Abu Dhabi

On our last day in the UAE we took an hour taxi ride to Abu Dhabi to visit the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque which is the largest Mosque in the country.  Even from the highway you could see that it was pretty spectacular.  

Outside the front entrance

All white with gold detailing we arrived shortly after it opened and there were already quite a few people and tour groups there.  This is the only Mosque in Abu Dhabi that non-Muslims can enter and they have a couple tours set up to give you more information on Islam and their customs.  

Once inside the first entrance it opens to this courtyard

Women had to cover their heads and the rest of their bodies with only your feet, hands and faces being shown.  Men had a dress code as well, but it was not as strict and nothing was said about children. 

The Mosque was stunning in architecture and colors.  We were required to take our shoes off once inside the main entrance.  

There were hundreds of cubbies for shoes. 

There were security guards throughout and men walking around making sure no one broke the rules.  Adalyn brought along her Barbie with her and half way through our visit she took Barbie’s clothes off.  

One man saw the naked Barbie and advised that we had to put it away.  I was a bit surprised but understood that a naked Barbie was not quite in line with their views.  

The attention to detail was impeccable with gorgeous chandeliers plus the marble floors and walls were inlaid with flowers and vines.  There was so much more of the Mosque that we were not allowed to see.  

The walls were detailed all throughout 

After an hour and a half of taking as many pictures as I could, still not being able to fit the entire Mosque into the screen of my camera we exited and I was relieved to take my long sleeves and head scarf off to cool down. 

After the Mosque we stopped by the Emperors Palace which had originally been built for one of the Kings but he decided to turn it into a luxury hotel.  

Open to day visitors we stopped by for a picnic lunch and to take in the hotel and grounds.  We had to go through metal detectors and sadly there were quite a few places that day visitors were restricted from entering so I did not feel like we got to see much. 

We spent the final afternoon playing at the beach.  Adalyn loves the waves and building in the sand.  We watched the sky divers as there is a popular sky diving school right next to the beach.  About 12 people would jump at a time and this went on every half hour.  I was able to capture some great photos of the skyline and Grant enjoyed his feet in the sand and did not eat any this time.

The city lights were beautiful to see each night and out on the balcony you could hear music from the resorts in the area.  There was a nice view from our apartment and being on the 42^nd floor and it gave Adalyn plenty of elevator rides which she loved.  We were sad to leave Dubai as we found it to be a great city with beaches, city life, culture, attractions, great food and friendly people.  We hope to go back again and highly recommend it as a vacation destination for everyone. 

Dubai, Part 2

One morning in Dubai Mark took Adalyn to Ski Dubai so she could play in the snow and it was pretty special for her that there was a Disney Frozen exhibit.  

With admission you got snow gear except for a hat.  

Adalyn loved the rides in the snow and probably enjoyed eating it more than anything.  Who would have thought there was an indoor snow park in the Middle East, but it was pretty neat. 

 While they had some father/daughter time I took Grant to the beach.  We enjoyed a picnic lunch while watching the weight lifters and I was surprised that rock music such as “Sweet Child of Mine” and “Welcome to the Jungle” were allowed to be played over loud speakers.  It did not feel like we were in the Middle East.

 

The beach walk had playgrounds, splash parks, restaurants and exercise equipment you could use along the path.  It was a nice surprise after living in Africa where wifi is only found mostly in homes to have free wifi at the beach.    

The beach was very clean and had it’s own rules.  You could see people in everything from bikini’s to burkas on the beach.  The water was not as warm as I expected but the weather in general was more cool than the average for February, thankfully.

Adalyn and I were able to take a sunset stroll on the beach atop some camels who were very friendly, One camel enjoyed trying to take a bite out of Grant's foot.  

Maybe it was the area we stayed in or the attractions we went to but we more often saw people dressed like us and not in traditional Middle Eastern or Muslim attire and more accents from outside the UAE than those native to the area.   

On separate evenings Mark and I took turns doing a Sundowner Safari.  A tour company picked us up and we went with 5 other people out into the Arabian Desert. 

It was spectacular to see sand go on forever and it was multi-colored.

After an hour drive on the highway, we went into a reserve and started the dune bashing part of the expedition.  In Toyota Land Cruisers we floored it over the sand dunes and took quite the exciting ride in the desert.  It was like a rollercoaster except in a car and on sand.

 Three Landcruisers got stuck and had to be pulled out but the other 30+ vehicles did not have any problems.  Probably one of the most fun adventures we had in Dubai, sliding around on sand.

After stopping a few times for pictures and watching the sun set in the desert we headed over to an Arabian tent for a traditional dinner.

There were several falcons who showed off their skills of flying and diving for food which you could also take pictures with.   

After the falcon show we tested Arabian coffee and dates, followed by appetizers and dinner while seated on cushions around the camp. 

This lady did each of my hands in about 1 minute.

Everyone was welcome to get henna tattoos and try the hookahs.

After an hour the paint aspect of the henna would peel off  and it left you with what looked like a tattoo
 that lasted a week for me. 

To finish off the night a belly dancer performed to 4 songs and we all enjoyed a camel ride.

 Mark told me the guide kept telling him to do hand gestures so we have about 8 different pictures of Mark with all sorts of hand gestures.

I wished we could have brought the kids but the adventure did not end until 10pm and I doubt the dune bashing would have been as much fun if we could only have glided over them with Grant. 

One morning we took a traditional wooden boat ride across the canal part of old Dubai to the Gold, Spice and Textile Souks. 

Costing only about 10 cents each way the water taxi's made for a unique ride. 

It was a new way to see the city and experience the culture since several locals use it for transport to work and home.

Once at the souks I did my best at bargaining on some cashmere scarves, an Arabian lamp and a few more souvenirs. 

 Some areas of the souks concentrated more on certain items so you would come to the spice souk and find large bags full of not only spices but nuts and dates.  In another area were the textile shops filled to the ceiling with scarves.

The gold souk was the largest area and the most concentrated with tourists.  I went into one shop to buy a gold necklace but the prices did not seem like a deal to me, even with bargaining. 

All of the store windows were filled to the brim with gold pieces.

It was a crowded market and men kept coming up and offering to sell us counterfeit designer bags and watches if we would just follow them to a back room.  If you have seen the Sex and the City Part 2 movie, it was almost identical to their market. 

During my many bargaining session I thought if I told the shop keepers that I was from South Africa instead of the US I might get a better deal but they were smarter than I expected and knew how to speak some Afrikaans.  I of course only know a few words so I could not even reply to their statements and therefore my cleverness did not work out so well. The shopkeepers could also give you the price in whatever type of dollars you wanted, Dirhams, US Dollar, and even Rand.  I could have spent hours scouring the markets for deals but after about 3 we ventured back on the wooden boat to the taxi stand and headed home.

Each evening we were able to try a different type of food.  With a melting pot of cultures there were great options everywhere.  Lebanese was probably my favorite and Adalyn was adventurous trying all types of cuisines, enjoying Turkish food the most (other than her pizza dish one night).  Eating out did cost more than in the US and on occasion I did have a hard time remembering the exchange rate. 

That is about all for part 2, one more blog on Dubai and Abu Dhabi to come.