Back from the Gulf

It was a long and bumpy road, but I finally jumped through all the right bureaucratic hoops to visit three countries in the Gulf: Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman. It was exhausting toting two small children across three countries in ten days, and most of my time revolved around my family rather than sightseeing, but I was able to form at least a general picture about these countries.

Bahrain doesn't feel like a country; it feels like an economic enterprise. I had a rather unique vantage point, because my hotel was located deep in the machinery of this booming economic engine. On the way there, Bahrain's impressive skyline of soaring skyscrapers and five-star hotels receded farther and farther behind us. The GPS finally turned me onto a side street and then started to go crazy. We were soon lost in a maze of crowded one-way streets, lined by cramped shops and salons and coffee shops. The chaotic sidewalks were crowded with diversity: Filipina women in trendy clothes carrying shopping bags, a North African family eating pizza, Indians carrying sacks of groceries home. Every once in a while an Arab man in a white dishdashah robe would drift through the crowd like a ghost, or a covered woman would drive past in an SUV. I knew that a vast proportion of the population in Bahrain consisted of foreign workers, but it was still remarkable and disorienting actually being in this upside-down universe where foreign workers do most of the work. I don't think I ever heard Arabic spoken.

My 20 month-old son, who is possibly one of the finest diplomats the United States currently has in the Middle East, helped us befriend our Filipino and Indonesian hotel staff. Every morning when I went to breakfast, the waiters would sweep him off. I would catch glimpses of him being carried around hallways, sitting with employees in back offices, or sitting on a stool behind the check-in counter. One time he vanished, and I went upstairs to the balcony overlooking the lobby. I literally found him seated like an emperor on this giant golden throne that was part of the decor, with hotel staff standing on either side of him. When they weren't too busy spoiling my son rotten, I talked with some of them and heard their stories. They were so drawn to my son because they missed their own families (all of them had families), who were hundreds of miles away in their home countries. They traveled home to see their families once a year.

Our sightseeing included criss-crossing Bahrain in a rental car, going to the beach, visiting a nature reserve, exploring downtown, and going to the mall. We also visited the Bahrain National Museum, which was interesting because it teaches visitors about aspects of Bahraini life and culture--without mentioning the foreign workers who comprise half the population. Bahrain's wealth make the country a stark contrast to Jordan. Oil money was evident in the spectacular shopping malls and the stunning architecture of its skyscrapers.

Kuwait was much the same. Again, Kuwait didn't feel like much of a country to me; although Kuwait City is huge, it feels like an isolated outpost that exists solely to facilitate the oil business. After the second Lamborghini roared past our taxi on the way to the hotel, I thought, "Dude, that's great for you, but you still have to live in Kuwait." We only spent a full day in Kuwait (and spent much of that time in the hotel because the kids were exhausted), but we made it down to the beautiful waterfront corniche and part of downtown. I'm used to seeing American franchises in the Middle East, but I was shocked at the sheer number of them in Kuwait. Everything was American. The most surreal thing about Kuwait was wrapping my mind around the notion that Kuwait was the victim of a devastating invasion. When most people think about war, it's remote and foreign to our experience--it's something that happens in alien, far-off places unlike ours. So it's shocking and a little disorienting to see how "normal" Kuwait is, and to realize that war is a tragedy that strikes ordinary people in ordinary places.

Oman was the real treasure on this trip. I didn't know anything about the country (how often do you hear about Oman in the news?), but we discovered a vibrant country that has a distinct cultural heritage. Oman has oil, but not nearly as much as the other Gulf countries. It consequently lacks the extravagance and waste that make cities like Dubai so notorious. The government has been promoting economic diversification and weaning itself off foreign labor. This was the most striking contrast with Bahrain and Kuwait; everywhere we went, we saw--believe it or not--Omanis. It was a relief to be able to speak Arabic again. Oman is also rugged and beautiful. We spent most of our time around Musqat, but we did venture through the mountains towards Nizwa, which serves as a base camp for adventurers. We explored Al-Hoota cave, which is supposedly one of the largest cave complexes in the world. This is a country we definitely want to come back to when the kids are older.