More than the Strait of Hormuz...

Unlike the multitude of books and articles on Europe, very little is available to the average reader about the Middle East other than what's newsworthy regarding the war with Iran. There are no writers like Rick Steves (whose excellent travel articles appear regularly in this paper) with tips on the life, culture, and natural wonders of that part of the world. As you might imagine, there are some really good beaches on the Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf, but no one is eager to get in the water. Why, you ask? Because they have more than their share of the world's sharks in those waters. In fact, sharks are so common that in order to let you swim there are places where they have built concrete walls about 75 feet into the ocean, with another wall about 100 to 150 feet connected to these walls at a right angle. There are openings in these retaining walls that are about one foot by three feet laced with iron bars bigger around than your thumb. The result is a safe, wet area where you can frolic. However, I must say that when I went to one such "beach" at Aden, I still didn't feel all that confident that I was safe in the water. Being as the Middle East is largely desert, as an American you would also most likely expect to see a lot of cacti. Guess again. Cacti are native to the New World. You won't see any cacti over there. Another natural phenomenon is the tide in that part of the world. If you like to go to the Gulf of Mexico, you hardly even notice the tide when you are there. That's not the case in the Persian Gulf. While docked at the Iranian oil port of Bandar Moshur, the tide went in and out 20 feet. It was like somebody pulled the plug in the bathtub. In recent years, Americans have gotten casual about Sunday worship services. I've seen people showing up in cutoffs, ratty T-shirts, and sandals. In Muslim countries like those in the Middle East, religious practices are much more carefully observed. On one occasion during the holy month of Ramadan, I was on the island of Bahrain. A couple of friends and I went into a little souvenir shop, browsing for things to take home. I noticed an old-style Coke machine in the back of the shop, where the soft drinks are in ice water. I told the shopkeeper that I would like to have a Coke. He looked at me funny and then pulled a bottle from the ice water, opened it, took my money, and handed it to me. Then he said, "If you want to drink that, you'll have to come to the back of my shop and face away from the street. Otherwise, if the religious police see you, you will be arrested." I sputtered, "But, I'm not a Muslim." He replied, "It doesn't matter. That's the law." I've never forgotten that. I felt like I was having a bootleg beverage as I huddled at the back of the shop, hung my head, and drank my Coke. The Middle East is not a place that gets a lot of American tourists. Most people who have been to that part of the world were either in the military or worked for one of the oil companies. If you get the opportunity to go, it's well worth the trip. Just anticipate the differences. Joe Whalen is a retired marketing researcher who worked for Entergy Arkansas and Flake-Wilkerson Market Insights. His time in the Navy included a tour of duty in the Middle East.