Church in the Desert

100,000!  Can you picture that many people?  Sanford stadium holds just over 92,000 people.  The largest city in my home state doesn't even have 40,000 people in it!  Cobb county schools has about 106,000 students.  That's a lot of students!  That is 50% more than the number of people living on American Samoa.  20% of the population of Wyoming, and almost as many people as living on the US Virgin Islands.

The point is, 100,000 people is a ton of folks.  Now picture that there are over 100,000 expatriate Catholics in one place.  Must be St. Peter's in Rome, right?  Nope. St. Peter's holds about 60,000 people at one time!  St. Pat's in NYC?  St. Pat's is the largest Catholic Church in the US.  It only holds about 2,500 people at a time though.  Guess again.  Alright, I know you don't have to guess.  St. Joseph's Cathedral in Abu Dhabi, UAE is home to over 100,000 expat Catholics. 

One of the first things we considered before embarking on this little sojourn was the issue of worship.  We excluded a number of places because of the overt anti-Christian and specifically the anti-Catholic sentiment found in those places.  We wanted our kids to be safe, but to be in a place where their faith might have to be a bit of a struggle.  The founders of the Church ALL had to struggle with their expressions of their faith.  I don't mean that they came by thier faith in a difficult manner, but more that they were persecuted for their beliefs and practice of their faith.  It is indisputable that the early Christians were having a rough time of things.  It isn't really know how many people were persecuted and martyred for their unerring FAITH.

We certainly didn't want our kids to face a life and death decision about their faith, but we wanted them to see a glimpse of the struggle our fore-fathers faced. (How's that for alliteration?)  To me, it seemed that one such place would be an Arab nation.  Arab nations are typically dominated by adherents to Islam.  As far as I have seen, in the States, not very tolerant of any other religious tradition, faith, or following.  We knew, after research, that other religions were tolerated here in the UAE.  We also knew there would be a large faith-based community that believes as we do.  We expected that we would be challenged by Muslims on all fronts, trying to convert us from our infidel ways.  (Please insert a chuckle here).  So far.... not one person has tried to convert me or any of my family.

The overwhelming response of the Muslims I have met is inquiry.  Asking what I believe.  They share what they believe and try to explain as best they can.  The language barrier is quite significant.  I explain Christianity and, specifically, Catholicism as best I can.  Did you read the part about the significant language barrier?  Every, and I mean EVERY, Muslim I have met is concerned with how I, as a Christian and as an American, view them.  They are exceptionally concerned with how Muslims as a whole are perceived by the West.  I think that is why they share so much about their religion.  Not once have I, nor Christians, nor Catholics been denounced and sentenced to Hell because of my/our beliefs.  They accept that we believe differently. 

That being said... on more than one occaision, my beautiful, peaceful wife has been told she is going to rot in Hell for practicing idolatry.  We, as Catholics, have been called whore worshippers.  That happened in the good ole U S of A.

Did We, or Didn't We

Well we wanted to travel and do a bit of sightseeing.  Oman borders the UAE.  There are a number of places we can go to cross into Oman.  We decided to go through Al Ain.  It is close enough (hour-and-a-half) and just across the border there are supposed to be a number of things to see. 

We figured that we would go to a couple of the old forts, explore the ruins of some others, and go to Wadhi Mudbah.  The wadhi is supposed to have a waterfall that pools beneath the cliff.  Full of salt and supposed to be beautiful.  We planned to go up Jebel Hafeet in Al Ain after we finished in Oman.

I'll tell you about the car rental later, but suffice it to say that we ended up hiring a driver to take us to Oman.  He speaks English!  Figured that we could get to where we wanted to go without any trouble.  HA!  We told our driver that we wanted to cross into Oman and go to these places.  He said that would be no problem.  --Here's an aside -- If you hear "no problem" you had better rethink what that actually means.

Our driver gets us on the road.  Everyone has their own seat!  I love a minivan.  Off we go.

We get to Al Ain and decide to get something to eat prior to actually crossing the border.  Did I mention this was a Friday morning?  Friday is the Holy Day here.  NOTHING was open to get a snack!  We even stopped at a 24 hour McDonald's.  They told us they didn't open until 1 in the afternoon.  Uh, excuse me?  What part of open 24 hours got lost in the translation?  We finally stopped at a Burger King attached to a gas station. 

So, we eat, we use the restrooms, we get back in the car.  Off to the forts and the wadhi!  YAY!

This is our first border crossing since we arrived.  Uh, this border crossing is for the locals only.  It apparently is a soft border and they cross it regularly so there is no hassle for them.  This is found between the US and Canada where the Indian Reservations overlap the States and Canada.  No big deal, we'll go to the next crossing.

Our driver gets us to the border no problem (the literal meaning of the phrase).  He used to live in Al Ain so he knows his way around real well.  We pull up to the border and he parks. I have to get out with him.  This seemed a bit odd because all the other vehicles were merely driving to the gate and producing passports to cross.  He takes me to the guard.  They have a conversation in Arabic which I do not understand, but I'm patient.  The guard asks me why I want to go to Al Bureymi (one of several spellings).  I tell him our sightseeing plans.  He nods and says we need to go inside the immigration office.  No problem.

Inside there is another conversation between the officials and our driver that I, again, don't understand.  The official asks why I want to go to Oman and I tell him.  He smiles and tells me that for my family and I to go to Oman there is no problem (literal meaning).  The trouble is our driver cannot.  It seems our driver does not have his passport with him.  His company holds his passport to ensure he does not flee, I mean leave, the country until he has satisfied his contractual obligation.

Let me get this straight....  You can drive me to Oman for sightseeing - no problem?  He can't leave the country because he doesn't have possession of his passport. 

The official gives him a small slip of paper that apparently allows him to enter the "neutral zone" just beyond the immigration gates of the UAE, but not actually in Oman.  In this area our driver secures a taxi for us.  So, we have to pay the taxi to drive us to the wadhi, the forts, and the ruins.  We haggle a bit and agree on a price.  EVERYONE, out of the minivan, into the taxi built for five.  Cooper gets to sit on Sue's lap!  Yay!

We get in the cab and he starts driving.  I tell him where we want to go.  We figured we would start with the wadhi.  "No go wadhi, the wadhi dry."  I'm hearing shades of another song..... drove my cabbie to the wadhi, but the wadhi was dry.....

Ok, no wadhi.  Let’s go to the forts.  We are driving at this point and I ask if we are actually in Oman.  He waves out of the left side of the cab and says "Oman!"  He waves out of the right side and says "UAE!"  Ok, are we still in the "neutral zone?"  I nod and tell him OK, but when will we be in Oman?  The waving again: "Oman! UAE!"  Good.....

Sue asks if we are in Oman.  I look at her with that look you give crazy people.  I wave and say "Oman! UAE!"  The cabbie nods.

I ask if we can go to Al Hellal.  It is one of the forts that is supposed to be a must see.  He looks at me.  I tell him we want to see the forts.  He points at a building and says "fort!"  Uh, color me crazy, but it sure looked like a carpet shop to me. (This will happen more than once.)

Picture this; we are driving, who knows where, in a taxi.  We can't seem to get where we want to go.  ...but the wadhi was dry... I figured, maybe he is taking us to Al Hellal.  We certainly don't know how to get there.

Time for another question!  I asked something like how many people live in Al Bureymi.  His response?  "No English."  I think we figured that out already.  At this point, I am not feeling the love.  I ask him to take us back to the border check point.  He waves and says......  Drum roll please...... "Oman! UAE!"  I got that, did you?

Neither Sue nor I can figure out where we are, where we are going, and what bloody country we are in!  We've been driving for about a half-hour or so and I REALLY want to know where we are and where we are going.

Oh look.... do you see it?  It appears to be a border crossing!  We are going to Oman!  It looks like we are going to see the sights we wanted to.  Well, except the wadhi...dry and all.  We are getting a bit excited!  The kids will get new stamps for their passports!  WOOT!

Uh-oh. It's not the crossing into Oman.  That area we were driving in did seem kind of huge for a neutral zone.  It's the UAE.  ??????????

Ok, ride's over.  We are now back where we started.  I think.

Yep, we are back.  There is our driver.  He stayed because we hadn't paid him yet!

Now, how does one get back into a country from which one did not officially leave?  Back to the immigration officer.  He asks if we had a nice visit and offers me a fresh date.  Man!  Fresh dates ROCK!  They are much better than any of the packaged ones I have had.  The official called it the desert's candy.

He finally looks at our passports.  This is the first time ANYONE looked at our passports.  He notices that I didn't get an exit stamp.  I figure here comes the trouble.  Left and came back with no official documentation.  Nope.  He shrugs and says OK.

I am a bit perplexed.  No it is important to note that he is not treating this lightly.  He is still doing his job.  This particular border is a "soft" border.  It is sort of like what the US and Canada shared for so long.  No need for entry and exit stamps.  No need for visas.

What is the moral of the story?

The immigration officials all did exactly what they were supposed to do.  They told us how to get in and out and told us it would be ok.  It was ok.  We got into Oman (I think) and back to the UAE.  No problem (literal meaning).

The cabbie in the neutral zone. He did what he was supposed to do (I think).  He just didn't do what we wanted him to do.

Now, to the driver; remember that slip of paper?  That was like a hall pass in high school.  He got to sit in the "neutral zone" and wait for us.  When we officially left the "NZ" he handed his paper to the checkpoint guard and got in the next line for formal entry to the UAE.  We clear that in short form (soft border).

Be sure that your driver is allowed to leave the country if that is what you would like to do.  Ask if he has his passport with him.  If not, find another driver.

Now we are off to Jebel Hafeet.  Jebel Hafeet is the highest mountain in the UAE.  Yes it is a mountain.  I'll let Jack tell you about Jebel Hafeet.  He took some great pictures.

Before I close I want everyone reading this to face north.  Wave to the left and say "Oman!"  Wave to the right......"UAE!"

To answer the question... I guess we did.

Bye for now.

The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

At the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque they have a traditional Arabic design with egg shaped domes. It was a lot of fun going. We drove up in a taxi, and to see in it up close like that is just breathtaking. We can see it from my rugby pitch and it is still magnificent from a distance. It looks almost photo shopped into the scenery. They have a lot of pillars, about 1000 outside, and about 20,000 marble panels inlaid with several different semi-precious stones. There are also 96 pillars inside laid with Mother-of-Pearl. All the marble in the outside walkways is Greek marble. At the top of the pillars outside are golden colored palm trees. The palm trees are not real gold, however the gold that you see at the top of the domes is 25k gold. In the middle of it is a courtyard where the Muslims that do not fit inside pray. The courtyard is laid with Italian marble which does not heat up in the heat of the day. The interior has two women's prayer rooms, each holding 2000 women, and one men's prayer room, holding around 7100 men. The main prayer hall is the men's, and it has the largest chandelier in the world along with the largest hand made carpet in the world. The women's prayer rooms' carpets have been made to reflect the design on the ceiling.

The building started construction in 1986 and is still under construction to this day. The first prayer in this building was in 2007. Outside the main building is a smaller building that we were not allowed to take pictures of.  It is where the man who founded the UAE is buried. The Mosque is a Muslim holy place, so the women have to wear abayas and sheilas to cover thier body and hair. I have no more to write, so here are some pictures! All photos except for the top photo were taken by us on our visit.