Dubai and the Lost Red Wallet

    Have you ever lost your wallet, your purse, your cell phone or your keys? Or, worse yet, have you ever had your wallet stolen?

    What a helpless feeling, right?

    All of your credit cards, your driver's license, cash, medical insurance cards, perhaps even photos like we had in the old days, all missing and need to be replaced.   What a nightmare!

    Bill and I always took a taxi to go out for dinner and drinks in Dubai on Thursday nights (the beginning of our Middle East weekend).   You certainly can't have an alcoholic drink and then drive your car.   Best way to go to jail or be put on the next flight home (as in deported). 

Le Meridien Hotel, Dubai

    We loved to go to Le Meridien Hotel because of the interesting selection of various restaurants on the beautiful grounds.  There are 18 restaurants and bars including Sukhothai, Kiku, Meridien Village Terrace, Casa Mia, M's Grill and Jules Bar.  You can dine or dance outdoor or indoor.  The hotel, pools, nightclubs, outdoor dance floors, indoor/outdoor venues and restaurants were first class.   Food was always great and people watching was outstanding!  

Pool at Le Meridien, Dubai

    After enjoying a delicious dinner at the The Dubliner's (great Irish restaurant) where I always ordered the best liver and onions with mashed potatoes and Bill had the tastiest pork chops in the world, plus ice cold Guinness, we hopped into a taxi in front of Le Meridien Hotel.   Not a lot of traffic on this hot, humid Thursday night, so we arrived home quickly. 

Barbara at The Dubliner's, Dubai

The Dubliner's, Dubai

    It was about 10:30 pm as Bill got out of his side of the taxi from the backseat.

    I paid the driver which is how we always did it.   I handed several Dirhams to the him and gave him a good tip.  

    I put my wallet back into my purse which was on my lap in the backseat of the dark taxi.

    I got out of the taxi and went into our apartment building as the taxi drove off.   We went up to our flat to get ready for bed.

Apartment in Dubai

    About 10 minutes after we were home, my cell phone rang.   Now, this was very odd because we were new to Dubai and I did not have many friends who actually had my cell phone number. 

    Who could be calling me at this late hour on a Thursday night? 

    I didn't recognize the number on my cell phone, but answered it anyway.   Hello? 

Festival City, Dubai - Shopping and Restaurants

Festival City, Dubai

    A deep male voice with an Arabic accent asked if this was Barbara Edwards.   I said yes, this is she. 

    He said that he had my wallet. Now, I was really puzzled.   

    How could he have my red wallet when I had just paid the taxi driver.  

    I asked him to hold the phone while I checked my purse.   Well, guess what?   No red wallet in my handbag.   What?   Where could it have gone?

    I asked him where he was so we could meet him.   He said he was at the market on the corner.   I told him that my husband and I would walk the one block to the market and meet him.

    Bill and I crossed the sand parking lot in front of our apartment building in the desert heat at 11:00 pm to the grocery store on the corner.

    There was a Middle Eastern man standing there holding my red wallet out to me.  Is this yours? Yes, it's mine. He asked me to check the contents to see if all of my money, credit cards, driver's license and business cards were there. 

    All there!   Everything was still inside my red wallet.   He was able to call me because I always carried business cards with my Dubai cell phone and my USA cell number.

    I asked him how he had gotten my wallet.   He said he had been walking through the parking lot in front of our apartment building and found it on the ground in front of our building. 

Our Market Area, Dubai

More Shops

    Oh!  It was then that I figured out how I had lost my red wallet.  I paid the taxi driver and thought I put the wallet into my handbag.   

    But, it had landed in my lap and when I got out of the backseat, my wallet fell to the ground next to the taxi. 

    It was too dark to see the red wallet on the ground and, of course, it had not made a sound as it landed in the sand.

    I was so thankful to this stranger in a strange land!   He found a wallet full of money and credit cards.   And, he did the right thing!  

    Not one Dirham or credit card was missing.

    I'm not sure how many cities or countries in the world where this story would have had a happy ending.   But, in the Middle East the people are kind, generous, thoughtful and honest.

    I thanked him profusely.   I offered him money, but that was actually disrespectful on my part.   He was embarrassed by the offer, especially coming from a Western woman.   Bill shook his hand and thanked him too.

    He said he was only happy to have found the owner of the red wallet.   Then, he turned and disappeared into the hot, steamy night.

Desert outside of Dubai

Barbara Jumping for Joy!

  












    I later sent him a text message to thank him again.   He did not respond because I'm a woman and he is a Middle Eastern man who would never dream of texting a woman he did not know.

    We were so impressed by the honesty of all the people we met in the Middle East.   This is but one example.  

    Shukran!