Sooo Tired

I'm in Hong Kong! But I'm so tired I hardly even care (I'm pretty sure I'll care tomorrow). I caught the red-eye from Dubai last night, flew for 8 hours without sleeping much, made my way to the hotel, waited around for my room to be ready, crashed, then woke up and had dinner. And that's as exciting as my time here has been so far. So, since I have nothing to report about Hong Kong for the moment, I thought I would mention a few things that have been running through my mind as I've just left my last Middle Eastern country on this trip.

Other than a day in Morocco a few years ago, I'd never spent any time in Muslim and/or Arabic countries before this trip. So being in Turkey, Jordan and the UAE has been both very interesting and very educational for me. Here are some things I learned about traveling in a Muslim country either by being told by a local, reading or simply observing on my own, all of which I find quite fascinating: (disclaimer: all are generalities and don't apply to everyone in every Muslim country; I even noticed differences between the three I was in, based on either how traditional or how modern it was)

1. In general, women socialize with women and men socialize with men. There is very little intermixing and, more noticeable, women tend to socialize at home while men do so in public. I noticed this one (and had it confirmed later) as soon as we arrived in Jordan. On the half hour or so taxi ride to the hotel, I noticed group after group after group of men out and about on the streets but passed only a few (literally, a few) women. Women on the streets, especially those not escorted by a man, definitely stand out.

2. In Turkey (and maybe in the others, too, but I only know it for sure in Turkey), arranged marriages are still the norm. We were told all about it by our hosts there and about how there is only a 10% divorce rate with arranged marriages (so maybe there's something to it!). However, the double standard is alive and well. Men are allowed to "sow their wild oats" before marriage, participating in sex, drinking, partying, etc, but a woman that does so will be "marked" and will have a hard time finding a man who will want to marry her. So, in the case of our hosts who were explaining this to us, they are out enjoying their youth, doing as they please with whomever they please, but when the time comes for them to settle down and marry, they will only want to do so with a virginal, good Muslim girl. Huh.

3. Some specific tips we were given for being women tourists in Muslim countries:

a. When taking public transportation, never take the front seat; it is seen as quite a bold move for a woman to assume the forward position.

b. Do not make eye contact with any strange men, ever (of course this one is also a huge double standard; you can't look at them, but they can ogle you boldly and make loud, rude comments to their heart's content, apparently).

c. Do not go out in public with wet hair. Apparently, this will give people a bad impression of you as this is understood to be a sign that a woman has recently had sex.

d. Women's characters are judged harshly based on how they dress; they are advised to always cover their arms and legs and wear long, loose clothing.

4. Never show the bottoms of your feet to anyone; it is seen as disrespectful.

5. Public displays of affection are not only frowned upon, in some places they're actually illegal. In the UAE, you can be arrested for holding hands or kissing in public. All sex acts outside of marriage are also against the law.

6. In some of the countries, public transportation offers a "woman and children only" section on the metros and buses. We were informed that this was to make traveling more comfortable for women as they wouldn't have to deal with any hassles from men. It is strongly enforced, too. I saw a couple of men (foreigners, mostly) who mistakenly got on the women's car being shooed out by subway workers within a matter of seconds.

7. The call to prayer happens 5 times a day: dawn, midday, mid-afternoon, sunset and a couple hours after sunset. I found this one cool and enjoyed hearing it, as it firmly reminded me where I was; I enjoyed seeing it as there was something intriguing about watching people stop whatever they were doing, no matter where they were doing it, to pray. Not quite so charming at 4 am the night I slept outside, however....

There were a bunch of other little things that struck me as well but that don't leap to mind at the moment. All in all, we had no problems traveling as women in these countries (other than people pointing to our flip flops and laughing a lot) and I found it only increased my interest in traveling more in Middle Eastern countries in the future. so much more to learn!