I have always associated the word “safari” with Africa: open “wranglers” jeeps rush along the wild savannah, and of them brave hunters scorch lions and zebras in vain. Therefore, I went on an Arabian safari out of sheer curiosity.
A powerful Land Cruiser jeep with driver Ali driving us and my son from the doors of the Sharjah hotel and drove us through the city to grab a couple of tourists on the way. And so, the car is equipped and sent to the Dubai-Hatta highway.
The path is not close, passengers while away the time during the conversation and ask Ali about the features of our tour. It turns out that first we will arrive at the meeting place of jeeps of various travel agencies, from where all the cars will move to the sands by caravan.
- How many cars usually go on safari at the same time? - I'm interested in Ali. - Depending on the season. In winter, there are up to 30 jeeps in one caravan, in summer - less, from 7 to 12 cars.
The Hutts mountains appeared ahead. But what is it? The road goes down and we see the picture “Before a Thunderstorm”: a solid gray cloud hung heavily over the mountains, leading despondency to travelers, the sun disappeared, the horizon darkened as if evening had arrived. We stopped on the sidelines, at a bunch of small souvenir and grocery stores, where jeeps with tourists drove up in an endless caravan. It smelled of rain. There was a whistle of air coming out of the wheels - in order not to get stuck in the sand, the tire pressure was reduced to one atmosphere.
Finally, we set off and drive off the asphalt road to the sands. The mouth is still stretched in a joyful smile, the chest is intercepted by a safety belt, the pulse quickens in anticipation of a funny adventure.
A beautiful chain, stretched out in the sands of rusty color, jeeps rush deep into the desert. Breathtaking from the maneuvers of a car in the dunes! Take off upward on an almost vertical slope, slide down, almost buried in the sand with the front bumper, slide sideways along the "crest" of the slope .... Sand and "splashes" on the glass, like a wave! A smile turns into a grimace, fingers frantically grabbed onto the handrails, and, alternately with our son, shouting inarticulate phrases, we freeze in horror. One thought reassures: "We are not alone!" Several times, when the jeep lays a particularly steep turn, I manage to think: "It's good that the driver and the tourists in the neighboring seats do not understand Russian." Soon, screeching began to sound quieter, and we even started joking and laughing - we got used to it and stopped feeling fear. The whole column stopped on an even sandy plateau so that you could calmly look around and take pictures of the mysterious desert. Again I was surprised: the sand was wet. It turns out that after all, it was not just that the smell of ozone was floating in the air, it only rained half an hour ago. Therefore, we did not feel intense heat and felt great. The next stop was at an amazing place called Al Badayer. And what was surprising about him was that here we had a unique opportunity to chat with Arabia on “you”. For example, you could go up to the lying melancholic camels and treat them to something tasty right from your hand, or it is important to admire the walking peacocks and the proud falcons sitting motionless. Or, scaredly, recoil from an ostrich making incredible high-speed zigzags and, most importantly, drive dashingly along the dunes on ATVs.
The sun was setting, riders on roaring motor-cars lifting up fountains of sand turned on their headlights, it was time to get ready for the journey. A real oriental fairy tale was waiting for us. The jeeps again turned off the road into the sands and literally 15 minutes later, from the next slope, our eyes appeared an amazing picture - a mysterious village of desert Bedouins was drowned in a sea of lights. This is the end point of our tour. Everyone is a little tired of the road and impressions, I want to finally relax and rest. At the entrance we are treated to aromatic Arabic coffee and sweet fried balls of dough. We drank plenty of water, threw off our tired sandals and sat on soft padded stools, breathing in the fruity smells of gurgling and smoking hookahs. Not far away, a small figure in a black robe, bowing, conjured over people alternately sitting down to her. This is a traditional henna painting. We will go there a little later, I just want to sit relaxed and look around. Gradually, all arriving travelers got accustomed and made easy conversations. Who was not there: tourists from Japan, Germany, America, Britain, Iran, India and Russia. A voice came from somewhere out of the darkness, announcing that dinner was ready. We were treated to fried hamur, rice biryani, baked samusas and other dishes. Vacationers filled the low tables near the wooden podium, Arabian music sounded and a dancer appeared. Everyone forgot about food and fatigue, admiring the art of belle dance (belly dance). The girl’s expression was transmitted to the audience, and they took a direct part in the dances. For complete happiness, lacked only colorful fireworks.
Then everyone was taken to their homes and hotels, and all we could do was thank the Deluxe Tours company for organizing this unforgettable trip for us.
Elena Balina and Deluxe Tours, Tel .: 04-3517527
