Contrasts

I just returned from a short holiday to Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Cairo, Egypt. It was a great experience and since I was far from home for Christmas, going somewhere totally different was a great way to avoid feeling too homesick during the holidays. Both cities were interesting in their own way, and I've been reflecting on what I experienced in both.

Perhaps the most effective way to communicate my impressions of the two cities is to use a “compare and contrast” model. (nerdy, I know, but I am a Social Studies teacher after all!)

	Dubai	Cairo
Architecture	-ultra modern feats of engineering (indoor ski hill, tallest man-made structure in the world, man-made islands in the shape of a palm tree and “the world”, etc) -examples of what one very rich absolute ruler can build with enough man-power and money -a mixture of Islamic and Western styles	-ancient feats of engineering (pyramids, Sphinx, temples, fortresses, etc) -examples of what one very rich absolute ruler can build with enough man-power and money -a mixture of ancient Egyptian, Islamic and Western styles
Transportation Options	-Rolls-Royces, Bentleys, Ferraris, Porsches, BMW’s or Mercedes are de rigeur -new buses and metro system	-a variety of vehicles with multiple scratches on the bumpers given the way traffic works, taxis that have been on the road for a LONG time, horse-drawn carts or camels -old and very dirty buses and metro system
Dress Code	-the latest designer fashions, traditional Emirati dress for men, all manner of appropriate Islamic styles for women -very elegant and stylish	-the latest designer fashions, traditional Egyptian dress for men, all manner of appropriate Islamic styles for women -varies according to economic situation
Garbage	-invisible	-piled in alleys, canals, and gutters
Typical Tourist Boat Experience	-dinner cruise on the Arabian Sea or Dubai creek on a traditional boat called a dhow	-dinner cruise on the Nile River on a traditional boat called a felucca
Unique to the City	-the only “7 star” hotel in the world complete with Rolls Royce pick-up at the airport and your own personal valet to attend to your every need	-collection of ancient artifacts from King Tutankhamen’s tomb
Smoking	-allowed basically everywhere…even some bathroom stalls come equipped with ash trays -shisha pipes are very popular and you can order cigarettes from some restaurant menus	-encouraged by the government. Apparently, the government keeps the price of tobacco very low so that everyone can afford it -if you only smoke shisha, that is considered by some as “giving up smoking”, even though the tobacco is just as strong as cigarettes
Overall Impression	-a fascinatingly “new” city. There is still construction going on all over the city and it has developed in basically a period of ten years -the height of all the buildings in the city is astounding, yet the Burj Khalifah (the tallest man-made structure in the world) rises far above them all. Makes one think of the Tower of Babel!	-a fascinatingly “ancient” city. People find antiquities when they dig in their yards, and there is evidence of ancient Egyptian, Greek and Islamic influence as well as Medieval and the British colonial period. -all of the above plus modern shopping malls with Starbucks and T.G.I. Fridays

Mohammed Ali mosque at the Citadel in Cairo

interior of the mosque

The Sphinx and one of the Giza Pyramids

camel riding in Giza

felucca ride on the Nile

the view from my Cairo hotel balcony (notice the McDonald's billboard)

the interior of the Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai...this is what 7 stars gets you

a view from the observation deck on the 124th storey of the Burj Khalifah.

That's the shadow of the tower you see stretching out below.

indoor skiing at the Mall of the Emirates