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These are recent stories - the rest are in my latest book,"Walking Through Adversity."

Stories about Middle East Trips (1)

Rob bryant
2006-01-09 11:37:03

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personal servant for the next three days. You say it - I do it." It was almost 11 PM so he drove me to my hotel, The Hyatt-Regency-Oman. The roads were lined with palm trees, marble buildings, shrines, mosques, embassies and palatial mansions owned by Ambassadors, Sheiks and oil owning multi-millionaires. The hotel looked like it should be in Vegas, and other than the MGM Grande, was one of the most luxurious hotels I have ever stayed in. The lobby was massive, the attendants wore Arabic swords, turbans, and tunics. The walls, ceilings, and floors were covered by expensive ornate furnishings like gold, and Persian carpets. The quarters had two rooms and a huge bathroom with a roll-in shower, bathtub, and his and hers sinks. After unpacking, I turned on the TV expecting an Arabic show in local dialect only to turn on the Texas Rangers playing the Boston Red Socks from the other side of the planet compliments of satellite.

You are the oMAN! - Each morning I ate breakfast overlooking the Persian Gulf, then walked along a stone walkway for miles along the gulf. It was a time I could clear my thoughts and get ready for the day, besides after 10 AM, it was much too hot to exercise outside. Each evening I joined USAF high ranking officers, Military Contracting Officers and DynCorp representatives for further business discussions, negotiations, and wonderful dinners of Middle East delights (Oriental, Italian and Omani). The people of Oman are very polite and proper. One must remember to honor their customs or risk offending these delightful people. For instance, you always shake with the right hand (extending the left hand is an insult), and never stare into a single woman's eyes, etc. I was briefed upon many customs before leaving the US. The hotel staff was terrific and asked me many times if there was anything that they could do to make my stay here "memorable." One evening we drove through Oman to see the embassies, mosques (some were enormous costing over $15 Million). Palm trees and grass, requiring mass amounts of water, lined the roads. It looked like a green carpet ride into the desert. Where roads met, there were round-abouts with large marble mosaics with minute detail and Arabic writings and art. All overpasses had expensive tiles with camel, Arabic or desert designs. All signs and buildings in the Middle East have Arabic and English on them indicating the impact the West has had here over the years. The weekends here are Thursday and Friday and all local businesses close from 1-4PM due to the extreme temperatures which can exceed 55C (over 135F).

Copyright by Rob Bryant

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