Flight with a view

When you wander about in Africa people are always surprised that I take
the bus rather than simply jumping in an aeroplane and jetting from one
place to the next. Usually I explain my avoidance of flights by saying
that I came to see different things and from the height of an aeroplane
everything looks the same. Today I was proved wrong.
Flying over the middle of the Arabian peninsula - from Sanaa in Yemen to
Sharjar in the UAE in the middle of the day gave me spectacular views of
the Empty Quarter, the huge sandy desert in the middle of the Arabian
Peninsula. (Think Lawrence of Arabia, in the scene where they set out
for Aqaba)
The view out the tiny window gave a great perspective of the emptiness
stretching in every direction as far as the eye could see. Line after
line of golden sand, stretching to the horizon in all directions,
curving this way and that, but aligned in neat rows. It was almost
impossible to draw the eye away, as they instinctively followed the
lines this way and that, perhaps looking for an escape from the
nothingness. Nothing interrupted this beautiful natural sculpture, no
blemishes of vegetation or water, and no visible human impact.
As we rose higher the air was filled with sand whipped up by the
sculpting winds, the air turned yellow, and the desert disappeared like
a mirage.