Stories and photos from my time living in the Middle East

[BehindBlueI's]

Probably tonight.

 

[MontereyC6]

This thread is a great read! Thanks for sharing and keep it up!

 

[Tyler-The-Piker]

Probably tonight.

Please do! I'd rather be reading this thread while the wife watches TV

 

[BehindBlueI's]

I flew into Oman very briefly, and the only noteworthy thing that stuck with me was at the airport. Their version of TSA is guys in fatigues with rifles. It is much more intimidating, to say the least. When I was flying back out I went through the metal detector and set it off. I instinctively walked back through and began going through my pockets because that's what you do when you set off a metal detector. The guard on the other side, who looked like a heavy version of Fidel Castro with an AK slung over his shoulder, jerked his thumb at me to come back through. I hesitated because I wasn't sure he meant for me to immediately come back through and it took my by surprise. He apparently recognized the deer in the headlights look I was giving him and changed to the circular "come here" hand movements we use. I walked back through and set the metal detector off again, of course, as I hadn't changed anything. Our "conversation" went like this, in Arabic:

Guard: You're American, right?
Me (nervous at the question): Yes.

The guard then motioned for me to put my hands up, which I did. He then "patted me down", which included exactly three pats on both sides of my rib cage. He then gave me the thumb jerk movement to move on and started looking at the next guy. That was it. I was stunned. When I got back to Qatar I told my friends that I could have had a pocket full of grenades and an AK taped to my spine and he wouldn't have noticed them. I don't know if their security is just that lax, but I strongly suspect I was "reverse profiled" for lack of a better term, deemed not a threat, and sent on my way. It was very unnerving, though, as I was still very new to the region and hadn't figured much out yet.

Bahrain:

I wasn't in Bahrain very long, either. I stayed in the California Hotel. Yes, seriously. I generally loved breakfast at any Arabic place, but quickly began to dread eating at the complimentary breakfast there. They played "Hotel California" on a constant loop. No other songs. No breaks. As soon as Hotel California was over, another version of Hotel California would start. Studio version, live version somewhere, live version somewhere else, studio version, etc. etc. It ruined The Eagles for me for a long time.

Traffic was suck-tastic. I heard on the radio news program that the amount of cars in Bahrain had reached the point they could not physically fit on the roadway at the same time if all of them were out and about. I don't recall the exact figure, but it was something like they'd have to be stacked 2.2 deep to fit them all on public roads at one time.

Jordan:

Amman is a really interesting city. It's a mixture of ancient and modern in really odd ways. My picture sharing site is down for maintenance at the moment, but I'll put some photos up tomorrow. There are ancient ampitheaters with the modern city grown up right next to them, for example. My guide and eventual friend there was a Chechnyan guy named Nabil. Nabil was something of a fixer. He knew how to operate the bureaucracy of the government, how to help you avoid being fleeced, where a small bribe (baksheesh) could prevent a larger bribe later. My wife and I probably couldn't have gotten married without him, as he helped paper over a flaw in our paperwork by fast talking a judge into stamping it, but that's a long story for another day. We became good friends during my time in Jordan and when I tried to pay him for his help with the marriage he refused any payment. I had told him I would pay him what I was going to pay the lawyer we'd hired to help with the paperwork (who was a sucky lawyer, which was why a paper wasn't right), and it was a fairly considerable sum but he flat refused it and made it clear it would be offensive if I pushed the matter any further of him taking money. Nabil was a romantic, and the young lovers struggling against the red tape and bureaucracy sort of sucked him in and he was simply amazing in getting things done. He used to show up complaining his back hurt pretty often and had finally admitted his mattress was worn out and sagging in the middle, but he needed his money to keep his son in college. So, I bought a mattress and box spring. I asked him to drive me to pick up something I bought, and he did. I told him it was jewelry for my wife, as there was a jewelry store next to the furniture store. When we got there I told him I'd bought a mattress set and his only choice was to accept it or throw it away, as I couldn't take it on the plane and we were flying out tomorrow...and no refunds. He teared up and I teared up and we just sort of stood there as a blubbery mess for a minute. Nabil was a romantic at heart, no doubt about it.

 

[MRockwell]

Thanks for sharing your experiences BBI.

Closest I've ever gotten to that area is watching PBS. Your version is much better.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Bahrain:

I wasn't in Bahrain very long, either. I stayed in the California Hotel. Yes, seriously. I generally loved breakfast at any Arabic place, but quickly began to dread eating at the complimentary breakfast there. They played "Hotel California" on a constant loop. No other songs. No breaks. As soon as Hotel California was over, another version of Hotel California would start. Studio version, live version somewhere, live version somewhere else, studio version, etc. etc. It ruined The Eagles for me for a long time.

Reminds me of Fleetwood Mac. When the wife and I had just married, we were living in my bachelor apt. Shortly after our wedding we got a new downstairs neighbor. One who apparently stayed at her boyfriend's regularly. She was a Fleetwood fan and had her 7:30 alarm programmed to play her favorite FM CD. Unfortunately for us she wouldnt turn it off for the days she was at her boyfriends, so it would fire anyway, and run until the timer ran out. LOUDLY. Not necessarily loud enough to wake us from a dead sleep, but if we were on the edge of sleep it would roust us from our slight slumber.

Many mornings we would awaken to Fleetwood Mac played softly through our floor. 12 years later, we still yell "time to get up!" randomly when we hear FM songs.

 

[T.Lex]

12 years later, we still yell "time to get up!" randomly when we hear FM songs.

Bow chikka bow bow

 

[yote hunter]

Cool story's , waiting for more and more pics.

 

[bradmedic04]

 

[BehindBlueI's]

That's in Amman. Note the ancient amphitheater and how it just sort of nestles in among the modern city.

That's Nabil, and that's the amphitheater. There are gov't guides there that approach and ask if you have any questions, and if you do they charge for a guided tour. Nabil told me to tell them no, and if they asked that we were friends, and we could visit for free as only guided tours are charged. Apparently you pay regardless if you use their guide or bring your own. Nabil showed me how there were marked spots on the stage that if you stood there the acoustics of the amphitheater carried your voice throughout. It was really neat. He could stand in one place and talk normally and I could hear him plain as day from half way up the stairs, but if he moved a few big steps left or right I couldn't hear him any longer.

This is where I stayed in Jordan. It was less flashy and new then Qatar, much more subdued. Jordan isn't as wealthy, but it's been built up longer, too, so it has more older residential areas. Things were more spread out, at least from where I stayed, and you couldn't walk to any stores. The houses here had all the modern utilities we're used to, but fairly close by was a bunch of what we'd call row houses. The streets were very narrow and the traffic was very limited just due to the physical size of the streets. Those houses did not have gas lines, and they cooked using propane stoves. A couple of little stakebed trucks drove through there frequently and sold cylinders of propane. Nabil had a house he rented to Filipino immigrant workers there, and we went and visited with them a few times. They were domestic workers, mostly in hotels, and instead of living in the cramped conditions onsite they'd pooled money to rent the little row house.

More of Amman. This was supposedly the largest flag actually flying from a pole anywhere in the world at the time, but I don't know if that's true. The picture doesn't do it justice, though, it was truly huge. The pole isn't on that building, that building is just in between me and the pole, the pole is on the other side of that hill. The perspective is wonky, but it's bigger than it looks here.

 

[femurphy77]

Glad I took the time to read this, THANKS!!

 

[jamil]

More of Amman. This was supposedly the largest flag actually flying from a pole anywhere in the world at the time, but I don't know if that's true. The picture doesn't do it justice, though, it was truly huge. The pole isn't on that building, that building is just in between me and the pole, the pole is on the other side of that hill. The perspective is wonky, but it's bigger than it looks here.

I think there are plenty of visual cues that viewers can use to see that that flag is damn big. Judging from the closest buildings surrounding, it looks to be close to 3 stories tall and seems to have an aspect ratio of ~2.3:1 so, yeah. Big.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

I think there are plenty of visual cues that viewers can use to see that that flag is damn big. Judging from the closest buildings surrounding, it looks to be close to 3 stories tall and seems to have an aspect ratio of ~2.3:1 so, yeah. Big.

Yeah...but those buildings aren't that close. They make the enormous look only big. They are on a hill that is between me and the flag, not near the base of the flag. It's closer to 10 stories tall than 3 stories.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Here's a photo from the web that gives a bit more perspective:

 

[T.Lex]

My small contribution:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raghadan_Flagpole

It flies a 60-by-30-metre (200 by 100 ft) flag. Although it is a distinctive landmark, the excessive noise created during high winds has resulted in the flag being lowered during periods of bad weather.

 

[Bennettjh]

Cool thread BBI. I'll have to say I didn't know it was that modern in those places. I've heard of those locations but that's not what I had pictured.

Thanks for the info.

 

[indiucky]

Here's a photo from the web that gives a bit more perspective:

If only South Carolina would have the Confederate Battle Flag that big over the State Capital it may still be flying.......

Reporter.."So Rev Sharpton and Jackson....What is your all's stance on that flag flying over the capital?"

Jackson..."Well it was the battle flag of the Confederacy who fought to keep my people in chains but...I mean look at that thing...It's HUGE...It's kind of awesome in a way....You know you can make something so big that it's original intent can be clouded a bit...I mean...What do you think Al?"

Sharpton..."I don't like ants...They can ruin a picnic and I smash them when I can...But those big ants in the sci fi classic "Them"? I think they are kind of cool and their size and awesomeness kind of take away from how annoying they can be on a smaller scale...You do know that the textile mill that made that flag here in SC has a great track record going back to before the civil rights era of hiring minorities.....

Jackson..."That's right Al.....I think the flag should stay..."

Reporter...."Well there you have it folks...According to Rev Sharpton and Jackson...Size does matter..Back to you in New York Jim..."

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Cool thread BBI. I'll have to say I didn't know it was that modern in those places. I've heard of those locations but that's not what I had pictured.

Thanks for the info.

I think that's pretty common. My aunt is a big Starbucks fan, so I sent her a picture of me and Fawad sitting in Starbucks in Doha. She had pictured it as all rubble and bomb scars and it shocked her to see a regular ol' Starbucks there. Qatar is so wealthy there are two Rolex stores in the City Center mall. You'd hate to have to walk the entire length of the mall to buy a Rolex, after all. The mall was 5 floors, IIRC, and had a hockey rink in the center of the bottom floor. You could see the hockey rink from any of the above floors as they'd the area over it open all the way to the top.

Not my picture:

That mall is where I met my wife. She worked at the pharmacy on the floor just above the hockey rink. I've got to start getting ready for work, so that story will have to wait, but the mall itself has over 300 shops and plenty of upper end brands.

Our shops - City Center Doha :: Follow our Vision 2015

That shows a store list. "Good life chemist" is the pharmacy my wife worked at, and is apparently still in business. Also note how many American restaurant chains are there. Two KFC restaurants, because again, why walk away across the mall? Al Tajaz was way better chicken, though. Two Starbucks, which must be new as I only recall one when I was there. Pierre Cardin is still there, I bought a couple suits there until I found out how cheap they were to have tailor made in the souqs.

More later, all I have time for now.

 

[flatlander]

I had my first ever cup of M.E. coffee in that mall! That stuff came in such an itty bitty cup but HOLY CRAP! Felt like a gerbil on crack bouncing around after cup!
Good times.

Bob

 

[woowoo2]

Bahrain:

My only memories of the place are that it was expensive, and that's where I joined Navy federal.
The other land we saw in the region was Fujairah in the U.A.E. and Karachi Pakistan.

Then again, I was on a destroyer and we spent all our time going through the straights.

( Three westpacks, 85'-88' )
[h=1][/h]