East Coast

Drove to Dibba (Oman / Fujairah), past the sand dunes at Maliha, for some diving, despite the Red Tide.

Egypt (continued)

A few more from the trip down to Aswan. Stopped at Wadi el Chat & the quarries at Djebel Silsileh ...

Egypt

Flew to Cairo in the January break, as polluted and crowded as ever, with hassle thrown in for good measure. The best part of the whole trip was the 5-day boat journey down the Nile on the traditional dahabiyah Meroe. Did the usual touristy things like gawping at the Pyramids, eating kushari and getting ripped-off in taxis...

Then took the overnight sleeper train to Luxor. Overwhelming number of sights, best seen from a balloon to escape the crowds...

Boarded the boat at Esna; a great town with a bustling market place...

One advantage of travelling by a small boat is that it can moor practically anywhere. Loading up sugar-cane in the morning.

Hafeet Tombs

The UAE may well be celebrating its 37th birthday, but the 500 graves at the foot of Jebel Hafeet are thought to be five thousand years old... Next posting: Egypt. Inshallah.

Shaking Hands with a Sheikh

Went to Abu Dhabi a couple of weeks ago to pick up 5th place prize for the Abu Dhabi Brand photo competition. Won a shiny gold coin thing (alas, not chocolate) and enough cash to buy a wide-angle zoom, which I took to Egypt. Two photos also appear in a coffee-table book full of photos of, well, Abu Dhabi. Egypt - very big, very old. Photos up soon'ish.

On the Way to Sweihan

A few from this very morning...

Al Ain Camel Racetrack

One more from the local track at dawn...

North West Winter

A short outing to the beach in the UK in December with my Dad ... These were all taken under / on Southport pier.

National Day

The country celebrates its 37th year; lots of fairy lights and horn-honking. This was taken last year, the roundabout no longer exists but I'm sure the Municipality has found a good home for the lights.

One from Oman

From Rustaq fort, overlooking date palms and one of the town's mosques...

Art Show. Fully carpeted.

Tired of seeing these photos at a miniscule 700 pixels in length? Want to see full-sized prints? Well, if you're in Al Ain on 21st & 22nd November (heck, if you're in the country - it ain't that big) I'll be exhibiting a selection of photos and photoboxes at this carpet / photo / art sale. Here's a brief look at who will be selling what, directions are here. Hope to see you there!

Robot Jockeys

In these winter months, the camel track in Al Ain gets busy early. These races were held using the latest modestly-dressed robots... According to Wikipedia, these robots can 'monitor and transmit the speed and heart rate of the camel'. And they're sometimes perfumed...