Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
People
The Western stereotype of the male Peninsula inhabitant has changed over the last century.
Where once he was characterised as gaunt, austere in habit and fierce of temper, he's now
portrayed as rich and extravagant; invariably overweight; an owner of camels, multiple
wives, many children and several cars - in that order - and robed in sheet and teacloth.
Male youths are portrayed as wiry and neurotic, wearing Semtex vests. Women only fea-
ture in relation to the
hijab
(veil) debate and in cartoons they appear as indefinable black
shapes.
These stereotypes are thankfully being exposed for what they are by the growing multi-
culturalism of many Western communities and the greater exposure to Arab 'customs and
manners' through the media. Nonetheless, it's worth investigating to what extent any of
these stereotypes retain a grain of truth.
Guests are usually seen to the door, or even to the end of the corridor or garden. Traditionally this repres-
ents the safe passage of guests across your tribal territory. If you have Arab visitors, make sure you do the
same!
Lifestyle
Drive through the suburbs of Peninsula cities and you'll see domed villas with spangled
concrete that glistens in the sun. Walk through the gold souqs and you'll see women with
Gucci handbags, buying diamonds and pearls. Park outside the Ritz-Carlton in Manama or
the Burj al-Arab in Dubai and you'll be embarrassed to be driving a Toyota Echo.
Undoubtedly, huge private fortunes have been made in the oil rush and building expansion.
But that isn't the whole picture. Universal education and the mass media have increased
expectations, and people who were content with one floor now want two. Cement and steel
prices have doubled in a decade and the burgeoning Arab 'middle class' frets over securing
loans to finish the house. If shopping before pay day is anything to go by, most families are
left with little at the end of the month.
The rest of the picture is completed by stepping out of the city altogether. Lives in moun-
tain villages, in desert oases, on the dunes or in coastal fishing villages may seem to have
been little impacted by city incomes, but then you spot the satellite dish attached to the
barasti
(palm frond) walls; the electricity poles marching up the wadis; the communally
owned truck that has allowed settlement to replace nomadic existence. Water, electricity,
roads, education and healthcare: this is the real wealth of the region today and it is remark-
ably evenly spread given the challenges of geography and topography.
