Dubai Desert

Today was our desert tour -- much more interesting than touring Dubai City. So, what I have learned:  Only 18% of the Dubai residents are citizens. All the  rest are foreign permanent residents, mostly on work permits. If you are born here, you are only a citizen if your father (or maybe your mother) was a citizen. If you lose your job, you have to go home, even if you have never been to your home country. So far I have met Filipinos, Indonesians, Pakistanis, Indians and an Omani, but not a single citizen. Note that the country is UAE: United Arab Emirates, which was formed in 1971 when Dubai, Abu Dhabi and four other emirates joined together to make the UAE.

Also, I was in Oman today! Another country to check off the list!  If you look at a map of the UAE penninsula, you will see that Oman and UAE have non-contiguous pieces.  As one of the guides said, "The Bedouins did not have a concept of property lines. The British had to teach them about it, and even then it didn't work out exactly as they had planned."

I have seen the sand dunes of the desert. I have stood at the top of a dune and seen nothing but sand dunes to the horizon in all directions. It is truly amazing. We drove straight across the desert, and the wind erased our tracks behind us.