A Visit to the United Arab Emirates - Dubai
Now that I have grandchildren, traveling is so much more fun!
As you know, I did not celebrate a traditional Thanksgiving this year. Instead, Alexis, Jude, Truman, and I, along with our dear friend, Kevin Sharkey, spent several days in the United Arab Emirates, the Arabian Peninsula nation along the Persian Gulf. The entire trip was inspired by my grandson who wanted to see the “tallest building in the world” - currently, the Burj Khalifa. While in Dubai, we stayed at the beautiful hotel, Jumeirah Al Naseem, Among our many activities, we enjoyed a desert safari guided by Arabian Adventures - we went sand boarding, road camels, and tried many delicious foods. In addition, we visited Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, and toured its magnificent Louvre. And of course, we took a most exciting elevator ride up the grand Burj Khalifa - both Truman and Jude were amazed with the views. It was a very packed four-days, but we had a wonderful time. I am always so thankful for memories like these.
Here is the first of three blogs from our trip, enjoy.
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- After an uneventful and very comfortable business class flight to Qatar on Qatar Airways, we landed in a beautiful and pristine airport ready to transfer to another plane that would take us to Oman and then to Dubai. It took about 15-hours to get to our final destination.
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- The airplane maintenance crew is resting in the shade until all the passengers disembark.
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- Here I am with the staff that helped us with our flights at Hamad International Airport, the international airport of Doha, the capital city of Qatar.
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- I admired this very positive sign in one of the airports.
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- Dubai is the largest and most populous city in the United Arab Emirates. It is located on the southeast coast of the Persian Gulf. There is so much growth here – the children loved looking at all the tall buildings.
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- This is our view looking up to the top of the Burj Khalifa. Truman loved the curves of the architecture designed by Adrian Smith, whose firm designed One World Trade Center. The Burj Khalifa is 2,722 feet tall making it the tallest structure in the world since topping out in late 2008.
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- Here I am 148-floors up.
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- The views are so beautiful.
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- On our first full day in Dubai, we went on a desert safari at the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve – UAE’s first national park, and a protected environment for desert wildlife.
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- Here is Jude looking out onto the dunes.
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- My daughter, Alexis, is a very talented photographer, and took many photos of the children enjoying their time on the sand. She brought a beautiful parasol to shade herself from the desert sun.
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- We had the chance to sandboard during our visit. Sandboarding is a boardsport similar to snowboarding except it takes place on sand dunes rather than snow-covered mountains. Alexis and the children had so much fun.
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- Here is one of our guides from Arabian Adventures taking snapshots. This tour company was so helpful and knowledgable – we were in great hands. https://www.arabian-adventures.com/
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- We saw lots of camels. These camels are headed for the racetrack. The racing season runs between October and April, and races tend to take place early on Friday and Saturday mornings.
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- Who knows if one of these camels will become the “million dollar camel”? it is every camel owner’s dream!
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- While on safari, we also took our own camel rides.
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- Here’s a nice photo of Kevin and Alexis aboard their trusted camels.
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- A camel is an even-toed ungulate in the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as “humps” on its back. Humans have used camels as a means of transport for thousands of years. They can carry about 375 to 600 pounds and are known as the “ships of the desert”.
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- Camels are also known for spitting on people. This is part of a defense tactic when the animals feel threatened. To protect the riders, the camels wear these soft muzzles, but these camels were very nice, and didn’t feel threatened at all.
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- The sand consists mostly of crushed shell and coral and is very fine, clean and white. If you look closely, you can see the Arabian Gazelle resting in the sand. Of all Gazella species, this mountain gazelle is the most slender. The coat is fawn to dark-brown on the back, neck and head, while the belly and rear are pure white, separated on the flanks by a dark narrow band.
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- Here is a beautiful date palm oasis- the dates had already been harvested.
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- Known botanically as Phoenix dactylifera, and commonly known as date or date palm, it is a flowering plant species in the palm family, Arecaceae, cultivated for its edible sweet fruit. These date palms looked so healthy.
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- Back in the hotel Jumeirah Al Naseem, the lobby is airy and bright and a great gathering place for guests – this bench is surrounded by marble. http://www.jumeirah.com/
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- The beaches are so clean and so beautiful.
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- During our stay in Dubai, we also visited the Arabian Tea House where we watched this heart shaped sesame encrusted flatbread being made.
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- Here is the dough after it was cut.
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- And here it is in the oven. Flatbread is a bread made with flour, water and salt, and then thoroughly rolled until flat. Many flatbreads are unleavened.
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- Jude and Truman loved the heart shape.
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- Here is our breakfast tray – lots of delicious foods.
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- Here is another tray – everything was so fresh and tasty.
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- This is one of Dubai’s newest attractions – the Dubai Frame. The two towers are connected by a a one-thousand square foot bridge, which has a glass panel in the middle. It was designed by award-winning architect Fernando Donis, who also designed Dubai’s Porsche Design Towers, and the Dubai Renaissance Tower. This giant frame is located in Zabeel Park and was carefully chosen to give visitors the best view of both old and new Dubai.
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- We also took a ride along the Dubai Creek aboard an abra – a small motorized water taxi.
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- Truman and Jude loved the sights – they are always so curious to learn about everything.
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- It was a wonderful morning boat ride to the Old Souk, also known as the Textile Souk or Bur Dubai Souk where there is a large number of stores selling everything from clothes to souvenirs to food.
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- One of our stops – a spice market. Look at all the colorful and beautiful spices.
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- Next door to the Jumeirah Al Naseem is a very fun water park. The children love water, so we spent a nice afternoon here.
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- They loved negotiating the various waterways and other tubes.
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- There was also a giant waterfall – I love this photo of Truman heading toward the falling water. Dubai is a wonderful place to visit. In my next blog, I’ll share photos from our one day excursion to Abu Dhabi.
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