation, but this is just whack. Unfortunately they didn't let me take a lot of pictures in the suite we saw but I did get some great photos of the city (and the haze) from there.
Very cool experience. Very happy to have had that view of Dubai before I move from this desert to another one.
Also, throwing back to a previous post...my nephew made the most astute comment about my Call to Prayer post. I was baffled by how the people who live in these barren unforgiving lands with just killing climates choose to subscribe to a harsh religion. My lovely 12 year old lad said, "But if the land is harsh and the climate is harsh then wouldn't the people assume that God is also harsh?" Not all good looks with that kid I say! I thought that was a pretty insightful observation.
Today I...am not sad my time in Dubai is nearing an end for this trip.
I don't have a lot to say today other than the fact that I wanted to add some commentary to the photos I posted on Smugmug. Yesterday I got to go for a tour of the Burj Al Arab. For hotel geeks like me that is a big freakin' deal!
This hotel has a PR machine behind it and has really been the first thing to position Dubai as a destination in the minds of most people. They even created a new rating for themselves - they call themselves a 7 Star hotel. Presumably because no other hotel could possibly come close to that level. It is an amazing sail shaped building that sits out on the Indian Ocean just slightly off shore. The building is phenomenal...
...the interior design on the other hand is completely garish and over the top. It is this crazy Arabian - Asian fusion. A mad mish mash of every possible design principle you can imagine.
It needs to be over the top to live up to expectation, but this is just whack. Unfortunately they didn't let me take a lot of pictures in the suite we saw but I did get some great photos of the city (and the haze) from there.
Very cool experience. Very happy to have had that view of Dubai before I move from this desert to another one.
Also, throwing back to a previous post...my nephew made the most astute comment about my Call to Prayer post. I was baffled by how the people who live in these barren unforgiving lands with just killing climates choose to subscribe to a harsh religion. My lovely 12 year old lad said, "But if the land is harsh and the climate is harsh then wouldn't the people assume that God is also harsh?" Not all good looks with that kid I say! I thought that was a pretty insightful observation.
Today I...am not sad my time in Dubai is nearing an end for this trip.
Saturday, 1 September 2007
Today I...bought knock off Chanel shades in Karama
I also drank about three litres of water and didn't need to use the lou even once.
It was 43 degrees, but with the humidity felt like about 48 (Hayley, that is like the "windshield" factor, only different). I am definitely getting accustomed to the all over body glow. All I have to say is thank goodness for hotel laundry services!
In the past 24 hours I have experienced two very different sides of Dubai.
Last night I went for drinks and dinner at Madinat Jumeirah - an area that houses two resort hotels, many restaurants, night clubs, wine bars, and Sheesha bars as well as a recently built Souk. But it is definitely the sterilized, air conditioned, westernized version of a souk. The architechture is beautiful and evocative of arabian desert structures, but lets face it, it is at most 5 years old. A lot of expats and young arabs hang out in the restaurants and bars here.
Got a wonderful view of the Burj al Arab - the famous sail shaped hotel that put Dubai on the map as a tourist destination. And actually got to have cocktails sitting outdoors. It had cooled down to about 35 degrees, so the locals thought it was fabulous patio weather. So much for the desert being cold at night!
Then today one of the girls from the Fairmont Dubai took me out driving to see the city. Unfortunately it was so humid that it was incredibly hazy and the lense on my camera kept fogging up and it was just too too hot to stand outside or walk around to take photos so I did not get nearly as many pictures as I had hoped. The buildings here are amazing. And the pace of construction is staggering. On average they complete three floors per week on the big sky scrapers here. They have masses and masses of cheap labour from India and Pakistan and who knows what the building codes are like. Certainly there is little regard for health and safety standards and all workers are on a 6 day work week putting in 12 hours each day. It sure is dramatic to see these buildings rising out of the desert. But I am not sure I'd want to be living on the 37th floor - or working on the 172nd floor of the Burj Dubai when it is complete. Soon to be the tallest building in the world, this monster is going to be a full 200 m taller than Tapei 101.
We also went to a souk in Karama. Where we haggled with a vendor for Pashminas and my fancy new shades. He wanted to charge me 45 Dirhams for one particular pashmina because he could tell I really liked it. In the end I walked away and he ended up coming back with the price we wanted. And then when I got back to the room I did the math...I was arguing over paying him the equivalent of $12 USD for something that usually costs around $80 - $200 USD. Crazy.
But I was so hot and grumpy by that point I actually managed to pull of a pretty good "you're not taking me for a ride because I'm a foreigner" negotiation.
This evening after dinner of Hummus, Fatoush, Sambousek, and Kebbeh in Deira, thinking about the total diquotomy between the very rich here and those who work so hard under inhumane conditions for almost nothing, I paid it forward by tipping a security guard 10 Dirhams for letting us park where we were not supposed to. I asked my friend how much he would make in a month. She said probably not more than 500 Dirhams. Such a tiny amount for me. I can't even comprehend it.
Today I...am tired from a long hot day in a far away land (and am hoping I can find good postcards since my camera lense was foggy most of the day)...am seeing clearly how privledged I am...am curious about what tomorrow holds.
It was 43 degrees, but with the humidity felt like about 48 (Hayley, that is like the "windshield" factor, only different). I am definitely getting accustomed to the all over body glow. All I have to say is thank goodness for hotel laundry services!
In the past 24 hours I have experienced two very different sides of Dubai.
Last night I went for drinks and dinner at Madinat Jumeirah - an area that houses two resort hotels, many restaurants, night clubs, wine bars, and Sheesha bars as well as a recently built Souk. But it is definitely the sterilized, air conditioned, westernized version of a souk. The architechture is beautiful and evocative of arabian desert structures, but lets face it, it is at most 5 years old. A lot of expats and young arabs hang out in the restaurants and bars here.
Got a wonderful view of the Burj al Arab - the famous sail shaped hotel that put Dubai on the map as a tourist destination. And actually got to have cocktails sitting outdoors. It had cooled down to about 35 degrees, so the locals thought it was fabulous patio weather. So much for the desert being cold at night!
Then today one of the girls from the Fairmont Dubai took me out driving to see the city. Unfortunately it was so humid that it was incredibly hazy and the lense on my camera kept fogging up and it was just too too hot to stand outside or walk around to take photos so I did not get nearly as many pictures as I had hoped. The buildings here are amazing. And the pace of construction is staggering. On average they complete three floors per week on the big sky scrapers here. They have masses and masses of cheap labour from India and Pakistan and who knows what the building codes are like. Certainly there is little regard for health and safety standards and all workers are on a 6 day work week putting in 12 hours each day. It sure is dramatic to see these buildings rising out of the desert. But I am not sure I'd want to be living on the 37th floor - or working on the 172nd floor of the Burj Dubai when it is complete. Soon to be the tallest building in the world, this monster is going to be a full 200 m taller than Tapei 101.
We also went to a souk in Karama. Where we haggled with a vendor for Pashminas and my fancy new shades. He wanted to charge me 45 Dirhams for one particular pashmina because he could tell I really liked it. In the end I walked away and he ended up coming back with the price we wanted. And then when I got back to the room I did the math...I was arguing over paying him the equivalent of $12 USD for something that usually costs around $80 - $200 USD. Crazy.
But I was so hot and grumpy by that point I actually managed to pull of a pretty good "you're not taking me for a ride because I'm a foreigner" negotiation.
This evening after dinner of Hummus, Fatoush, Sambousek, and Kebbeh in Deira, thinking about the total diquotomy between the very rich here and those who work so hard under inhumane conditions for almost nothing, I paid it forward by tipping a security guard 10 Dirhams for letting us park where we were not supposed to. I asked my friend how much he would make in a month. She said probably not more than 500 Dirhams. Such a tiny amount for me. I can't even comprehend it.
Today I...am tired from a long hot day in a far away land (and am hoping I can find good postcards since my camera lense was foggy most of the day)...am seeing clearly how privledged I am...am curious about what tomorrow holds.
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