DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — It was supposed to be a romantic getaway for Sarah Mettee and her husband, a warm winter break in Dubai away from their three young children to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary.
Instead of relaxing in the sun, they “saw and heard a lot of rockets,” some of which were “intercepted outside our hotel,” Metty told NBC News on Monday, calling it “scary.” NBC News agreed not to name the hotel because of concerns it could be targeted because of the number of U.S. tourists staying there.
Now, like hundreds of thousands of travelers across the Middle East, Meiti is stranded in the region. Flights have been grounded as Iran retaliated against many of its neighbors, including the United Arab Emirates, after the United States and Israel bombed the Islamic Republic, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“We’re really looking forward to this trip,” she said at the hotel on Tuesday, adding that the trip “isn’t cheap and is something we’ve never done before, just the two of us.”
Sarah Metty. (NBC News)
(NBC News)
“It’s really hard to try to escape,” said Meiti, 45, who arrived in Dubai last Monday. She added that she worried it would be several days before they could return home to their three children, ages 16, 9 and 8, in Nashville, Tennessee.
The defense ministry of the United Arab Emirates, an oil-rich federation of seven emirates, said on Sunday that its air defense systems intercepted and stopped 165 ballistic missiles, two cruise missiles and more than 540 Iranian drones over two days.
Metty said the U.S. Embassy told them to shelter in place and they haven’t left the hotel since. She added that she had tried to book multiple flights “just to get out as quickly as possible” but so far every flight they had booked had been cancelled.
“We just want to go home and see our kids,” she said, adding that they are “at home taking care of them while we’re away,” though she worries “it could be 10, 12, 14 days before we’re here without our kids.”
A yacht sails through thick smoke rising from Jebel Ali Port following reports of an Iranian attack in Dubai on Sunday. (Fadel Sena/AFP via Getty Images)
(Fadel Senna)
Following weekend attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran, the Islamic Republic launched retaliatory attacks against several countries, including Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, Oman and Saudi Arabia, as well as the United Arab Emirates.
Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest international hub, was closed for a third day on Monday but was expected to reopen in the evening.
Dubai’s media office said on Sunday that the airport was damaged and four employees were injured.
It added that a fire also broke out at Dubai’s Jebel Ali Port, the city’s main maritime terminal and main shipping hub.
Videos and pictures posted to social media on Sunday also showed flames engulfing the facade of the famed Burj Al Arab hotel and thick smoke billowing near the iconic Burj Khalifa, the 2,723-foot skyscraper that towers over the city.
A fire also broke out on Saturday outside the Fairmont Hotel on the famous man-made Palm Jumeirah.
Alex Bocquet said he was meeting some friends near the Fairmont Hotel when he “heard a huge explosion.”
Alex Bokai. (NBC News)
(NBC News)
The 30-year-old CEO of Modern Freelancers said on Monday that he had lived in Dubai for more than a year and had always felt safe there, “but at that point, the distance was a little too close for comfort.”
After calling some friends, they decided to leave the city as quickly as possible, he said. So he went back to his place and grabbed “my passport, as much cash as I could, some matches, a sweater in case we got stuck in the cold in the middle of the night,” he said, and they drove into the desert where they were renting.
Dubai seemed to them “the epicenter of the Iranian threat,” he said, adding that he believed Tehran targeted the city because it was a “tourist capital.”
An intercepted projectile fell into the sea near Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah on Sunday. (Fadel Sena/AFP via Getty Images)
(Fadel Senna)
“We are lucky that most of us are running businesses and working remotely,” he said, adding that they will remain in their rentals for as long as needed.
“What happened in Fairmont scares us a little bit,” he said.
For Metty, the priority is to get home as soon as possible, but she said the airport attack worries her.
“If they were going to attack the airport, I certainly wouldn’t want to fly out and they were trying to shut the place down,” she said, adding that their three children knew they were being delayed and would get home as soon as possible.
She said her 16-year-old son was “calm and collected,” adding, “He was very cool, cool, collected.”
Kyle Simmons reports from Dubai. Sheila Pinson and Sara Monetta reported from London.
This article originally appeared on NBCNews.com
