August 1, 2004

After completing operations in the North Arabian Gulf on the 22nd of August we began the long transit home. Our first stop was Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates. We pulled in on the morning of the 24th. Jebel Ali is the main port for the U.A.E and is known as an economic free zone. I am not sure what that means, but I think that there are no business restrictions or taxes on businesses in Jebel Ali. Since there is nothing to do in Jebel Ali, we traveled to nearby Dubai for liberty. Dubai was described to me as the Las Vegas of the Middle East.  Both cities are located in deserts and have lots of money, but that is where the similarities stop. While Las Vegas is full of gamblers, Dubai is full of rich Arab Sheiks and British tourists grossly misled by their travel agents. Among its accomplishments Dubai boasts the world's only seven star hotel, the Burj Al Arab. It is visible for miles around from the surrounding desert wastelands. One can't miss it. It looks like a giant sail. Dubai is also home to several man made islands. The largest extends into the Persian Gulf in the shape of a palm tree and is visible from space. The city itself is very modern with numerous malls and western businesses. The Arabs for the most part wear western clothes and live like we do (this was not the case in Bahrain). I found there to be a big British ex-pat community. 
Our liberty van dropped us off at the City Center Mall downtown. I immediately found the Starbucks where I was able to enjoy some coffee and purchase a U.A.E. coffee mug. Next stop was the food court that contained an interesting collection of international food. Since I had eaten lunch on the ship, I got a small snack consisting of nan bread with tandoori chicken. I then spent a little time walking around looking at the shops. Most of the shops were American, but others were British or French. After an hour or so, my liberty buddies and I grabbed a taxi to the spice souk. The cab driver did not know where the spice souk was so he dropped us off at the gold souk which was nearby. After walking around a while, we found the spice souk. Apparently the locals call it Iran town. We quickly learned why. Everyone was Iranian. The spice souk consisted of an entire street lined with stores selling all imaginable kinds of spices. One could smell the spices for blocks. The spices themselves are all laid out in large burlap sacks on the sidewalks. I bought a large bag of Iranian pistachios while my liberty buddies bought large quantities of saffron. At this point I got the urgent need to use the toilet. An Iranian store clerk led me to the toilet that was located at the end of the street. When I peered into the stall I observed that there was no toilet, but simply a hole in the ground. This did not bother me since this is commonly found in Japan. However, I observed that there was no toilet paper, only a hose. The only thing that I think I need to say is that it is true that you shouldn't shake an Arab person's left hand. I also decided that I did not need to use the bathroom that bad. Dubai is bisected by a waterway that is known as the Creek. The spice souk is bordered on one side by this waterway. My liberty buddies and I decided to walk along the riverbanks. The particular section where we were at was known as the dhow wharf. We saw over a hundred cargo dhows unloading their cargo straight onto trucks that were parked on the sidewalk that formed the bank of the waterway. 
I saw one particular crew working hard unloading bags of spices so I decided to photograph them. They saw me and started looking at me. I wasn't sure why they were staring at me so I asked them if I could take their picture. I don't think they understood me, as they started waving to me to come towards them. I started pointing to my camera, but they kept motioning for me to come closer. They were very insistent so I climbed from the sidewalk onto the dhow. They spoke a little English and I learned that they were Iranian and had just come from an island off the Iranian coast. They posed for several photos with me and gave me a tour of their boat (hard to believe that they spend weeks at sea on a 50 foot wooden boat). After looking around I climbed off and started walking down the sidewalk only to be beckoned onto another dhow. I was then treated to another tour. 
I ended up touring several dhows. One dhow captain even gave me his business card so that I could email him copies of my photos. At this point several thoughts crossed my mind. First, I managed to do something that we haven't been allowed to do for our whole deployment-board and Iranian flagged vessel. Second, I realized that we are going about our mission the wrong way. Instead of boarding dhows hoping to find smuggling (a needle in a stack of needles) we could just befriend these dhow sailors and then upon gaining their trust ask them for information on illicit activities. I am sure that those seaman know which dhows are engaged in smuggling. Lastly, I realized that our country has a realistic expectation of being allies with Iran in the future. I firmly believe that they are good people that like America, but are misrepresented by an evil government. Therefore, with a more moderate government they could be a strong ally in the Middle East. I didn't have the heart to tell these guys that I was in the American Navy. Chances are they have been boarded by us and the headlines in the paper that day were about a dhow that the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy ran over. I ended up walking down the riverbank for about a mile. The atmosphere in places was not unlike the river walk in San Antonio. By this time I was famished so I went to the nearby Sheraton to eat. We found a nice Italian restaurant. After five straight weeks at sea it was unbelievably nice to be able to sit down and have a glass of wine and a decent meal. After dinner we were so tired that we took a cab straight back to the ship. 
The next morning I went to the Dubai museum and fort. The fort itself was not that spectacular, but the exhibits were excellent. The center of the fort had a recreation of a traditional Arab home complete with a wind tower for directing breezes into the house. Inside the fort were several exhibits covering the transformation of Dubai from an ancient pearl gathering village into a modern city. The museum also had exhibits depicting life in the desert and Arab culture. After seeing the museum I went for a stroll in the nearby Bastakiya or old part of the city. I found this disappointing as most of the stores were stores selling trinkets and knock off watches. By this time it was late the afternoon and we had an officer party aboard a party dhow moored on the other side of the Creek. Rather than pay for a taxi we rode in an abra. For one Durham (33 cents), we were able to ride in a small beaten up wooden boat across the water. However, upon arriving at the location of our party we learned that it had been cancelled. When we called the ship to find out why we learned that NCIS (Navy Criminal Investigative Service) had increased the terrorist threat condition for U.A.E. and that everyone was being recalled to the ship. To say that I was pissed would be a gross understatement. My liberty buddy and I grabbed a taxi back to the City Center Mall. I quickly bought a t-shirt and a carpet that I had seen the first day that I had liked. The carpet is about 8 ft by 10ft, wool and made in Afghanistan. At this point I realized that I had pretty much seen everything and bought everything that I wanted to in Dubai, so I returned to the ship. The rest of our liberty in U.A.E. was limited to beer and hotdogs on the pier. The last day the USS Shreveport pulled in and I was able to briefly visit with another Aggie that I knew from the Corps of Cadets and Surface Warfare School. We left the afternoon of the 28th and transited the Straits of Hormuz into the Arabian Sea that night. 
We have now left the 5th Fleet area of operations and have crossed back into 7th Fleet. Our transit in now being hampered by the Southwest Monsoons which brings high seas (10 feet so far) and wind to the Arabian Sea this time of year. Lastly, we saw rain today for the first time in four months. The temperature has also returned from the 120s and 130s to the mid 80s.