Lets talk Dubai

I recently visited Dubai as part of a stop over destination, Was intrigued to see the place and its various displays of wealth in a land of such harsh conditions.

Well where do i start, Metropolis in the desert it stands out automatically from the flight over thousands of acres of sandy dunes basking in the hot sun on the edge of a large body of water with a meandering creek through it.

I was impressed at the various new builds across the place the money is on obvious show, the musuem in the old market demonstrated how stark the difference is today from a literally tiny fishing village where a self appointed tribal chief would become 'king' and a skyscraper was born in the 70s still next to that same fishing village. the starkness of that image was almost comical.

What am i writing this post for ? Well im not really sure, having travelled to a vast array of countries myself being from Dublin i feel i have a strong street sense and ability to judge my surroundings for danger and feel. I was with my better half on this trip and one thing that struck a cord was the under current of i suppose what i would describe as objectifying women.Dubai would be described by many as one of the more liberal 'westernised' of the gulf states and yes i certainly seen much of that in shopping centres amongst the youth dress etc.

However never got rid of the feeling of unease in public, on public transport in shopping centres. There was always a feeling there of being watched or herself being judged despite adhering to their strict dress code, she wore long parachute pant trousers and a shawl at all times in public despite the intense heat at this time of year, I could still see men examining her over as if she was property. Im not new to travel or experiencing different cultures what so ever. This was something different something of an undercurrent , my feeling is that its base human mentality. Even in Ireland it has been demonstrated that if you ban humans from something or put it behind closed doors then there are those that will only want it more. Priests being a stark example with the marriage ban, the attitudes to alcohol here being vastly different to the continent.

So in the culture where women are to be unseen and hidden away, this permeates the objectification. I witnessed several times on the segregated metro system, (yes segregated) they have an 'optional' set of carriages for women and children) where a man with his wife whom was head to do dressed in traditional burka where she must stand behind him holding the rail. If she was happening to face him or be somewhat in front he would whisper in her ear and she moved to the position to his rear. A few times where such a couple in question where close to ourselves they would wait for a space to free up and move to the other side of the carriage her husband eyeing this western guy up as if i was interested in his property. I have no interest in even looking your direction buddy, sure i cant even see his property on display probably has a head like a bag of spuds anyway.

So again what is this post about ??

I dont really know, its a thought process i went through on how there is a vibe here that i would not wish to be female. I would not feel safe, i would not like the constant staring (more leery than wonder) Even on the public transport men appeared to be 10/1 over women in qty. They are mostly not seen bar the foreign workers.

I am just interested as to why the likes of Qatar want to host a World Cup, for me they would have to give up so much in order to facilitate western culture and values which frankly clash with a culture most of us would have a distaste for. I think this World cup is going to be a complete failure based on what i have experienced in what would be construed as more Western that Qatar, a place where we only ever felt comfortable in the hotel surroundings. And even then the pool area had its own rules.

Thoughts musings..