Tents

I've been thinking about the 'Tent Philosophy' in Salalah. Many of you may know that when the monsoon season starts in Salalah (July, August), many families set up blue 'tents' on the Garbeeb or Iteen plains under the mountains. They spend their evenings barbecuing and relaxing by their tents all summer. It's a strange habit we've developed over the years. Usually on the weekends, we're invited by families we know to join them at their 'tent' in Iteen. We spend the afternoon talking and barbecuing while the children play then people gather around in a circle at night in the tent (or outside on a straw mat) playing cards or chatting or even watching television! (I've seen tents with battery operated televisions!). Some families have their own water tanks and portable bathrooms by their tent. It's become an odd tradition.

Furthermore, several years ago it was a money-making technique. Families would move into their tents (yes, MOVE IN, kids and all), and rent out their real homes to families from the UAE or Saudi. They could easily make 800 Rials a week just by renting out their house. I've seen many families (including our neighbours) who did this. But, the sad thing is that the husbands are greedy for money so they force their wives out of their homes for a couple of weeks and either send them to the tent or to their families' houses. Thus, many families became homeless out of greed. Recently (a few years ago), the government decided to make it illegal, thank goodness, because it was affecting the tourism industry (rented places and hotels), as families were making a lot of money privately. I noticed it more with families from the mountains because they usually had farms (or relatives with farms) in the mountains and it was their 'summer home'.

Does anyone know if people still rent out their homes in the summer? What do you think?