Dubai Adventure

On July 3rd. we started a new blog of our motorcycle trip to Tennessee.

http://davidandhazel3.travellerspoint.com/

After almost 2 months here our time is coming to an end. While this has been an amazing experience, both of us are anxious to return to our home and family. Besides the national sport of shopping, one of the really striking aspects of Dubai is its architecture. This must be architect heaven. There are no ordinary skyscrapers here - each one is unique and quite beautiful in design. Many of them are "twinned" and there are a few which feature 3 identical towers. We spent our last weekend capturing some shots of buildings we had not photographed before to show you a few which are not as famous as the Burj Khalifa or the Burj Al Arab.
Here is a shot of the skyline of Dubai from the Arabian Gulf showing the variety of buildings.

Many buildings are still under construction and will be for a while because the economy has slowed here as it has around the world. Construction slows but does not entirely stop because if a builder stops work, the site is deemed to be abandoned and the investment is lost. The site below is likely a resort and is out on one of the crescents around the Palm.

Besides straight buildings

There are twisty ones

and circular ones

Some offer optical challenges or illusions...

Besides singles, there are lots of twins or double towers...

Some have holes in them...

and some are joined by little bridges...

Many have pictures on them of the Ruler or Rulers...

and

and of course

There are lots and lots of mosques in every neighbourhood both large and small...

and

Other historical buildings have a distinct architectural style featuring wind towers designed to cool the buildings.

and

And so we leave Dubai - a city of great contrasts - where East meets West, modern meets tradition, steel meets sand, abras meet 747s and abays meet mini skirts. Beyond all the sky scrapers and malls and high fashion lies a culture very conscious of its place as a center of peace and prosperity in the swirling Arab Spring - and a place focused on establishing itself as the true financial hub between East and West. It is a city of great safety, courtesy and welcome yet visa requirements are strict. It is indeed a place of contrasts and that is probably why it is so very facinating.

Good bye from Dubai!

Hi from the Arabian Gulf

On Saturday we were up and out early to drive down the coast to Abu Dhabi - a trip of just over an hour. We met up with Dave's friend Kevin Fearn and his wife Donna. Kevin and Dave have been HR acquaintences for years since Kevin worked with a competitor of Lafarge's in Toronto and they got to know each other through Labour Relations connections. Kevin's wife Donna is a journalist with The National a large daily newspaper in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Donna applied for the job on a bit of a whim while working in Canada. As they say the rest is history. Kevin and Donna have been here in the UAE since last October. While visiting them they took us to see the Shaikh Zayed Grand Mosque which is the largest in the UAE and the 8th largest in the world. This magnificent building is so large and so beautiful it is difficult to capture it in pictures. It would cover a number of typical city blocks and is still not completely finished. It was built as the tomb for Sheikh Azyed bin Sultan Al Nayhan who died in 2007 and is considered the Father of the UAE and remains a much beloved leader.

There are four minarets on the four corners of the mosque which rise over 100 m in height. There are 57white marble domes covering the outside yard and the main building as well.

The courtyard is paved with floral marble designs and measures about 17,000 m2 (180,000 sq ft). What is really amazing about the marble in this courtyard is that it feels cool on the feet despite the blazing sun and high temperatures.

Around the outside of the huge courtyard are outer areas with over 1,000 columns which are clad with more than 20,000 marble panels inlaid with semi-precious stones, including lapis lazuli, red agate, amethyst, abalone shell and mother of pearl. That is gold leaf on the top of each pillar.

Here is a close-up of one of those columns.

The entrance or foyer before you enter the main prayer hall is a spectacular room of white marble with many floral designs.

This is the Chandelier in the entrance - made of Swarovski crystals. It is one of the smaller of the seven chandeliers imported from Germany.

What is striking as you enter this building is that it feels very cool. It has been designed to ensure air flow. There is no airconditioning yet it feels that way. It is not only cool, it is quiet and has a very serene feeling. This calm, cool, quiet atmosphere is amplified in the main prayer room.

Note the spectacular chandelier which measures 10 m by 15 m high and weighs over 9 tonnes. It is made from gold plated copper and millions of Swarovski crystals.

The carpet is the largest in the world amd was made in one piece by 1,200 weavers. It weighs 47 tons and is made of wool and cotton. It is incredibly soft on the feet (everyone has bare feet in a mosque). It may be the reason the room has such a quiet atmosphere.

The 96 columns in the main prayer hall are round in shape and inlaid with mother of pearl. Here is a close-up of the detail.

Natural materials were used for construction which include marble, stone, gold, semi-precious stones, crystals and ceramics.
The Mosque is large enough to accommodate 40,000 worshippers. The main prayer hall can accommodate up to 9,000 worshippers. Two rooms next to the main prayer hall, with a 1,500-capacity each, are for the exclusive use of women. Here is Hazel in the center of one of these.

The Qibla wall (facing the direction of the Holy City of Mecca) is 23 metres high and 50 metres wide, and is subtly decorated so as not to distract worshippers from prayer. Gold-glass mosaic has been used in the Mehrab (the niche found in the middle of the Qibla wall). The 99 names (qualities) of Allah featured on the Qibla wall exemplify traditional Kufi calligraphy. Here is a picture of Dave and Kevin in front of the Mehrab.

Every aspect of the design and construction of this mosque reflects an amazing attention to detail. For example the ceiling design in one of the overflow prayer rooms

matches the design in the carpet directly below it:

There are several large clocks indicating prayer times which change daily.

Here is a closeup of the clock. Note that it has both the Georgian calendar as well as the Muslim calendar.

While we were only there in the day time, the Mosque has incredible lighting at night. The lighting has been designed to follow the phases of the moon. At times of the full moon the lighting is light grey. As the moon waxes and wanes the lighting becomes a darker and darker blue. This is truly a building you could spend a great deal of time exploring and admiring. If you are interested in learning more about this mosque you can go to its website at http://www.szgmc.ae/en/index

As an added note there is no charge for visiting this magnificent building, nor is there a charge for women to borrow freshly laundered abayas and hijabs (sheylas) and for men to borrow a khandura (dishdasha). There is a huge amount of security to ensure that you do not cross any cultural or religious borders.

Now that we are into our last 2 weekends here we really started turning on the sightseeing jets. On Friday (the first day of our weekend) we boarded the Dubai Ferry (looks more like an upscale tour boat) for a trip down and out of the marina area and then up and along the coastline, through the Palm Jumeriah, past the Burj Al Arab and up along the coast past the shipyards and finally up into the Dubai Creek - all places we have visited by car but not seen from the water side. The trip takes almost 2 hours and cost about $13 each. What they call Dubai Creek is a large inlet that extends probably 5-7 km inland, where there is lots of shipping traffic. It is far from what we would normally call a creek.

The Dubai Ferry - a sleek craft which carries 100 passengers.

Inside the Ferry it looks like this. This is the "Silver" class section - the Gold Class is up front and looks a bit like business class in a plane complete with very large chairs and side tables.

We left the marina area where we also happen to be living and all its skyscrapers...

Went out to the Arabian Gulf and up past the JBR - Jumeriah Beach Residences - all those sand colored buildings are the JBR and the little white building on the right is the Sheraton. There are a number of big name hotels in the same complex.

We headed away from land and over towards the Palm Jumeriah development with all of its resorts and upscale housing developments. Here are a couple of the homes at the end of one of the palm fronds. They reminded us a bit of some of the gorgeous homes on the canals in Ft. Lauderdale. These all have spectacular beachfront and it is all open - no fences.

We passed in front of the beautiful Atlantis Resort and got a look at its waterfront as well.

We next passed the sail-shaped Burj Al Arab - the 7 star hotel with the helipad at the top on the other side - see previous blog.

and the wave-shaped Jumeirah Beach Hotel which is right next to it. There are so many hotels and resorts with "Jumeirah" in them that it is VERY easy to get confused.

We continued on up and into the Dubai Creek where the ferry docked. Now it was our task to find our way back home which must be a good 25 km away. We had been told it was very easy - just take a water bus (another part of the excellent Municipal transit system) across the creek and then walk over to the Metro Station and catch the Metro back to the Marina. They were absolutely correct - it was not only easy, it was very inexpensive.

We boarded the water bus - this is what it looked like on the inside - it would carry about 30 passengers.

Dave on the water bus

We walked about 5 minutes over to the Metro Station. It was a welcome relief to get into the air conditioned comfort and out of the 40+ degree heat. Here is what it looked like inside as we were waiting for the train. Even the floors are done in beautiful inlaid patterns of stone.

The system mostly runs a hight elevated track system that follows the main arterial roads but there are parts particularly in the older part of the city that run underground like a conventional subway. The trains are electronically controlled and driverless although they do have conductors who roam between the cars checking your pass.

You initially buy a metropass card at one of the ticket booths at any of the stations. You then load it with however much money you want to put on it. There are no cash fares, it is electronic card or nothing Fares vary with how many zones you go through and they are very inexpensive - especially if you go silver class instead of gold class. Yes they even have "Business Class" on the Metro. Business Class is the front car of the train and has big comfortable seats like an aircraft with little fold down tables. Gold Class is about double the cost of Silver Class but is still cheaper than the Toronto subway. When you walk into a station you pass your Metro card over the card reader at the electronic turnstyle and it opens and lets you go through. If the conductor is in your car she/he may ask to see your pass, especially if you are riding in the Gold class car. When your ride is completed and you go to exit the station you pass through another turnstyle with a card reader. It reads your card, calculates your fare in accordance with how many zones you travelled and deducts that amount from your electronic account on your card. The card reader also displays how much your fare for that trip was and how much money is remaining on your card. It is truly a marvel of electronics. The trains are super modern, clean and comfortable. They are also very quiet so must ride on rubber tires or something similar. We had been given a couple of "gold" cards so we travelled in the gold coach which is first car of the train. The second car is for women and children and the last 3 are the silver class.

The trip was quiet, clean and fast and we were back to our departure point to pick up our car and do a quick shopping trip. Tomorrow we are going to make the 120 km treck down the highway to Abu Dhabi to visit the Grand Mosque and Dave's friend Kevin Fearn and his wife Donna.

Perhaps tied with the Burj Khalifa and the Palm Jumeriah for sights that exemplify and identify Dubai is the Burj Al Arab. This is the magnificent sail-shaped hotel built on its own island in the Arabian Gulf.

The Burj Al Arab

This is the first and probably only 7 star hotel in the world. It has 202 two floor suites which are serviced by a team of butlers providing 24 hour service. There is a Rolls Royce chauffeur service ready for patrons along with in-suite checkin. Suites start at US$1500 a night plus a 20% tax. The building rises an imposing 321 meters making this a beautiful focal point for miles around. You are only able to access the site if you have a reservation for a suite or for dinner at one of the many high end restaurants.

The Burj Al Arab as seen from the Souk Madinat Jumeirah

Just along the Arabian Gulf between the Burj Al Arab and the Palm Jumeirah is the Souk Madinat Jumeirah. This is an amazing shopping area (what else?) which has been constructed to re-create a traditional souk. The maze of little shops and restaurants is constructed around a series of waterways and canals. You can have a ride on an abra through the canals.

Inside the Souk Madinat

Hazel in front of the waterway

Dubai originally formed as a fishing and pearl diving village and was located around a small river called the Dubai Creek. It became a center of commerce and trading gold, spices and textiles. Way back in 1892 Sheikh Maktoum formed a trading agreement with the British government to permit a full tax exemption to all foreign traders - that agreement continues to this day making this Emirate truly a hub of trade and export. To support the trade over the years they created a large port which has been dredged and is now the largest deep water port in the world.

Areas on both sides of Dubai Creek developed and are characterized by very narrow, winding streets lined with shops selling everything from spices to textiles and buildings with square wind towers. The creek today remains an area of very active shipping with many small and very decrepit boats tied up often 3 deep along the waterfront.

Freight

Thousands of people commute across the creek each day on small boats called abras for the nominal fee of 1 AED - about 25 cents. They load about 20 people onto each abra and set off whenever they are full.

An abra ready for passengers.

A full abra setting off across the creek.

We then went to find the Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum House but it was closed until 3 in the afternoon because it was Friday - the sabbath. It was prayer time and many people were in the local mosque – we could hear the prayers from the outside. Even the security guard had left a notice saying he had gone for prayer. The father of the current Sheikh and Leader of Dubai used to live in this house before it was turned into a museum.

Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum House

We returned the next day to visit the Dubai Museum. This was very well done with a number of exhibits showing past life and times of Dubai. They also had a number of boats and also archaeological artifacts which have been found in several "digs" in the area.

Dhow outside the Dubai Museum

Inside the Museum scene - drinking coffee and smoking the shisha

An Arab school - probably in a mosque

Leading a camel - note the khanjar at the belt - a traditional dagger.

After Dave leaves for work in the mornings, Hazel usually goes down to the pool about 9:30 for an hour in the sun. That is about all you can take here because of the heat. It is usually about 35 in the mornings rising to about 40 by noon. We have found that recently the humidity has been climbing as well. It wasn’t as humid when we first arrived. Now the humidity is so high that your glasses and cameras immediately fog up when you go outside. One day we noticed that there was a lot of condensation on the outside of our windows. The condensation accumulated to the point that it started running down the windows - it looked a bit like it was raining!

We are now at the time of year when people really avoid being outside. We noticed that the outdoor dining areas are also largely empty in the evenings because of the heat and humidity. These people are innovative though – a number of the outdoor seating areas are being enclosed with plastic – or even glass with tent-like roofing. They have giant outdoor air conditioners blowing cool air at the seating areas. Nonetheless, there are many more people sitting indoors than there were a month ago. Only the die-hard shisha smokers seem to be outside!

Hazel met a nice British woman named Judith at the pool a couple of weeks ago. Judith took Hazel under her wing and took her out on the metro to a lovely local mall – the Ibn Battuta Mall. Ibn Battuta was a famous Moroccan explorer of the 1300s who travelled more widely than any explorer until the modern times. The Mall is divided into the areas that he explored (China, India, Egypt, Tunisia, Andalusia, and Persia) and is decorated that way.

Entrance to the Ibn Battuta Mall and Residences

The Egyptian Court in the Ibn Battuta Mall

We went back on the weekend so Dave could visit as well and found a good range of shops from large British stores (Debenhams), a very large hypermarket (Geant) to many others that we recognized (H&M, Starbucks, Columbia). Shopping is truly the #1 indoor sport of Dubai.

Inside the Ibn Battuta Mall

Fountain in the Ibn Battuta Mall