My First Bedazzled Abaya

We arrive in Dubai  at the Sheraton Deira after midnight , wait forever for our luggage and we arrive at the hotel a jet lag mess but we are hungry.   Off to the Lindbergh Bar for some mezzeh and a drink.   We are too tired to wait for the food so they send it to the room…. Hummus, olives, nuts, pita,  and crash for the morning flight.    Breakfast consisted of leftover mezzeh to tide us over.   We arrive at the airport and not knowing how strict Qatar will be I purchase an abaya at one of the airport stores which is the long black robe that comes with a sheer black scarf to put over your head if needed.   Most of the abayas are seriously bedazzled with gold and silver sequins.   I find a simple one  with a small black sequin design and put it in the bag “just in case” .

Love business class!  It was a short one hour flight but because we were in business class we were issued the  blue “cards “ that allowed us to exit first (well actually after first class) .  We climb on a bus that shuttles us to the terminal for passport control , and the  lines are long but moving quickly.  I notice almost all the women had either long skirts or pants on with long sleeves and I am feeling self conscious in my shorts and short sleeve top so I toss the abaya scarf over my shoulders to try and blend in.  

Luggage was painless and someone comes up to us offering us a taxi.   He seems to be a private car  trying to bypass the taxi wait line but we say yes and head outside.   The doors open to 110 degree weather and we are hauling suitcases across two parking lots to where his black car has been parked in the sun, by the time we got to his car we were dripping sweat and the car is hotter than the outside.  Note to self- next time stand in the taxi line.

We make it to the Doha Sheraton and have a gorgeous room overlooking the Arabian Gulf.   Bathing suits on with a refreshing dip in the pool to cool us off.    The best spot is under the trees overlooking the ocean and we quickly relocate there entertaining ourselves feeding the birds the mixed nuts that come with our cocktails.   Dinner at the Irish Pub makes it an early night as we are fighting jet lag and we head to Mesaieed tomorrow.