The contrast between enormous, sprawling Cairo and tiny, blooming Fujairah is huge – and not just in the physical size (Greater Cairo’s population is well over 20 million, the Emirate of Fujairah is around 100,000). As an expat one feels much less under scrutiny in Fujairah, much less an item on the morning’s cabaret, and also the object of far fewer eyes with less than good intentions. It’s possibly a symptom of Cairo’s series of successful revolutions that the place feels jumpy and unsettled – and also a side effect of the county’s vast and essentially unsecured desert borders which enable the entry of insurgents who are feeding into the current programme of bombings. One might expect the smallest, quietest Emirate on the Arabian Peninsula, one which is responsible for transportation of huge amounts of the oil from neighbouring Emirates, and one whose logistic infrastructure is most removed from Iranian eyes, to be a hotbed of security intrigue – and possibly it is in the port area, but it doesn’t seem to be here in the centre of the ‘city’. at any rate, Fujairah is a good place to live; I like it, and the people too.

On the desert front, I’m in touch with the local Land Rover Club and have my eye on a few vehicles – all Discovery 1 V8s. Need to sort out residency paperwork and bank account before I can own a car, and that will supposedly take about two weeks……