Seven Weeks in the Middle East

My main attraction to this allocation was the opportunity to spend time in an important part of the world that is going through a period of transition and uncertainty. Over the last 7 weeks I have spoken to ex-pats who have spent large portions of their careers in the Middle East, I’ve read a number of articles on the region, I’ve spent time working and speaking with Saudis and I’ve also formulated a few opinions of my own. A consensus on the future of the Middle East has emerged from all these sources: no one really knows what will happen.

There are plenty of reasons for optimism. Parts of the region, particularly Saudi, are overflowing with oil wealth and finally seem to have realized that while that is a great thing, it’s not enough. Efforts to diversify economies, adapt to global standards and plan for a more sustainable future are at the very least being talked about, if not acted upon. In other parts of the region where oil is less abundant, countries are pulling themselves up by their boot straps and diversifying and growing in other ways. The region is also represented by a more progressive set of leaders than in the past, even if some of them remain conservative by western standards. For many places in the Middle East, this is one of the most promising times in history.

That said, growth is coming at a high cost. Dependency on a foreign workforce is an almost universal characteristic of the GCC states. They simply don’t have educated and skilled indigenous resources. That isn’t something that can be changed in a few years. Generally it takes generations to establish a knowledge based economy. That’s time some, if not all, Middle Eastern nations may not have.

Adding to this problem is the fact that having a house full of guests is generally not sustainable. At the bottom of the ladder you have an abundance of blue collar workers – mainly Indians, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Pilipino and Thai – becoming increasingly discontent doing dirty work for low wages and under poor conditions in one of the richest parts of the world. On the other end, you have Western and Asian bankers, lawyers, businessmen and policy makers influencing key strategic decisions with two priorities in mind: 1) those of the clients / region, and, 2) those of their business / country. And not always in that order.

Then there is the general mindset of the region, which I believe has two fundamental flaws toward achieving economic diversification and sustainable growth. The first of which is the conservative nature of the region. This is perhaps the most spiritual place on the globe. Religion heavily influences both cultural and state matters and Islam is inherently conservative. This conservatism is perhaps the greatest opponent of change in the Middle East.

The good news: most people get that and realize growth and change must co-exist with religious devotion. The bad news: others (a small minority) do not and they are willing to go to great lengths to defend their position. Fear of upsetting extremists or moving “too quickly” with social reforms is a major deterrent to growth and change throughout the region and a crippling disability in Saudi.

The second fundamental flaw has to do with drive. China and India, two model developing world economies, share a common mindset: a desire and a drive to rival if not surpass the biggest of the developed world economies. In much of the Middle East the desire is there, but the drive is highly questionable. Another way to put it is there’s a lot of talk, but not a proportionate amount of action or a sense of urgency. Throwing money at a problem (at least in Saudi) continues to be viewed as the best way to fix it.

While the problems mentioned above are daunting, perhaps the most immediate concern is the same one that has been plaguing the region for 1000s of years: stability. Just across the Persian Gulf a once formidable regional power is pulling out of seven years of war exhausted, depleted and re-designed. At best it will take years to recover. At worst the efforts to reform Iraq will fail and the country will once again become a rogue state.

The Iraqi’s neighbor is just as big of a concern. Iran’s disengagement with the West seems to increase almost daily and its threat within the region is of great concern. There are also significant economic constraints associated with one of the region’s largest countries being handicapped by UN sanctions.

Last, but certainly not least, there is Israel - hated by everyone in the region and seemingly one step away from plunging the entire Middle East into conflict. There’s also Yemen or unstable countries from neighboring regions such as Somalia, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Such a high degree of instability and unpredictability makes it difficult for highly promising Middle Eastern economies. No matter how nice your house is, it’s hard to sell it when it’s in a tough neighborhood.

So, as I leave the Middle East I don’t have it any more figured out than the day I showed up, but that was what I expected. However, I am quite grateful that I’ve had the opportunity to experience this part of the world at such a pivotal point in time and I do feel as though I understand – and respect – the issues facing the region more than I did when I arrived.

Cairo, Egypt

I arrived in Egypt on Wednesday night and my trip got off to a good start. I had dinner at a restaurant on the banks of the Nile. I had a great waiter who taught himself English through some audio cassette program. The program taught the language while also teaching US history (quite cleaver) so he knew a great deal about the US (and his English was very good).

The next day I woke up and headed out to Giza to see the pyramids. Driving in Cairo is quite similar to other places in the Middle East. There are lane lines, but they are pointless. There are speed limits, but they are suggestions at best. You see every mode of transportation from top of the line Mercedes to horse and buggy on the same road:

Cairo itself is a hectic, dirty and overcrowded city. It’s about what you’d expect from a massive city in a developing part of the world. Some parts of Cairo looked nearly unlivable while beautiful, tree lined avenues played host to massive houses in the city’s nicer neighborhoods.

My cab driver was a 60-year old man named Ahmed. He spoke good English and was an excellent driver. Once we arrived in Giza Ahmed took me straight to a tour guide, which I wasn’t particularly pleased about (as opposed to the front gates of the pyramids) but I’d been warned about how big a tourist trap the pyramids were so I decided to go with it. I probably paid too much for a camel tour and mounted my trusty stead, "Moses."

My tour guide was terrible. He didn't really share any significant insights and got in a huge fight with a boy that was along to help us. I thought they were going to come to blows at one point. He even threw his walking stick at him as hard as he could (thankfully he missed). After that was over, we continued on the tour.

Even though it’s pricey, I’d recommend the camel tour for two reasons: 1) Riding a camel is something you don’t normally get a chance to do. 2) You have far better access to the pyramids on the camel tour. That said, you can’t really get that close to the pyramids. One was completely closed off for tourists (according to the tour guide a tourist recently fell off it and died). One you could go in, but only if you paid extra and I’d been told by numerous people it wasn’t worth it. The third (and smallest) was only open to people on the camel tour (see below).

The whole thing took probably an hour and a half and ended with the sphinx which again, you can’t get that close too.

I am glad I went, but of the two ancient ruin sites I have seen on this trip I’d recommend Petra over the pyramids 100 out of 100 times. The journey ended with my guide begging excessively for more money even though I’d given him a very generous tip despite his treatment of his co-workers (the boy and Moses). This behavior was a common – and very unattractive – theme of my time in Cairo.

Ahmed took me back to the hotel. I had a bite to eat and broke out on foot for the Egyptian Museum. After getting accosted by some street side artist and essentially cornered by three of his co-workers when I didn't want to buy his worthless art I finally made it to the Museum.

Cameras weren’t allowed in the museum so I don't have pictures. It was an incredible place but many of the pieces were unmarked. It’s been a while since I’ve had a refresher on Egyptian history so while I was impressed with the collection, I felt a bit cheated / guilty that I didn’t know what I was looking at in some cases. Two key takeaways that you undoubtedly know: 1) Death (and burial) was kind of a big deal. 2) Ancient Egyptians loved making statues of royalty.

In General, Egypt doesn’t exactly role out the red carpet for tourists. The museum was poorly organized, kind of dirty and not all that user friendly. I’d say the same about most of the tourist places I visited in and around Cairo. I think they assume tourists are going to come no matter what, so why make the extra effort? They have a point. I will say that they lack of polish did make some of the places I visited feel a bit more authentic.

After the museum I was exhausted. I took a quick nap, worked out and almost called it a night…but decided to go for a late dinner at a place that came highly recommended called Bodega. I am glad I did. The food was ok, but the atmosphere was worth it. The bar was really going when I left and it looked like a place that would be a lot of fun if you were with a group. I’d recommend it.

Friday was a much better day in Cairo. I slept in and then had to do about 4 hours of work. While I was having lunch in the lobby Ahmed came strolling by and I solicited his services for another day of touring – this time sticking just to Cairo.

We began the afternoon by hitting the Saladin Citadel of Cairo, which is an old fort and mosque located on the Muqattan Hill overlooking Cairo. The Citadel is home to the mosque of Muhammad Ali which was beautiful (though worn)…

…and the view of Cairo was spectacular. The view really drove home how massive Cairo really is.

Ahmed then took me to the mosque of Sultan Hassan, which was built in 1357. President Obama visited the mosque roughly a year ago. The most common response from Egyptians when I said I was American was, “OBAMA! He come here!” The mosque was perhaps the highlight of the trip. The place was beautiful and had a unique feel to it. It was incredibly peaceful.

In the main temple there was a man doing Muslim chants …

… which echoed throughout an otherwise completely quiet mosque.

Ahmed then took me to the Ibn Tulun mosque which was constructed in 879.

We also saw some interesting scenes in the streets and alley ways – which seemed to be bustling no matter where in the city I was. It was hard to capture activity in the alleys from the cab, but I tried.

My final night I returned to the restaurant on the banks of the Nile to watch the futbol game and I am pretty sure I contracted some kind of mild food poisoning. I did win a jersey in a goal kicking contest put on by Stella (the Egyptian, not the Belgian, beer). Saturday morning I was up early and Ahmed took me to the airport for a flight back to Riyadh.

All and all, I am glad I made the trip and found Cairo fascinating. The attitude toward tourists is a big turnoff. They will try to charge you for the air you are breathing (which by the way is some of the most polluted in the world) if you let them. In general, they aren’t very gracious either. It’s certainly not how everyone acts. I met some very nice people (e.g., Ahmed), but, I think it would be impossible to visit Cairo without someone trying to hustle you a few times.