One great thing about living here is the availability of carpets, pottery and furniture we could never find, let alone afford, in the US. Here are some of our Kutanya plates from Turkey, two rectangular rugs of Persian design, and a runner made in Kazakhstan. We've also purchased a coffee table and bar (yes, for wine and spirits!) from Kashmir (the region India & Pakistan are fighting over) and an end table from India. My only concern is getting this stuff back to Tucson!
As the foggy nights and dusty days continue, our beach days have pretty much stopped. So last Saturday, we took a drive through Oman to the mountain town of Hatta, UAE. It was a part of the UAE we had no idea even existed. The topography reminded us of home in Tucson, except for the CAMELS in the road! We had lunch at the Hatta Fort Hotel.
If you look over the bridge to the left, there is a group of low-rise buildings in the foreground just beyond the trees. We live in one of those buildings!
After temps in the mid 90's and some nasty dust and sandstorms last week, the UAE is now being hit by torrential rains, high winds and severe thunderstorms. For the past 3 days, between 2 and 3 inches of rain have caused widespread flooding, power outages, and a few deaths. We actually got sent home from work for a rain day!