Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Grand Mosque

The Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Mosque (or Grand Mosque, for short) is named after the late president of the UAE.  This guy seems to be the motivation for most of the massive construction projects around the country.  Unlike most of the obnoxiously large buildings though, the Grand Mosque is actually amazingly picturesque. It is definitely a sight worth seeing during any visit to the UAE. 

Can you tell it's me? 

Now you can!! 

There were just a few women on the tour. 

The tops of all the domes and minarets behind me are pure gold...

seriously, no messing around here. 

"First I wash each of my hands three times, then I was each of my arms three times, like this"

You guessed it, the BIGGEST chandelier in the world. . . 

Can't forget, the BIGGEST carpet in the world! 

The whole mosque has over 1,000 of these marble columns. All of the flowers are made of semi-precious stones. 

Old Dubai

I had a chance to go for a day trip to Dubai this week and check out some of the older areas of town. First off, I am shocked that some of this still exists! They are doing so much construction and taking down all the "old" things in the city...but it is pretty cool that they kept this part intact!

It was pretty hot, so we stopped at this beautiful cafe (XVA Cafe, if you're ever there) and had some of the best mint lemonade I've ever tasted!! There was also funky artwork and mobiles hanging all around the courtyard. 

Lemon with mint...looks disgusting, tastes divine. 

Me, standing in one of the little alley-ways.

My friend Mandy, the "tour guide". So nice of her to take me!!

I am in love with this little courtyard. 

There were also some art exhibits scattered throughout. I was interested in this piece, which is just a bunch of bowling pins wrapped in fabric. There were two more of them facing this group. Curious....

Juxtaposition on Dubai Creek - One old boat filled with Indian workers crossing paths with a fancy new boat. 

Some Photos from Tamra's Visit

Pete and I had our first visitor! We got to do some pretty cool stuff while she was here (including dune bashing, mentioned earlier). Here are a few other pics: 

Red Bull Air Races: Kind of difficult to photograph, but so cool to see in person!

More of the Air Races - we watched from the beach 

My friend Sinead and her husband came out with us one night :-)

Tamra looks happy to be lounging in a bean bag and smoking sheesha!

The purple shirt guy has the job of going around and making sure everyone's "hubbly-bubbly" is working properly. I wonder how his lungs are feeling...

Smart Little Bugger.

After a delicious dinner in Dubai the other night we stumbled across a group of bunnies hopping around in the grassy area of the hotel.  (The hotel had a little cage sort of thing set up for them with carrots - of course - and stuff...so I think they must have been pretty tame.) Anyway, there was the cutest little boy, around 7 or so, chasing after the bunnies and trying to pet them. Being a typical little boy, he was being a little too aggressive and running after them. I went up to the kid and was telling him, "you have to go really slow, be gentle" so that he could pet one.  He had the best accent, so I asked him where he was from. "Belfast," he replied. I my head, I'm thinking...crap, where is Belfast again? "Ohh, of course," I tell him. To which he replied, "You must be from New York." 

Dune Bashing

It's not everywhere in the world where you can tell someone you went "dune bashing" over the weekend, and they know exactly what you're talking about.  We went and checked out this "classic" UAE activity a couple of weeks ago when we had a visitor in town. 

The trip started around 3:30 in the afternoon when we got picked up by a random man at a random hotel. Mind you, this was all pre-arranged, so it wasn't all that random...but we never confirmed who we were, and he never confirmed who he was, but we hopped in the Land Cruiser nonetheless. 

First, we were taken on an hour drive out of town and landed up at a little encampment with some bedouin guys and their camels. 

These guys looked authentic.

Baby camel!! I want one! 

Our tour vehicles. 

This is DUNE BASHING!!! Basically, the guy just drives around all over the desert. For all you know, he could just be driving in circles - it's kind of hard to tell. The best part is when they drive all the way up the side of a massive sand dune, then just cruise vertically down the other side. Scary...but verrry fun! 

At the end of the dune bashing, we got dropped at a bedouin camp where we could ride some camels, eat, and smoke sheesha. I love this pic because the wind in my hair makes it look like the camel is going fast...but in reality, these camels looked like they were about to croak! (The little camp where we had dinner is in the background)

 

Shawarma

Like good little tourists, we documented our last trip out for some tasty shawarmas.  The place we go to is called Al Rousha...and I'd say they probably have some of the tastiest food in town, and the cheapest! They guys there know us now since we've been such frequent visitors as of late. 

Here we are standing in front of the window where you get your shawarma. Chicken on the right, "meat" on the left. 

The place was particularly packed that night and there were lots of kids around watching the guys as they were carving the meat. 

Or shawarma-making friends :-) 

A good article about shawarmas: http://www.gomideast.com/articles/shw1.htm

Viva La Vida

Coldplay finished their world tour with a stop in Abu Dhabi last night - and we were fortunate enough to have tickets to the show. This was their Middle East debut and I think that people here would probably pay to see them again after the show they put on! Last night also happened to be the first time I've seen RAIN in Abu Dhabi...and it wasn't just any rain, but a complete downpour!

Still dry - riding to the show in the slowest taxi in Abu Dhabi

Finally made it through the gates

Quite a variety of people came out for the show - still dry...

Mike standing at the Emirates Palace-style entrance to the show.

What's with the coupons here?! 1st wait in line to buy coupons, then wait in another line to use the coupons for beer. Hmmm....

We've got our beer! It's starting to get a bit more humid.

Slight downpour!

I look like I just got out of the shower!! 

Concert-goers holding up their cell phones to commemorate Earth Hour. All the other lights were turned off. (still raining!)

Viva! 

We got a ride home with some random Emiratis who were cruising in their BMW!!! Hahahaha....seemed like a fine idea at the time.

A Bit o' Blarney

You know that saying, "when in Rome"...well it doesn't ALWAYS apply.  For instance, I don't think there is a single Emirati who celebrates St. Patrick's Day, but holidays like this give expats an opportunity for socializing, having a few refreshments, and just having a little evening of feeling like "home".  March 17th found Pete and Christine enjoying a few brews at PJ O'Reilly's pub. 

'Twas a festive occasion

We were dressed appropriately! 

Left to right: Katie (CA), Pete, Christine, Damian (Aus), Julie (Aus), Jenny (UK), and Mike (CO)

We were getting impatient because the service was a bit slow. 

Housekeeping!!

Judging by these lovely towel swans, I would say the housekeeping staff at the Hilton Hotel Apartments might have a little extra time on their hands...

I caught a barracuda!

We went fishing with 2 of Pete's buddies over the weekend. We were all prepped for a nice warm day on the water. What we got was a cold foggy morning. It was okay though, because everyone was successful and it warmed up enough on our way back that we were able to catch a few rays.

The first F-350 we've seen in the UAE! 

I needed a little assistance handling the pole. 

Pete caught the first fish. 

It was SOOO foggy and COLD! We were not prepared for this weather at all (as seen by our choice of attire). Brrrrr

Christine reeling in her first fish ever!! 

We knew we were in good hands with Capt. Mohammed! 

Yeah!!! Christine caught a barracuda! 

Grande!