Working in the Middle East

[koi]

Can anyone give me an idea of the work situation in the middle east, the atmosphere / mentality/ non technical skills and attitudes in a mixed cultural flight deck. In other words, is it worth the candle and the aggro compared to the UK. I am qual on Boeing and Airbus
Thanks Koi

[captjns]

You need to be more specific as to where.

[hairyA320]

How is life in Q8 and Jazeera Airways?

[skywaytoheaven]

Best LOCO A320 ops in the Middle East would be Air Arabia based in Sharjah (right next to Dubai). Good company going places, or was, not sure of their present status - with the probs Dubai are having etc.

[BelArgUSA]

As far as residence -
xxx
The best areas would be Sharjah and Ras el Khaima.
Sharjah is some 20 minutes drive from Dubai, Ras is close to 90 minutes.
Dubai is nice, but quite crowded traffic and getting worse.
Abu Dhabi is 2 hours drive away from Dubai. Nice place too.
Bahrain is an island... so you are stuck on the island. Nice however.
I only know Doha's terminal... do not know how nice or not.
Quite nice, but little knowledge of, is Muscat. Picturesque old city.
Amman, Jordan is nice too.
xxx
I do not like Kuwait, nor Jeddah. Spent 4 years based in Jeddah.
Stay away from Syria as far as you can.
I loved Beirut... was the best. They messed it up since the late 1970s.
Always enjoyed a few days in Cairo.
xxx
And when it is hot, it is hot (and muggy).
I remember in Jeddah, I played tennis at night, 4:00 a.m. was best time.
If you settle to work there, learn their customs, observe their religious rules.
Learn to read Arabic numbers, for some prices in stores.
Tons of expats, from the entire world.
Local people are... minority.
xxx
Forget about UK 9 K or US 14 Karats gold.
All is 18 or 22 K in that part of the world.
xxx
All fancy cars are owned by locals.
All taxicab drivers are from Pakistan.
All supermarket employees from Palestine.
All nurses from the Philippines.
All doctors and lawyers from Jordan, or Egypt.
All construction workers from Yemen.
xxx
And in bars (where alcohol is legal) are the expats...!
:E
Happy contrails

[koi]

Gentlemen, Thank you ll very much. This is very helpful. Will have to decide soon !
rgds Koi

[Nightfire]

AUH is a nice place if you can adapt to some simple rules. Housing is very expensive, but apart from that you can live here very comfortably. Fuel is cheap, so if you want to go out for some fun, you just drive to Dubai. People are very friendly, crime-rate is low, and the best thing is you don't pay taxes. :cool:

[Fladbrokeandbusted]

Does anyone know about the situation in Baghdad ???

I was asked by a freind if I where ready to accept a position that might come up in February with base in Baghdad?? So does anyone have any facts about this place??

Kind regards
FBB