Dubai Part 1

decorated for Valentine's Day

Hello!

We just returned from our Adventure In Dubai.  On the way there, we flew 7 hours to Frankfurt, then 6 more hours to Dubai.  Coming back, it was a looooooong flight from Dubai to Washington D.C.  We were in the air for 15 1/2 hours, I think.  Then another hour or so to Boston.

Burj al Arab: 7-star hotel

FRANKFURT. (see previous post).

7-STAR HOTEL: BURJ AL ARAB.  We wanted to give ourselves a break the first day, since we didn't know how we'd respond to jet lag.  Dubai has the World's Only Seven-Star Hotel, Burj Al Arab.  They don't let just any Joe from off the street come in and take pictures or anything.  But they will let you in withOUT staying overnight in the hotel, if you have reservations for a meal in one of their restaurants.

We made reservations for a late breakfast, and oohhed and aahhed at all the elaborate fountains, chandeliers, and fancy architecture.  They had lots of heart flower formations from it being Valentine's Day the day before.  It was an impressive international spread for breakfast!

I really liked the fountains in the Burj al Arab.

It sounds a little silly, but they were very exact, as the water in the fountains shot out in a synchronized pattern, to the exact squares they needed to, to make patterns.  Sometimes in a stream and sometimes in little bursts, then they sounded like clapping or snapping.  It was quite the entertaining show.  Those fountains were very cool! (Okay, probably not $3000-a-night-cool.  But still cool.)

Burj al Arab: looks like a sailboat

BEACH.  Then we went with our friend Lori (our Hostess/Concierge/Tour Guide Extraordinaire for the week) to the beach.  With her club membership, we could play on the water toys and take out paddle boards.  It was a warm, peaceful place to spend the afternoon.

Teresa & Kara: definitely harder than it looks!

Frank & Kara on the floaty toy

CULTURAL CENTER.

Next day, we went to the Cultural Center, where the lady presented us with a full traditional Arabic breakfast!

Lentils, chick peas, flat bread with date syrup.  Little bread balls that you could also dip in syrup.

The lady explained about the traditional dress of Muslim people, and answered questions about arranged marriages, their 5 prayers a day, and briefly what is contained in Islam's religious text, the Quran.

Islamic prayers are given 5 times each day, determined by the position of the sun in the sky.  Prayers are given at:
1) pre-dawn
2) midday
3) afternoon
4) sunset, and
5) night.

Mosques (like church buildings) are scattered throughout towns and neighborhoods, and they have intercoms to the outside, to remind people of the prayer times.  Lori and Paul live close to a mosque, and we could hear the "call to prayer" 15-20 minutes before each prayer time.  They kind of sing, or chant scriptures from the Quran, with music in the background.  Then those who go to the mosque put signs in their shop windows: "Back in 15-20 minutes."

If they don't go to the Mosque to pray, they can put down a prayer rug and face the Kaaba (a black cube, the holiest Islamic shrine) which is located in Mecca.  Here is an Internet photo of the Kaaba, in Mecca.  Once in their lives, each devout Muslim will make a pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia.  Many go during the month of Ramadan, which is a month of fasting.  (Kaaba actually means "cube" in Arabic.)

Kaaba: holiest shrine (black cube) in Mecca.
No matter where you are in the world, all Islamic prayers
are said facing Kaaba, this cube/shrine

ATVs.  The next morning we took quad bikes out, where there was desert as far as the eye could see!  Rolling hills after more rolling hills after peaks and valleys and more peaks of sand.

CAMEL RACING.

We went to the camel racetracks, and a camel racing festival was just starting.

We were supposed to see an actual race, but there was a little confusion on the website info.

I think we got there the first day of the festival, and the camel teams were just arriving that day, too.

So there were 4 or 5 riders leading maybe 20 or so camels per team, to get them used to the track.

We followed them around like true tourists, and I think the riders may have thought we were crazy.  But a few of them smiled and waved, as they trotted the camels around.

They probably never got paparazzi treatment for warming up the camels before!

The post is getting a little long, so I will close "Part One."  The next day we went to the Grand Mosque and that was pretty amazing...to be continued, as I go through more pictures :)

Kari