Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
issue - as seen at the turtle beaches of Ras al-Jinz, where many tourists show a dismal
lack of respect for both the turtles and their environment. The irresponsible use of 4WD
vehicles in 'dune bashing' is another lamentable problem.
Described by one critic as a 'big book, big bore',
Travels in Arabia Deserta
, by CM Doughty (1926) eccentric-
ally describes the author's laborious travels. It nonetheless has a long list of devotees, including TE
Lawrence.
By far the biggest concern created by larger numbers of visitors to the desert is the dis-
carding of rubbish: indeed, for several decades the Arabian Peninsula has been afflicted
by the scourge of plastic bags and tin cans. These are unceremoniously dumped out of car
windows or discarded at picnic sites and can be seen drifting across the desert, tangled in
trees or floating in the sea. Expatriates and many Peninsula Arabs don't feel it is their re-
sponsibility to 'bag it and bin it' - that would be stealing the job, so the argument goes, of
the road cleaner. You can see these individuals on a scooter or even walking in the middle
of summer with a dust pan and brush and a black bin liner, 100km from the nearest vil-
lage. The idea that Arabs have inherited the throwaway culture from the Bedu and can't
distinguish between organic and non-biodegradable is often cited but lacks credibility. The
Bedu know very well that an orange peel, let alone a Coke can, does not decompose in a
hurry in the dry heat of the Peninsula.
The sand cat, sand fox and desert hare have large ears, giving a large surface area from which to release
heat, and tufts of hair on their paws that enable them to walk on blistering desert floors.
The Arab response to litter, like the Arab response to conservation in general, probably
has more to do with a lack of interest in the great outdoors for its own sake. But times are
changing, and school trips to wild places may just be the answer. In UAE, recycling was
made mandatory in 2010 and Masdar City in Abu Dhabi is taking the lead on carbon-neut-
ral living.
GO LIGHT ON LITTER
There's a wonderful tale in
The Thousand and One Nights
that describes the inadvertent chain of devastation
caused by a merchant spitting out his date pip and unknowingly blinding the son of a genie. It may not be imme-
diately apparent to a visitor watching pink and blue plastic bags sailing in the breeze that Peninsula authorities are
making concerted efforts to clean up the countryside. And they have a stiff task: according to some estimates, the
average person uses 300 plastic bags a year, prompting Friends of the Earth Middle East to run a 'Say No to
