patriciawatt

DUBAI & FUJAIRAH

It’s been just about thirteen years since I last visited Dubai on a trip with friends the year after Don passed away. I was impressed at the time and today I am even more impressed!! It has grown and is the most populous city in the UAE. It still has the famous tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa, but many many more buildings have sprung up everywhere. All are unique. No plain rectangular boxes shooting up into the air. They have stunning unusual shapes and features. Why can’t we do that in Toronto I ask. Money, someone answered. Oh!! You’re right!!

Another icon of Dubai, the Burj Al Arab hotel, with its iconic sail shaped architecture on Jumeirah Beach is still as beautiful as ever, and of course the largest mall in the world, The Dubai Mall, is always worth a visit with its ice rink and aquarium and the two anchor stores, Galleries LaFayette & Bloomingdale’s. I must have walked at least five miles through this beautiful shopping mall. I had lunch at Galleries LaFayette, but really didn’t buy much. It is really expensive. But it’s a great place to window shop and people watch!

We had another of our great Around the World Event here, A Vintage Evening at the Al Mahar Desert Dune. After a drive through Dubai we were on the highway to our destination. Along the way we passed so many new buildings and again I was impressed by their style. We also passed the camel racing centre. It is a huge area set up much like a race track for horses with the track and then barn upon barn to house the camels with areas for exercising. We passed this facility for what seemed like miles.

We arrive at the front gate of Al Mahar where we had to stop to let some air out of our tires so we can better cross the desert sands. Over a dune and we come upon an area set up with oriental rugs, on the ground, and pillows to sit upon. There we sat and had sundowners with the most delicious fresh dates as the sun dropped below the dune. Then came a fellow with a falcon and showed off its skills. Then we were off in our SUVs – 94 of them, all white – to our evening meal and entertainment.

In FUJAIRAH, I took the hop-on, hop-off bus and did a little shopping at the lovely Fujairah Mall. This is the seventh largest city in UAE and is located on the Gulf of Oman the foothills of the Hajar Mountains. It has a population of around ninety-eight thousand. The beautiful Sheikh Zahedan Mosque is the second largest in the UAE and is visible from many locations in the city. It can hold around 28,000 worshippers.

An interesting fact for me, is that they have bullfighting here and it is a significant public event. Unlike Spain, they do not have matadors and they do not kill the bulls. I’m told it consists of two bulls locking horns, there are two ‘handlers’ and can result in injuries. Betting is not allowed.