The Al Ain Classics Festival gave us an excuse to visit Marwan.

The Festival is a series of concerts and opera performances in various locations around Al Ain. But the most impressive is Al Jahili Fort. A restored fort in the centre of Al Ain.

The whole of the central courtyard was carpeted. We were served Arabic coffee and dates on arrival before being escorted to our seats. It was all outdoors on a wonderfully balmy evening. A perfect setting.

Nigel had refused to go to any form of opera. The fact that they were to be performed in German with Arabic subtitles on the screens to each side probably did not help.

Instead we saw the Mozarteum Orchestra from Salzburg perform Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture, Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor and Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony.

Despite claiming that he only wanted to listen to “Fingal’s Cave”, even Nigel enjoyed the whole evening. When you consider that the last concert we went to was Roger Waters, Pink Floyd you would have to say that our taste in music is somewhat eclectic.