As I write, time (as well as memory) flies fast and furious and I am left wishing I had taken more notes. I do wonder if our experiences would be richer had it not been for traveling during Ramadan.

Oman: a country for nature lovers, with cliff side hiking on Jebel Akhdar, amazing geology/fossils , snorkeling amongst brilliantly colored and shaped fish. Dolphins leapt, a turtle laid eggs and a little hatchling fought its way to the sea. Admiring the jewel tones of Bimma sinkhole while little fish nibbled at the dead skin on my feet. Lots of history and culture from souks and forts to mosques and a palace (Al Bustan) that now is a luxurious hotel. And food—my fave breakfast item was “upma”, a semolina dish mixed with savory bits, liberally laced with lemongrass, ginger and spices. Originally an Indian dish, it is very popular in Oman.

Dubai: Crazy. Egotistical. Conspicuous consumption like nowhere else. Thorsten Veblen is turning in his grave. Ok, I have to admit, I loved the audacity of its “dare to dream big” architectural message but I wonder at what cost to the environment and the huge numbers of immigrants needed to build the modern pyramids and Great Walls of Dubai.

UAE seemed as if waiting to grow up and be glamorous like Dubai. Lots of empty space to cover to reach Abu Dhabi. Mini sandstorm along the way. Not as sparkly or driven as Dubai but with a fair number of startling architectural wonders new and old. My fave: the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, a blindingly beautiful wonder of white marble, gold and semiprecious gem inlaid floors, columns and domes—and glorious chandeliers.

F1? Whatever!

Qatar—holy cow, I thought Dubai had money but Qatar has left its simple pearl and fishing past waaaaay in the past as it has leapt ahead, creating a gorgeously constructed and well planned use of marvelous buildings and common spaces. Built for the mass of tourists expected for the World Cup 2022, it has a more sensible buildout than any of the other Arab countries visited. I’ve been reminded that for all its beauty there was a huge human cost for the immigrant laborers working under very harsh conditions. Despite this, staying in the heart of charming old Souk Waqif is still etched in my heart.

Bahrain, quite likely the only country I will ever have to pass through immigration on a causeway, surrounded by water. F1? What’s thaaaat?!

Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, was not as filled with skyscrapers as I thought and it seemed like you drive a long way before you could find places to make a U-turn to head in the direction you really wanted to go. More trash flying around here than other countries and I don’t know if there’s a correlation but I also noticed toilets were not as well kept up as in the other nations. Weird observation. I know.

My fave moments: finding peridot at Al Waba Crater and the mystical feel of walking at night around the glorious rock stacks where we stayed just outside of Al Ula town. Oh and seeing the world’s largest mirrored building, Al Maraya Center, was quite intriguing, both reflecting yet also becoming one with the natural world around it. An architectural marvel.

I really hadn't planned on doing a tour in the middle east, but after the Globerider tour in Africa, and this being Helge's last tour before retirement, I decided I had to go. It's been even more interesting than i had imagined.

I was impressed with the beauty of Oman and how very little litter there was. I'm a hydrogeologist, so rocks are pretty exciting to me. And since the geology is quite different from where I live, I've been in rock heaven. Swimming in a sinkhole - another activity I never thought I'd do. Having fish nibble at my feet in that sinkhole, yep, another first.

Qatar, UAE, and Bahraine were a bit overwhelming for me. I grew up in a town of 5000, so being in a big city on a motorcycle was somewhat of a challenge. The architecture was quite fascinating, and new. Even cities on the west coast of the US now seem rather dated to me.

In Saudi Arabia on the last day of Ramadan, Aaron met some people in a little town who when invited all of us in for tea and snacks. The hospitality of that group was wonderful! As was the food, tea, and conversation. After that, we were given a tour of several places in the town.

In Jubbah, we visited a UNESCO site with several different periods of rock art. It was interesting to see the differences in the different ages of the artwork. Wish I could draw that well!

One thing that has impressed me in the middle east is all the public artwork. a lot of round abouts have a sculpture in the center. And of course the people. They're very friendly and quite interested in our journey and where we're from.

It was a lovely ride to Jubbah on Thursday morning, with perfect temperatures and scenery that virtually screamed Saudi Arabia.  Jubbah is a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its rock art.  Some of the carvings going back to the neolithic era.  I found it quite interesting how art from differing ages could be discerned and there was even a rock with an Arabic inscription from about 800 AD where you could tell an iron tool was used as the lines were all of equal size.  Leaving Jubbah, we could have back tracked to Hail on paved roads, but our small crew decided to take the gravel road shortcut.  The road was mostly rough, but it did have a bit too much sand for my liking, making the bike move around uncomfortably.  Helge and Erik seemed to relish the sand while Carol wasn’t so keen.  Soon her bike, “Zeeba”, took a little nap.  She got back on the bike and rode a bit further, but she was soon overcome with exhaustion.  I admit I am the same, I found riding in the sand to be very tiring.  I know the theory of riding fast enough that you kind of plane over the sand, using your feet to steer and letting the handlebar move freely in your hands.  Tensing up is the worst thing you can do while riding sand but of course if you’re nervous about it then tensing up is hard to avoid.  Helge came to the rescue by riding Carol’s bike to the asphalt and then taking the chase van back to his sidecar.  It was a pleasure to watch Helge ride Carol’s bike as he simply blasted off while I followed timidly.  He had quite a big grin on when I caught up to him.  Once back on pavement I enjoyed the ride immensely as the sandy dunes spread into the distance and the asphalt curved gently around them.  Once out of the dunes we stopped together to enjoy our box lunches in a shelter and then rode separately to Al Ula.  Just before the hotel there was a sign pointing to Elephant Rock, so I headed down the short gravel road (no sand!) to the rock.  The light was just beautiful during the golden hour before sunset.

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