“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.” ― Frank Herbert, Dune

Arrakis, the planet better known as Dune....

Somewhere near the Omani border, an hour's drive from Dubai. Sand, dunes, scorching sun, and a view of endless sands. Nothing could be more accurate than the quote from the book I posted at the beginning of this article. Hot sand, fine as dust, on which it is so pleasant to walk barefoot, sometimes falling and slipping on it. Untouched by footprints, dunes on which you trample your way, and you are the only person who left footprints there

By dawn, the wind and sand will have erased your footprints to allow the next to leave theirs. To blaze a new trail. In the middle of the sands, in the middle of nothing.

A bit of a philosophical mood in this post. But what can you do, that's the mood I'm in right now

By the way, I've been getting sand from just about everywhere since this adventure. It seems that it even got inside my camera, not to mention my clothes and the fact that sand was in my hair

It's actually hard to enjoy being alone in this place. It's a popular tourist attraction and you're likely to get hit by a passing SUV. But, what is undoubtedly pleasing, and what we managed to find out from the conversation with our guide, is that all cars and drivers undergo mandatory certification (the safety frame in the already powerful Toyota Land Cruiser is a vivid example)

But a great place in general, I recommend it. Does contemplating the sands and expanses really give you certain thoughts, or do they just start flowing like sand in the wind? Hell knows, I repeat - today I'm in an extremely specific mood, for which I can't say whether it's good or bad. Let it be what it will be

“My lungs taste the air of Time, Blown past falling sands…” ― Frank Herbert, Dune
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