The unseasonably, beautiful weather we’ve had last month (and even so far into October) has got me thinking of Septembers in Abu Dhabi, where I lived for almost four years.
The perception is that the sun beats without interruption and without relief over the Emirati desert year-round. The record-breaking temperatures in the Gulf these past two summers certainly buttressed that perception.
That certainly was the case through the summer months. And it has been like this since the beginning. The Bedouins of old would winter by the gulf waters in the winter, but in the heat of July you’d find them deep in the desert, near the oases that came to be Al Ain and Liwa.
But come September, the daily highs would drop down to the 20s and the humidity, once the sun was no longer around to burn it off, would be bearable. The magical time of the year was, of course, the winter months: cool days in the high-teens and low 20s, brisk nights, no humidity, a spot of rain, the sound of the call to prayer crisp and clear, unmuddied by close weather and heavy air. If only it were like that year-round!
Abu Dhabi’s also been on my mind because of the work I’ve been doing for the past year and a bit: writing a collection of three novellas, The Emptiest Quarter, out now.
Stay tuned for more details about launch dates, readings, etc., and maybe even more about what you’ll find inside.
