Ghost town

Imagine standing in the middle of a street and seeing the dust around being picked up by the wind, hearing the distant calls to prayer, marveling at the almost but not quite ripe bunches of dates hanging heavily from the palm trees, laughing at the stray cats frolicking in green lush front lawns, listening to the birds chirping in the lime trees.  Imagine children's bikes nicely parked under fabric tent carports, ripsticks waiting to be picked up again, lawn furniture gathering dust under the heavy sunrays...but not seeing a single person! 
Our compound has turned into a ghost town!  With the advent of summer and the summer vacation, all the families have vacated the premises, some with and some without the dads.  The maids are finding that their usual villas have been emptied for the summer, the nannies have been left behind, giving them also a much deserved summer break to enjoy.
Last night, we took our evening walk around the compound and truly did not see another person during our walk.  Some cats, some children's bikes and toys, but nobody else.  The majority of the villas seem emptied, many are actually being repainted and refurbished before new occupants move in.  That's the sad part of the summer, as we had to bid goodbye to some of our new friends who completed their contract in the Kindgom and moved on to literal and figurative greener pastures. 
So, to all of you still here, congrats, you are part of the few die-hards sticking it out during the summer.
And to those who have left, we are not very far behind...13 hours and 19 minutes to be exact until take off!