TowerDog and
Gaunty,
What you were experiencing were temperature inversions, they are extremely common in this part of the world. We started monitoring them about 4 years ago and have recorded inversions of up to 16°C, for obvious reasons they are extremely prevalent at night and during the summer. The Saudi Met Office forecasts these inversions and will probably supply the information to any crew that ask.
During these inversions we actually base our takeoff weights on the inversion temperature (Forecast or PIREPS) and not the actual airport temperature. This costs us a fortune in extra technical landings, but as crewmembers talk about the aircraft hanging in the air with all engines working, we really don’t want to find out what happens if one fails.
Mutt 
[This message has been edited by mutt (edited 25 December 2000).]