About the Book

In December 2013 and 2015, Max and Sue Hoppe visited their son, daughter-in-law and two granddaughters in Dubai, To be honest, it was not a place they fancied visiting, and only a strong desire to see the family prompted them to go there. They perceived it to be a paradise for those who like bling, fake snow and designer shopping, none of which held any appeal for them. They would prefer a tent under a bush, in the back-of-beyond, to a five-star hotel in a busy city. As it turned out, they experienced both! And found some of the best places to visit in the UAE. Luckily, their kids have discovered a completely different side to the Emirates than the one usually seen by tourists, and were delighted to share this with them. These “postcards” show some lesser-known but wonderful aspects of the Emirates, such as:

• Riding Arabian horses through the dunes at sunrise and sunset
• Exploring the forbidding Al Hajar Mountains at Ras-al-Khaimah in Fujairah
• Watching racing camels being trained at sunrise
• Visiting the art and museum hub of Sharjah
• Watching a humane and entertaining style of bull fighting in Fujairah
• Exploring ancient mud-built mosques and forts in the desert
• Taking a water-taxi over the Creek in Bur Dubai, the old city
• Seeing how traditional Arabian architecture integrates into modern buildings, and yes, a visit to the Jumeira Palm and Burj Khalifa.
• A visit to a haunted fishing village at sunset
• Buying Pakistani bread, made to order in a tandoor oven
• A road-trip covering 5 of the 7 Emirates in one afternoon

These lovely black-and-white images will fill you with a desire to look beyond the surface, in this fascinating part of the world!

In December 2013 and 2015, Max and Sue Hoppe visited their son, daughter-in-law and two granddaughters in Dubai, To be honest, it was not a place they fancied visiting, and only a strong desire to see the family prompted them to go there. They perceived it to be a paradise for those who like bling, fake snow and designer shopping, none of which held any appeal for them. They would prefer a tent under a bush, in the back-of-beyond, to a five-star hotel in a busy city. As it turned out, they experienced both!

Luckily, their kids have discovered a completely different side to the Emirates than the one usually seen by tourists, and were delighted to share this with them.

These “postcards” show some lesser-known but wonderful aspects of the Emirates, such as:

• Riding Arabian horses through the dunes at sunrise and sunset
• Exploring the forbidding Al Hajar Mountains at Ras-al-Khaimah in Fujairah
• Watching racing camels being trained at sunrise
• Visiting the art and museum hub of Sharjah
• Watching a humane and entertaining style of bull fighting in Fujairah
• Exploring ancient mud-built mosques and forts in the desert
• Taking a water-taxi over the Creek in Bur Dubai, the old city
• Seeing how traditional Arabian architecture integrates into modern buildings, and yes, a visit to the Jumeira Palm and Burj Khalifa.
• A visit to a haunted fishing village at sunset
• Buying Pakistani bread, made to order in a tandoor oven
• A road-trip covering 5 of the 7 Emirates in one afternoon

These lovely black-and-white images will fill you with a desire to look beyond the surface, in this fascinating part of the world!

Max and Sue Hoppe are a couple from Port Elizabeth who are, well, let’s just say ‘past their prime.’ They love to travel and see the world, with open eyes and minds, and are taking every opportunity to explore some places that have been on their bucket-lists for ages, and some they would never have even thought of, until their kids moved there and they went to visit.

In Travels Abroad, we’ll look for hidden treasures in Turkey, Bulgaria, The Emirates and Jordan…

• Exploring iconic cosmopolitan and exotic Istanbul
• Strolling through an ancient Greek city and swimming in a hot spring with carved pillars which were
  destroyed in an earthquake, centuries ago.
• Wander down an exquisite white hillside covered in travertine
• Gape at the underground cave cities and fly in a hot air balloon over Cappadocia
• Spend some time in a little rural village in Southern Bulgaria, and visit Sozopol on the Black Sea
• Do a road-trip to the Balkans and back via Plovdiv
• Discover a fascinating side to Dubai which is way nicer than bling and designer shopping!
• Explore rugged mountains and ancient forts and mosques in Fujairah and Ras-al-Khaimah
• Gallop on Arabian horses through the desert at sunset
• Discover the delights of old Amman in Jordan
• Wander in awe through the ancient carved-rock city of Petra
• Spend a night in a Bedouin tent in Wadi Rum after exploring its natural beauty
• Float in the Dead Sea
• Discover more of the Emirates, especially Sharjah.
• Explore a haunted abandoned fishing village at sundown