West-Bound and Down

Dear happy readers,

You may have noticed the month's lag and general neglect of this site. I attribute it to many factors, the first of which being sloth.

In truth, I have bee nbusy preparing the next stage of my life. I will be returning to the United States for good on October 15th. I'm moving to Arlington, Virgina, and will be working in the marketing and analytics unit of a VC-funded energy efficiency start-up called OPOWER. It should be a dynamic stretch role in a fast-moving company, and I am very excited about it. I urge you to check out the company here and note that Obama himself has already spoken there on cleantech jobs.

I am back and forth between DC and Dubai for interviews, homecoming and wrapping up my time here at Monitor. I had a good expat year, and great first job, but am ready to return to America to vote on things and express my various rights and sundry liberties.

I will be wrapping up the blog over the course of this next month, posting photos from my trips to Jordan and Nepal, as well as my outlook for the region.

Thank you for reading thus far. If my antics are wild or random enough in Arlington, which I will strive to make happen, look for a similar blog to come. In the meantime, please enjoy this documentary about my new abode.

Jordan I: Dead Sea

A couple weekends ago I did another whirlwind / escape the Gulf trip. I met up with the Monitor team in Amman, Jordan, then a couple of us branched off to the Dead Sea and Petra.

Just being in this area (Jordan, Lebanon) carries Biblical weight. Every exit was something straight out of the Gospels. The exit before the Dead Sea was for Bethany-By-The-Jordan, where Jesus was baptized. Across the dead sea from us lay Palestine and Israel:

I was taken aback when we got out of the car by the blatant warnings about the dangers of the Dead Sea. I knew it was salty, but this sign added an aire of danger to our beachside jaunt:

We were also surrounded by crying children who did not heed the sign. Tip: DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, PUT YOUR HEAD UNDERWATER AT THE DEAD SEA.

The buoyancy throws you off at first. I'm not the best swimmer, so the guarantee of not drowning was good. However, my legs floated a lot more than I used to, so it took me a few tries to regain my center of gravity.

After I mastered floating in the Dead Sea, the only thing left to do, naturally, was coat myself with the think mud at the bottom of the sea. It is supposed to make your skin healthy. It just made me feel dirty...


We then loaded up into our car and made it to Petra by nightfall. What unfolded the next day defies description in the English language. Book your trip to Petra now - I will share my experience tomorrow, insha'allah.

Ramadan Kareem!

Sighting the Moon

By the way, this is how Ramadan is determined:

http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/government/uae-moon-sighting-committee-to-meet-on-tuesday-1.666246

A panel of "experts" and religious scholars gather to sight the moon. As the Hijri calendar is lunar, each month begins on the new moon. So if the Moon Sighting Committee doesn't see any moon, Ramadan is proclaimed. If it does, Ramadan is delayed until the next day.

This sighting has dire implications for my dinner tonight. I plan on eating after Maghrebi prayer but before moonrise. They'd best not proclaim Ramadan in the interim...

Ramadan and Its Discontents

Ramadan probably begins on Wednesday. I say probably not because I am too lazy to check the calendar, but rather the ulema must wait to view the moon later this week before they are properly sure than Ramadan is allowed to begin. It's kind of like Groundhog's Day in that regard. But no Bill Murray.

I first moved out to the Gulf in the middle of Ramadan 1430 (This Ramadan we are gonna party like it's 1431 -Hold up, it is-). I spent the first bit of it apartment-searching, and was frustrated by many of the special Ramadan laws:
-No music
-No eating in public
-No drinking (even water) in public
-Most ABC establishments are closed
-Open ABC establishments must keep all lights on
-No loud noises or singing
It was always a pretty restrictive atmosphere during the day. In Saudi Arabia, we confined ourselves to the hotel where we could at least order a room service shwarma if we felt peckish.

But at night in Saudi, everything changed. Upon the sundown call to prayer, everyone would eat the date given them, and proceed to engorge themselves on massive nightly feasts. Eating is tiring. My favorite iftar occurred in a large ballroom in downtown Riyadh. The buffet was probably 100 yards long, and I am only slightly exaggerating, and wound its way around the magnificent centerpiece: 1 whole baby camel, pressure boiled and served with rice.

I can appreciate the theoretical basis for Ramadan. Everyone spends lots of time with their families, spends their days fasting, reading the Quran and in prayer. But in practice, Ramadan is heavily commercialized and focused more around feasting and partying. Most Gulfis becoming essentially nocturnal, waking up late in the afternoon to avoid feeling too hungry. Malls are open til 4am, and have a month of Ramadan sales. In fact, Ramadan is not too different from the Thanksgiving-Christmas holiday season in the States.

I'm still torn over whether Ramadan should be a more austere, pious month, or if my opinion is too much of a double standard. Either way, for the next month I won't be fasting, but I will be feasting.

US Embassy: One Step Ahead of Terrorists

We get these emails from the Embassy on occassion. Don't worry, I never go to Qassim. That is where they stone women for having two X chromosomes:

WARDEN MESSAGE
August 4, 2010

The Embassy requests that wardens pass the following message in its entirety to members of the American Community:

U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, the Consulate General in Dhahran and the Consulate General in Jeddah advise American citizens in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that we have received credible information that an unidentified extremist(s) in Saudi Arabia may be planning to attack Westerners working and living in al-Qasim, Saudi Arabia. The timing and method of potential attacks are currently unknown. The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, Consulate General Dhahran and Consulate General Jeddah remind U.S. citizens to exercise prudence and enhanced security awareness at all times.

GCC: Technology to Preserve the State

You may think people in the Middle East would be worried about the rising tensions across the region, particularly the skirmish yesterday between Israel and Lebanon, posturing by Ahmadinejad, and Hassan Nasrallah's upcoming claim that he has proof of Israel's role in Rafiq Hariri's (the namesake of the new Georgetown business school building, among other achievements) assassination. You would be wrong.

What stole headlines this week was the UAE's imminent and KSA's immediate ban on BlackBerry services. KSA shuts off BlackBerry on Friday, the UAE in October. This move is likely sparked by the Gulf's paranoia about destabilizing activity, be it terrorism, assassination, or women's rights.

I, for one, have not made the jump to Smart Phones, but they are a staple in my industry and we are trying to figure out how to cope without BBM or ubiquitous email access. Not the best move for countries trying to attract businesses.

On the other hand, Saudi immigration is using technology to stop another important problem: Women leaving the country without their mahram (male relative): ARTICLE HERE

Travel Bucket List

My time in the Middle East is winding down, so I'm trying to get in as many low-cost trips as possible.

I'm headed to Jordan next weekend to see Petra
I have flights booked to Nepal in mid-August
Other than that I'm trying to hit up Egypt, Greece, Lebanon, Syria, Kurdistan? and potentially Cyprus before I head out. Which is going to keep me rather busy. So I booked 9 flights yesterday to get started.

If you've been to any, please email me with travel tips!

WTF Tuesday

Ok,admittedly this article is less shocking than other WTF Tuesday posts, but it's approaching Ramadan and most Saudis are leaving the country soon so it's the best I got:

Article on the Booming Beauty Industry in Riyadh

My favorite quotes:

Sheikh Mohammad al-Habadan, a religious commentator, recently suggested that women should show nothing more than one eye in public. Revealing both, he said, could still promote lascivious thoughts.

Some beauty salons ... display stickers pointing out the dangers of damnation associated with plucking eyebrows

This article does bring up some interesting discussions about the lives of women in Saudi society. For more, I recommend Girls of Riyadh, a true story following the lives of four upper-class Riyadhi girls. A quick read, and very intriguing. Buy it on your Kindle!

WTF Tuesday

I don't know what is wrong with Gulf, or the Emirati media, but Tuesday just seems to be the day for the oddest stories:

WTF Tuesday

Millennial-Style Travel

I'm in the process of perfecting my weekend getaway planning:

Sunday: Determine Destination

Monday: Book Cheap Round-Trip Ticket

Tuesday: Book Hostel for Thursday Night

Wednesday: Download Relevant Lonely Planet Guide (via KindleDX)

Thursday: Depart, Read LP En Route, Figure Out the Rest on Arrival

Saturday: Return to Dubai

Sunday: Repeat

This weekend: ATHENS, the birthplace of democracy!

Hagia Sophia

Inside and Out. This building was big.

Ibn Ibn Battuta Visits Dubai

The blog link below is to a post by a fellow Gtown alum and Middle East ex-pat, Ibn Ibn Battuta. IIB lives in Morocco but has traveled all over the region. This post is of his day-long layover in Dubai. It is a bit factually inaccurate and generalizes too much, but I enjoy seeing other people's perspective on the city I call home:

IBN IBN BATTUTA'S POST

The Constant Vacuumer

We spent part of one morning in Istanbul checking out the intricacies of the interior tiling of the Blue Mosque (pictures coming soon). It is the largest mosque I've ever been in, and the entire carpeted floor is vacuumed five times a day. The only catch is that it takes hours to vacuum due to its size. So this one poor guy's life's work is to continuously vacuum the Blue Mosque. Let this be his tribute:

Istanbul Spice Market

Sometimes I wish cameras could capture smells...

WTF Tuesday

I found this ridiculous article whilst scanning the news today:

SAUDI WOMEN THREATEN TO BREASTFEED DRIVERS TO MAKE THEM THEIR SONS IN BID TO ALLOW FEMALE DRIVERS

Istanbul

Last week was my birthday. It was also the last week of my case. Ergo, I was in the office til 11:30pm on my birthday. Less than ideal.

BUT, I made up for that on the weekend with an impromptu trip to Turkey. FlyDubai, a discount carrier, offers round-trip tickets for $250.

Istanbul is a pretty awesome city. It doesn't quite defeat Beirut on my favorite cities quite yet, but it's mixture of history and contemporary culture are appreciated.

I'll be posting a few things over the coming days on my time there. For now, I leave you with a couple of my favorite photos:

Me in front of my favorite Istanbul mosque


The Hagia Sophia, as seen from Galata Tower, with the Golden Horn in the foreground and the Sea of Marmara behind

World Cup - USA vs. England

I've been watching a lot of the World Cup these past two days, which unfortunately interferes with the end of my case. Whatever, I have my priorities straight. We've been watching at Barasti, the large beach bar I tend to frequent. They've built what they called "Barasti Beach Stadium" - essentially a glorified igloo - to show the games.


It's actually pretty cool, the stadium holds 1,000+ fans and has a huge projector screen. I was there last night with a few friends. I may have made this clear in previous posts, but the Dubai ex-pat scene is British-dominated. Particularly at Barasti. So Barasti Beach Stadium last night was ~970 British fans and about 30 Americans, crowded near the emergency exit in case things got ugly. It was a good way to actually meet Americans here.

So when Gerrard edged it past Howard in the 4th minute, the stadium went beserk. But when Dempsey got lucky in the 40th minute, it was absolutely silent. Except for 30 Americans in the corner rallying around 1 handkerchief-sized flag.


Not sure why Green looks so confused. He let the ball slip through his fingers. Just like the rest of the Empire...

Follow Up on Justice Fail III

A few weeks ago I posted a story on the alleged rape of an 18-year old Emirati girl in Abu Dhabi. You will all be relieved to know that the girl was mistaken. She was not raped - in fact she retracted her statement to that end a few weeks ago, instead saying she was beaten by her brother (and that this is what caused the bodily harm that was mistaken for injuries sustained during the rape).

We can all rest assured that justice was carried out fairly here, and that the accused rapists can go back to living their wholesome, constructive lives.

The article is HERE

My favorite quote:

"Under Sharia law, in order for a defendant to be charged with rape or sex outside wedlock, the court requires either a confession from all defendants or for four mature men, in good standing, to testify that they witnessed the act."

Please allow me the retract the statements of understanding and tolerance I posted in Justice Fail III.

The Only Pun in the Gulf

Detector-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named

Many of you may recall a recent security scandal in Iraq. A UK firm, ASTC Ltd., sold $85 million in bomb detection equipment to the Iraqi government over a period of two years. A blessing, for Iarq has pretty high demand for bomb detection equipment. ASTC's flagship product is the ADE-651 "Magic Wand." A catchy name, thought American military officials. But how does it work? Upon taking apart the ADE-651, BBC correspondents found...an RFID chip...and some snake oil. There wasn't even a power source. A U.S. official was quoted as saying the "Magic Wands" work "on the same principle as the Ouija Board" - on the power of suggestion. Given that there are no working components, and no possible reason for it to work, you may find it surprising that the "Magic Wand" was in common use across Iraq since 2007.

You may find it surprising, until you get to know the man in charge. Meet Major General Jehad Al-Jabiri, head of the Iraqi Interior Ministry's Directorate of Combating Explosives:

"Whether it's magic or scientific, I don't care as long as it detects bombs."

"I know more about this issue than the Americans do. In fact, I know more about bombs than anyone in the world."

But, Major General, are you a wizard?

Reliance on these wands has probably led to hundreds of unnecessary deaths in Baghdad and other major cities. The United Kingdom has imprisoned the head of ASTC, Jim McKormick. The US Justice Department has specifically warned the Iraqi government about these products. So surely Major General Al-Jabiri has seen the light? Wrong. After an exhaustive review, the Iraqi government has concluded that a few of the "Magic Wands" were fake or defective, but they will be replaced by ones that work.

WHY DO I BRING THIS UP?

Any Saudi hotel worth staying in is protected by concrete barriers, a couple check points and at least 1 50 caliber machine gun. This is all due to specific threats on Westerners in the Kingdom since 2003. My hotel in Khobar has the same set up, with a four man guard searching every car that enters. Do they ask for my passport? No. Do they look into the trunk? No. Under the wheel wells? No. Why not?

Because they employ an ADE-651. Every day when returning from work my car stops as a Saudi National Guardsman walks slowly by the car, his Magic Wand antennae hanging limply to the ground.

I'd love to get a photo or video of them doing it, just so you see how ridiculous it is. But, and I'm not exaggerating, I would probably be detained.

By the way, my sources are articles entitled:
IRAQ SWEARS BY BOMB DETECTOR US SEES AS USELESS
MAGIC WAND BOMB DETECTOR IS A FRAUD; PROBABLY KILLED HUNDREDS

Found the Swedish Consulate

Somewhere, Thomas Friedman is writing a new book...

Class of 2010

A hearty congratulations to Georgetown's newest alums, particularly the Germs kids out there (I doubt any of them actually read this blog).

I give you this photo of College graduation speaker Dikembe Mutombo (Class of 1991):

WHO WANT TO HOOD MUTOMBO?!?

Photo courtesy of Georgetown University

Justice Fail III

A UAE news story that I heard about from Saudis here: Woman Who Reported Rape Is Charged With Illegal Sex

An 18 year-old Emirati girl was charged for illegal sex, along with the 6 men who allegedly raped her in the back of a car.

Excerpts:
"The charges allege that because she had agreed to be in the car, the two had, therefore, met to have sex."
"The woman has been in custody since she reported the incident. She and the two defendants in court yesterday are being held without bail."

It is making the rounds in Saudi as it is reminiscent of a case* two years ago that led to intervention by the King. A Saudi woman was meeting a male friend when both were kidnapped, taken to a farm and raped repeatedly. Upon reporting the act, the woman and her friend were arrested along with their rapists. In fact, both were sentenced to lashings and months in prison, while the rapists received 10 months to 5 years in prison each (a relatively light sentence compared to the standard punishment for rapists - public execution by beheading).

However, it is not enough for us Americans to come in, scan the news and become indignant. We must at least attempt to understand the root cause for these decisions. The court systems of Saudi Arabia and the UAE are based off of Sharia law - codes of conduct derived from the Qu'ran and Hadith (the Hadith are compiled deeds and actions of the Prophet Muhammad). Particularly in the Gulf, the judges are schooled primarily in the interpretation and application of Sharia law, and are thus religious scholars first, and dealers of justice second. Or, in their words, there is no justice but that of God, and they are bound to carry out His law as narrated to Muhammad.

It follows then, the the judges' deliberations in both cases starts not with the accusations of rape, but rather the circumstances which found the women alone with non-family males in the first place. Why was the 18 year-old Emirati woman alone with her friend in the car? Why was the Saudi woman meeting her male friend alone at the mall? As both of these acts are morally dubious, it follows that the women in each case were up to no good. In fact, while the charges of rape could be contested, the only undisputed charges were the acts of the women being alone with the men.

A judge in the case would have no trouble condemning the woman. The tricky part is what to do with the rapists. In the Saudi case, the men claimed (a legitimate motion) enticement by a woman "whose looseness was not a matter of record. Kidnapping seemed proven, but who could tell exactly what had happened after that?"

I hope it is obvious that I do not agree with this system of justice. I am, however, trying to shed some light on the opaqueness of the cultural divide.

*My background on the rape case in Saudi Arabia is based on Richard Lacey's "Inside the Kingdom," an eye-opening book on the history of the Saudi-Wahhabi balance, the inner workings of the Royal Family, and Saudi foreign policy since 1979.

Perhaps a bit of insight on the

Sandstorm

The same photo from my hotel room as in two posts ago. Can you find the tower? Use the fake palm tree in the foreground as reference.

I'll Sleep When I'm Un-Dead

I want to express how I feel right now in words. But a photo is more apt:

I feel like a zombie, but perhaps with less blood in or around my mouth. This past week has been rather productive and rewarding with the client, but at the cost of my precious sleep.

We're following a blend of the client's schedule and our own consulting regimen. The consistency of our days is notable. And should be noted:

5:30 - Awaken to the unforgiving Saudi sun invading my east-facing windows. Though it is better than other entities that could be invading Saudi from the east. (See a map for reference)
6:15 - Breakfast
7:00 - Car to Client site
7:30 - Arrive, start work
8:30 - Client check-in meeting
11:00 - Realize I've been at work for 3.5 hours already
12:00 - Lunch
16:00 - Car back to hotel, work until dinner (maybe sneak in a short gym break)
20:00 - Dinner
22:00 - Work
01:00 - Pass out

The zombie uprising is imminent. And it won't be from any mutant virus. Patient Zero is me. Ground Zero is Room 545. You have been warned.

Southeast of Eden

City of Life

Last night, I saw "City of Life," the first feature length movie about Dubai, for the second time. The movie, directed by Ali Mostafa, an Emirati, debuted at the Dubai International Film Festival in December. Now it is playing in all the theaters in the city and is the talk of the town. The production was led by Dubai-based Filmworks, which worked on "The Kingdom" and "Syriana." So here is a movie that does not depict US power projection in the region.


The film is admittedly unoriginal, weaving together the lives of three Dubai characters in a way too similar to "Amores Perros" or "Crash." However, because the movie is shot in Dubai, it is a hit and very entertaining. I became rather attached to the three trite main characters:

Faisal - the playboy son of an Emirati real estate magnate who must face the consequences of his sinful lifestyle
Basu - the Gujarati cab driver with Bollywood aspirations who receives a lucky break
Natalya - the Bucharesti flight attendant who falls in love with an advertising executive

WATCH THE CITY OF LIFE TRAILER HERE

Reviews of the film have been largely positive. The audiences I went with were largely Emirati and Saudi in composition, and they absolutely loved Faisal's storyline, especially his nice cars and clubs he went to (which were probably the planned activities of the Emiratis in the cinema for the rest of the night). The issues tackled in the movie were surprisingly progressive as well and included extra-marital affairs, Arabs drinking alcohol and abortion.

One of my friends had another take on the move, saying it was enjoyable and mostly realistic because "no one is really that happy and everyone screws everyone else over."

Such is Dubai, the City of Life.

Fog Over Dubai

A photo of Dubai posing as San Fransisco:



Photo from Gulf Photo Plus, the winner of the Canon Competition, via grapeshisa blog. Take a look at either for more great Middle Eastern photography.

HAPPY GEORGETOWN DAY!

It's the most wonderful day of the year.

Dune-Bashing

Having been away from main campus for nearly two weeks, I needed my Georgetown fix and thusly pilgrimaged to SFS-Qatar. I met up with the Student Affairs crowd, who are Class of 2008 and 2009 and other affiliated people for the weekend.

The highlight was dune-bashing, a desert staple, especially in cities where there is little else to do. In Doha your weekend options are pretty much dune-bashing or refining more gas. Which is fun, up to a point.

Friday morning our cars (we dune-bashed in 4x4 SUVs) pulled up to the Georgetown apartments. Out of the first car jumped a Qatari man in his late 20s. Dressed in, no joke, a fedora and a vest. In fact, he looked like the bearded version of someone I had seen before...but where...oh wait yup here ya go:
We piled into our SUVs and plowed off into the desert south of Doha. Our driver, I'll call him JT, switched the music from traditional Qatari songs to his Akon mix and we were set. The dunes were untouched - it was almost like skiing fresh powder. Except for you're in a car. Dune-bashing is a lot like a rollercoaster. There's a lot of dread as you drive up, and then you scream like a little girl on the way down. In fact, I took video of just that. Unfortunately, it won't upload to Blogger...

It was hard to get good photos but here are the other two cars in our caravan. They often stayed unnervingly close:

Furaya - From the Archives

Ah, there is nothing like starting a new case that leads me to procrastination. Perhaps it's the anticipation of helping a new client. Or the excitement of a new city to conquer. Most likely, it's the 3,000 pages of reading I just received and am expected to be an expert on by Sunday. In a natural millenial reaction, off to Facebook I go...

I realized I never chronicled my second trip to Lebanon in March. If I've seen you since the, I mostly likely raved about the country, and if I end up in this region after this fall, I may just move myself over there.

This time around, I went with a bunch of colleagues, and our first stop was a two-day ski trip to Furaya. Beirut is right on the Mediterranean, but the mountains don't waste any time in reaching respectable altitudes right outside the city limits. It reminds me a bit of British Columbia, with the mountains descending into the sea. The weekend was replete with more local beer and snowboarding in what turned out to be 75* weather. Apparently most of the laws of nature don't hold in the Middle East. Snow won't melt in Lebanon until Syria tells it to. (Too soon?)
Me boarding in swimtrunks and some members of my then-project team

Back in the DXB

*I'm restarting this blog with a newfound fervor after running into an anonymous reader while Stateside. S/he asked for further reporting on the anomalies that are daily life in the Arabian Gulf. I am happy to oblige.

After nearly two weeks back in DC, seeing friends and family on and off the Hilltop,

I'm back in Dubai. It felt like a dream for the first few days, being back here in this land of unreality, until I spent Friday afternoon at Mall of the Emirates stocking up on supplies. Dubai boasts some 194 nationalities among its expat population. All of them were in front of me at the checkout line at Carrefour.

I forgot that amidst the high-rises, man-made islands and new squadrons of helicopters transporting sheikhs around town, Dubai is a city like any other, full of people just trying to make a living. Some people earn this living by suffering slave-like working hours in the summer heat, and others by siphoning off the never-ending flow of oil from Abu Dhabi.

Yup, from the look of things, my future posts are going to be more orientalist than my past ones.

{That beautiful shot of Healy rising out of the tulip bed is courtesy of Taylor Burkholder's photographic genius}

A Crime of Passion

Dubai has been hit with a series of high-profile crimes as of late, most notably the assassination of a Hamas leader purportedly by Mossad. In all this hubbub, you may have missed the lower profile but no less shocking crime below:

MAN CLAIMS FIANCEE HID BEARD UNDER NIQAB

I love how this is filed under "crime"

"You Can Use The Food Court. Downstairs."

This past month has been the most travel-intensive of my short life. Were I to leave a trail like Family Circus' Jeffy, there'd be so many dotted lines across the Middle East you'd think you were back at the Treaty of Paris, carving up the region for the future colonial successes that were the mandate system. By my count, I've been on 14 flights so far this month with another expected four to come. I think March will be a bit tamer.

I don't mind the flying - my body has become attuned to travelling to such an extent that I've developed a Pavlovian sleep response to the {bing} that signals the plane has reached 10,000 feet. The other reason I don't mind flying so much around the region is that we get access to the airport lounges across the Middle East. Instead of mingling with the masses on unsatisfyingly pleather seats, I spent my hours at a free buffet, sipping hibiscus juice and (thank you Kuwait City!) receiving neck massages.

However, I was rudely awakened from my traveler's dream last night flying back through Cairo to Riyadh. I confidently walked up to the desk at the lounge, presenting my member's card. The lady looked at my card, then her gaze shifted to my flannel shirt, torn jeans and Seattle-style sandals+socks combo (no judging). The skepticism in her eyes betrayed her concierge-trained smile. She politely informed me that my card did not allow me in to this particular lounge and pleasantly stated "You can use the food court. Downstairs."

Never have I felt so bourgeois.

Wadi Mayh

I originally planned my Oman trip to be active, and was going to wake up at 5:30 Friday morning to catch a bus out to the eastern province. But I woke up at noon instead. So I took a cab out into the desert, to Wadi Mayh, maybe 30km outside Muscat.

Wadi Mayh and the surrounding mountains. Or, alternatively, Mars cerca 1750 when water still flowed*

Walking through the Wadi was difficult, as the path is a dry river bed. Eventually, it is but human nature to stop. And look up.


And climb.

*This post is not entirely scientifically accurate

Muscat

It is said that Muscat lies on a narrow strip between the Hajar Mountains and the Gulf of Oman. This past weekend I discovered that this was misleading. There is in fact no space between the mountains and the sea. The Muscatis adapt, however, by building their city amidst the small rocky peaks that pop up everywhere.

The picture below is taken down an alley off of Mutrah High Street, one of the main drags. The ubiquitousness of these outcroppings is such that I could have taken and posted one hundred such photos. But that would be tiring.

In stark contrast to the rest of the GCC that I frequent, Muscat is truly an Arab city. The taxi drivers are Omani, people actually walk on the streets and there is, more than anywhere else I've been, a sense of a native culture. I was surprised to learn a few things about Oman:
It used to be a world power giving Britain a run for its money in naval supremacy through the late 1800s, deriving its wealth from its overseas colony of Zanzibar. In fact, the Sultanate split upon the death of one of the sultans, with one son controlling Oman and the other, Zanzibar and the Tanganyikan mainland.
It used to be Portuguese. Conquered for its ports and as a jumping off point to India, the Portuguese built many forts along the coast, a few of which are pictured below. Oman struggled through civil wars in the middle of this past century, adding to Portugal's consistent and enduring legacy of screwing countries over (#Angola, #Mozambique, #East Timor)
While my main goal for the weekend was getting out of cities and into nature for a change, I did wander around the Muscat's Mutrah corniche Friday night:

and saw the sunset over a remaining Portuguese watchtower:

and saw a spaceship land (seriously, I never figured out what that was):

and fought off pirates:

Musings Update

Ha! I'm getting the bearded reaction I was looking for: a higher "assalaam alaykum" to 'awkward shuffle and eye-contact-avoidance' ratio in greetings from Saudis.

With a ghutra and agal I think I could pass. As long as I don't have to say anything...

Musings on a Whiskered Chin

I'm not growing a beard. I remain adamant that one does not "grow a beard." Such a term implies action, whereas the act of growing a beard is undoubtedly passive. I do not stand in front of the mirror, concentrate, and hope to sprout my stubble - nay, its most unencumbered growth occurs while I am unconscious.

This being said, I performed the key action today that separates the lazy from the bearded. I shaved the outline of what a beard could one day grow into. And this sparked immediate, if somewhat hostile reaction, from our office staff...

Jovi, our office host, upon seeing me this morning: "Mr. Nathan, what happened to your face?"
Me: "Got a haircut and haven't shaved in a bit. Do you like it?"
Jovi (in stride): "No."

...and later, by Ibrahim, one of our drivers...

Ibrahim: "Ah sir, I see you are now mutawwa."

Mutawwa = Religious Police, ie:


I'm gonna give this another day and if I get the same chiding its straight to the barber.

Competitiveness and Its Implications For Saudi Arabia

This week my work in Riyadh was interrupted by the Global Competitiveness Forum - the fourth of its kind and a rather large event. The forum focuses on the global economy in the framework of competitiveness. To explain it in a sentence, competitiveness is attempting to make the pie bigger, as opposed to competition, which seeks to get each party a bigger slice of the pie (these terms may end up in [Jabberwocky]).

I was treated to some thought provoking panels on the economic recovery (including the CEO of Blackstone), a talk by Michael Dell, a lecture by Michael Porter and the celebrated appearance of Tony Blair (who stood us up the first time because he had a meeting with the King...):


All in all the Saudis proved gracious hosts and are doing very well in many competitiveness rankings (they've moved from 67 to 13 in "ease of doing business" over the past three years). Times they are a-changin. Maybe.

Welcome Back To Earth

I was lucky enough last weekend to help host the SFS-Qatar crowd's trip to Dubai. It really takes tourists to help you appreciate the ridiculousness of this emirate. One of my Doha friends ran the Dubai marathon, so we all went out to cheer him on and then partook in Friday Brunch.

Saturday we stood on top of the world after climbing Mt. Everest. Nope. After riding an elevator to the observation deck of the Burj Dubai.

You get in the elevator and there are two buttons:

Might as well say "Ground" and "Space". The elevator ride takes all of 30 seconds and before you know it you are looking north from the Burj out at Dubai:

You can then walk around and look south towards the Burj Al Arab and the Palm Jumeirah:

Yup. It's tall. And when you get back in the elevator and head down, the operator greets you with a hearty "Welcome Back To Earth."

Jabberwocky (I)

This post begins a new series exploring the muddled world of consulting jargon. Such slang is not particular to my company, though I hear dialects do form, but is common across many firms and business schools. Slang is particularly clever, and particularly useless, when borrowed from other realms of use.

In my first few weeks as a consultant, I came across a few phrases that I abhorred, or at least could not figure out. An example:

Jargon: "Let's bake it in."
Usage: "That's a great piece of research. Let's bake it into section 4 to complete the story."
Meaning: To use
Realm of legitimate use: Confectionary
Justification for using jargon: None

The spur for this post came from a conversation I had today about setting up a meeting. At no point was the word "meeting" used. Instead I was asked:

Person: "What's your bandwidth like tomorrow?"
Me: "What?"
Person: "Your bandwith? Tomorrow?"
Me: "I use DSL?"
Person: "When are you free tomorrow?"
Me: "Oh. 2pm."

To translate that conversation, let us use the framework from before:

Jargon: "Bandwidth"
Usage: "What's your bandwidth tomorrow? We've got a client coming into the office."
Meaning: Free time
Realm of legitimate use: Information and Communications Technology. Should not be used to categorize humans.
Justification for using jargon: None/To sound baller?

Oops, I've got to run. My bandwidth is limited tonight and I've got to bake this new deck into my workstream.

Quality of Life Index

International Living Magazine came out with its Quality of Life Index last week, ranking 194 countries on cost of living, culture, comfort, security and a few other indicators. Below are a few selected entries:

1. France - apparently France is awesome. I think it's unemployment handouts alone account for this ranking
2. Australia
3. Switzerland
...
7. USA
The OECD fills out the top 25.

Then things get a bit more interesting:
140. North Korea
141. United Arab Emirates

Looks like I should go vacation in Pyongyang.

*This ranking is a bit skewed for my situation. I'm sure the UAE fell due to poor freedom indicators and human rights abuses, most of which don't apply to me (see previous posts "Justice Fail" and "Justice Fail II". My quality of life is actually pretty good right about now. Although I'm stressing about whether I'm going to spend tomorrow at the beach or the pool...

Justice Fail II

...and this is where I live.

Apparently torture is cool, if you know the right people:

Justice Fail

not sure if i should be posting this..

but if you were thinking about visiting Dubai, here's one reason you may not want to.

PS: I don't read huffpost

MSFS Goes to Saudi

Some Gtown MSFS students are spending a week in Saudi and blogging about their impressions: http://saudiarabia2010.blogspot.com/2010/01/flight-arrival-in-riyadh.html

"After some awkward moments in the immigration line when we were allowed to cut in front of hundreds of people standing in complete silence..." they write as they get used to being first-class citizens. I bet by week's end they'll have a hard time remembering exactly why we value equality so highly...

What is Consulting?

I was peppered with this question whilst in the States. A good question, and one that I couldn't really answer. So, I decided to provide an illustrative example instead. I hope that the following "A Day in the Life" format will help you understand just what consulting is:

7:50 am - Consult alarm clock. Hit Snooze.

8:00 am - Re-consult alarm clock. Get ready for work.

8:25 am - Consult kitchen cabinet for breakfast options.

8:45 am - Implement action plan for arriving at work.

9:00 am - Research things.

11:00 am - Consultation call with team leader in Saudi Arabia.

1:00 pm - Lunch / Social consultations with co-workers.

2:00 pm - General consulting activities which can include but are not limited to: drawing on whiteboards, creating spreadsheets, the use of strategy frameworks.

5:30 pm - Create Powerpoint deck consolidating previous research and consulting activities. Add pretty colors.

7:15 pm - I make a really significant impact, and get home by 7:15.

I hope that was illuminating. For more on consulting, you may want to check out THIS INFORMATIVE VIDEO.

Back in the DXB

After an epic airplane adventure, I got back to Dubai a couple nights ago to find the Burj Dubai under attack! From bailout money. For months now we've been speculating as to what exactly Abu Dhabi got in return for its $10 billion gift to service Dubai World's debt. Rumors ranged from control of Emirates Airlines to a shift in the border between the two city-states. And when Sheikh Mohammed unveiled the Burj as the Burj Khalifa (named after Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, President of the UAE and ruler of Abu, we all knew. That's got to be a major blow to Sheikh Mo's ego. But it's still the tallest building in the world so he'll take it.

I wasn't sure what my reaction would be to being back in Dubai, after spending a couple weeks with so many old friends. But it's like being back to normal. I enjoy my 8-minute walking commute to work and like that my office is located on a college campus where there's always people milling about.***! And the cashier at the Indian place where I get lunch three days a week asked me how my break was and accurately counted the length of my vacation. I need to find more diverse lunch options...

I also came back to find that I have a case! I'm not yet privy to the level of confidentiality of the case so I'm not going to write anything about it just yet, suffice it to say I'll be spending the next two months in beautiful, sunny Maui! nope. Bali! nope. Saudi Arabia!

***!Our office is adjacent to the University of Wollongong Dubai. APPARENTLY this is the school in the UAE that our favorite would-be-terrorist-underwear-Nigerian-bomber-man went to school. I probably ate in the same food court as him. Blows my mind.