Doin’ Dubai . . .Differently

I can’t think of anything that excites a greater sense of childlike wonder 

than to be in a country where you are ignorant of almost everything.

                              -- Bill Bryson

Maybe that is why we ended up liking Dubai.  

Skyline from freeway interchange - Dubai

We’d once had a four-hour layover in Dubai and saw nothing more than an airport concourse. It was interesting, but still, just another airport.  

Reviews from traveling friends were mixed: love it or hate it, but there would be no in-between. Or so it seemed, before we arrived on a bright December day aboard the Celebrity Constellation. Our itinerary called for an overnight stay in this high-rise mecca of modernity and opulence.

A Marina Bay Sands like that in Singapore is under construction - Dubai

That’s the sum of what I knew about Dubai when the ship docked.  The city was waiting to be explored.

The one thing I knew I wouldn’t do while there would be to travel to the top of its tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, which at 828 meters (2,717 feet) and 161 floors, is the tallest building in the world. A trip to its top can be done for a price, a rather hefty price for an elevator ride at that. (It is that spire building in the photo above.) My dislike of small enclosed spaces -- like elevators -- and heights like this tallest building in the world, removed that outing from the ‘to do’ list. 

And neither of us were too excited about visiting ‘the Dubai Mall’ (its the one with the aquareum in it and and ice skating rink). It is also one of 73 malls at last count in the city.

Hop on, Hop off tour bus - Dubai

With nothing in particular in mind to see we opted for a Big Bus, hop-on, hop-off tour of the town. The bus company wisely has started serving the cruise port here, so we could walk off the ship and board the bus.

It might have been the best cruise-tour decision we could have made as it gave us independence to stop where we wanted and provided a full-day’s overview of this rapidly expanding city.  (They offered two-day packages as well and one that included a trip to neighboring Abu Dhabi, located just down the road and across the desert.

Traffic, traffic everywhere

Our tour guides -- real humans -- provided lots of tidbits of information:

We were cautioned not to take photos of government buildings, military establishments, airport or cruise ports (too late for the latter when you arrive on a cruise ship). 

We were told not to take photos of Emirati (those wearing traditional dress) without their permission and certainly not to take photos of policemen; unless they were near their new fleet of cars which includes Maseratis, Jaguars, and Ferraris (in which case the officer would likely agree to a photo by the car if permission was asked first).

Among the things we learned is that of more than 2.5 million people in Dubai only 15 percent are Emirati.  The remaining 85 percent are ex pat and migrant workers.  Of those folks 71% are Asian (the majority coming from India). 

While oil production is credited with putting this area, settled by the Bani Yas tribe back in 1833, ‘on the map’; today oil production makes up less than 5 percent of its gross national income.

What a difference a decade or two makes - Dubai

The tribe settled along what is called Dubai Creek, although the ancient Greeks called it the River Zara. Back in the 30’s and 40’s the cityscape looked like the poster above and its main industry was pearl diving.

The Old Souk, once called the Textile Souk

Old Dubai, that which was constructed in the mid-20th Century, is clustered around that creek and its old skyline has been preserved by city codes forbidding major changes in building height and design. It was this old area that we liked best.

Textile vendors line the streets near the Old Souk

It is still home to a very active souk, once called the textile souk for good reason we learned as we explored its side streets.

We dined

We dined at a restaurant Bayt Al Wakeel, overlooking Dubai Creek. The meze plate was delicious and the setting spectacular as the restaurant is housed in the building constructed in 1935 to serve as the headquarters of the Gray MacKenzie shipping company. The bottom of the building was the shipping company office and the manager and family lived upstairs.

From the table we sat at on the wooden porch extending over the creek we watched the marine traffic that plies the water, hauling goods and people from one point to another.

The wooden dhow transports tourists as part of the Big Bus tour

We joined other visitors on the dhow pictured above and spent an hour traveling the creek as part of the Big Bus tour.

Water taxis shuttled people back and forth across the creek

We also rode one of the many water taxis, a cheap way to get to locations along the waterway.

This area of the city seemed a bit more real than the high-rise area

A kaledescope of scenes from the working ships and live aboards to those a bit more opulent:

It would have been fun to see this one's interior 

It was also fun to see the city from the water as our dhow took us between the old and the new areas.

Scenes along Dubai Creek

Dubai, we’ve decided, may not be a place we’d rush back to as we would to Abu Dhabi or Muscat, Oman (both were also ports of call on this cruise) but a cruise stop was an excellent way to see this Middle Eastern megalopolis.

Cruise passengers were welcomed with long stemmed red roses - Dubai

I suppose I technically wasn't supposed to take the photo above, as you recall, no photos in the port. But when the welcome is warm and the place worth remembering, I'll risk a reprimand for taking a photo (there wasn't any, btw)

Thanks so much for the time you spent with us in this port of call. When we left Dubai we headed for the Gulf of Hormuz and then the Arabian Sea and our next ports of call on India's west coast. Hope you’ll join us as we explore those cities in future posts.

Safe travels to you and yours.

Linking with:

Through My Lens
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Wordless Wednesday

A Magic Carpet Ride ~ Through the Grand Mosque

It could have come from one of Scheherazade’s tales. . .dusk had turned the Mosque into a fairy tale structure. At one point we stepped out of the tide of humanity flowing through this enormous ediface, found ourselves a corner and took a moment to savor the overwhelming magic of this fanciful place.

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque - Abu Dhabi

On a late Friday afternoon we were among thousands inside Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque; the largest mosque in the United Arab Emirates and the eighth largest such place in the world. In my mind we’d just hopped aboard a magic carpet ride into a world far removed from the one in which we live.

Reflecting pools at sunset - Grand Mosque - Abu Dhabi

It is simply that kind of mind-boggling place. And to think we almost skipped it!

Dusk gave a most exotic feel to the experience

We’d arrived in Abu Dhabi on a Thursday evening for our cruise departing on a Saturday. We planned to see as much as we could of this young and rapidly expanding city on the single day we’d given ourselves for exploration.

Friday, though, is a Holy Day in the Muslim world. The Mosque was closed to visitors until 4 p.m.  So we spent the day exploring other parts the city and almost decided against making the effort (a sizeable taxi ride from our downtown hotel and back) to visit the place.

We’d seen mosques before, right?
Wrong. We’d not seen anything like this before.

Luckily the travel gods gave us that unexplained nudge and we decided we couldn't miss the Mosque.  The taxi dropped us off at a far gate at 5 p.m. and by then the place was crawling with people – the faithful and the tourist had blended together to experience this holy site.

Strict dress codes and behavior codes apply when visiting

At the entry The Scout was directed to the doorway for males while I entered through a door for women only. Dress code is strict. My exposed ankles and wrists got me herded into a walk-in closet (with many other women) for a complimentary abayas issued to those of us not covering enough of our bodies.  My abaya, I think would have been quite comfortable had I not had a full set of clothes on under it. And it was far too big (one size does not fit all). To be able to walk I hiked it up so that the same amount of ankle was showing as before.  While I certainly wasn't opposed to wearing it, I have to admit as I lifted the hood, I wondered how many others had worn this garment since it had last been washed.

Shoes are not to be worn by any visitor and pairs are left on massive shoe racks at the entry to the building. I always marvel that they are still there when we return.

So properly attired, we were off.  Hop aboard our magic carpet and I’ll tell you a bit of what we learned about the Grand Mosque:

The inlaid marble floors of the courtyard were stunning

The massive structure was built at the direction of Sheik Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founding father of the United Arab Emirates.  Construction began in 1996 and it was finished in 2007.  The construction cost was 2.5 billion UAE dirham or 700 million US dollars.
Sheik Zayed, died in 2004 at age 86, and is buried here.

More intricate inlaid work in the walls 

More than 3,000 workers and 38 contracting firms from around the world were involved in the project. Materials were imported from Pakistan Iran, Morocco, Germany and a host of other countries.

Chandeliers were stunning

While the Mosque can accommodate 41,000, its main hall can accommodate 7,000. The visiting hordes of which we were a part, were not allowed on the carpet in the main hall; we walked to its side. It is the largest hand-knotted carpet in the world. It took 1,300 crafts persons two years to complete the work and then it took two months to transport it from Iran.

I should have taken photos of that magnificent carpet but it was the seven chandeliers which caught my eye and of which I couldn’t take enough photos.

Chandelier Grand Mosque Abu Dhabi

And I couldn’t decide which of them I liked best.

This may have been my favorite chandelier

But then I turned and saw the stained glass . . .click, click, click went the camera shutter.

Grand Mosque - Abu Dhabi

And again found myself trying to decide which was more magnificent.

Window overlooking a garden area - Grand Mosque Abu Dhabi

There is nothing that compares with the call to prayer in a Muslim city. It wafts through the air in much the same manner as church bells ring out across our towns in Greece.  The echoing human voice just adds to the exotic feel. We were lucky enough to be visiting here at dusk when the call to prayer seemed to reverberate off the walls. It was a travel moment to remember!

The Grand Mosque - Abu Dhabi

It was a perfect way to end a whirlwind tour of the city and was a great introduction to other sites we'd be seeing after we set sail on the Persian Gulf. You'll have to come back next week for my next tale of Arabian adventure. It was pretty amazing to have Iran on our north and the Saudi Arabian peninsula to our south as we headed out!

See you next week and  thanks again for your time today. We look forward to hearing from you and having you with us. Safe travels to you and yours ~

Linking this week with:
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Wordless Wednesday

Yes, Virginia . . .They Celebrate the Season

We’ve been walkin’ in a winter wonderland and rockin’ around the Christmas tree since setting out on our Middle East and India adventure nearly two weeks ago.  And that is certainly not what I expected to be telling you when we headed to Abu Dhabi on the northern coast of the Saudi peninsula!

Mural - Abu Dhabi

Over coffee one morning in Agios Nikolaos, the Greek village we call home, my American expat friend Marti and I speculated on whether or not there would be much evidence of Christmas in the Middle East. . .a place where you ski sand dunes, not snowy hillsides. Probably some on the ship, we concluded, but little elsewhere.

In a Winter Wonderland

Were we ever off base! First, it is winter in the Middle East. While we tourists from Greece (it is in the 50F back there) are basking in temperatures hovering at the low 80’s, department stores are selling coats, sweaters and woolen scarves. It is cold here for the locals.

More than once we heard the refrain playing in the malls, “Oh the weather outside is frightful, but inside it’s so delightful, let it snow, let it snow, let is snow.” And the malls had snowflakes hanging right along side banners of their ruler, the Emir.

Snowflakes in an Abu Dhabi Mall

The Festive Season

And the decorations sure looks like Christmas but here it is called The Festive Season. It comes complete with gaily decorated evergreens (Christmas trees) and even gingerbread houses.

Tree trunk goes up in Emirates Palace Hotel - Abu Dhabi

One of the largest seasonal displays we saw was under construction at the opulent Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi. The place showcases the Arabian culture and puts you in mind of a palace when you enter. Opening in 2005 it cost 3 billion U.S. dollars to build.

Gingerbread house construction at the Emirates Palace Hotel

The Dubai Mall, one of more than 70 shopping centers in this sprawling city, was playing holiday music and had displays up for The Festive Season as well.

The most beautiful displays we happened upon were in The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai, India. I could have spent a day photographing its many scenes and settings in its common areas.

Lobby Taj Mahal Hotel Mumbai

And it was so nice to see it gaily decorated! On a cruise stop three years ago we visited the hotel and there was a lovely – but somber -- memorial to those who’d been killed during the terrorist attack there in 2008. The lobby definitely felt festive this week.

Lobby of the Taj Mahal Hotel

Sailing into the Holidays

As our cruise comes to an end this week many of our fellow passengers are making plans to go home, hit the deck running and get the festivities and decorations underway.  It has been fun though enjoying those throughout the ship – no muss, no fuss for any of us!

Celebrity Constellation lobby

Festive colors, festive scene and Christmas music playing in the common areas of the ship.

Decorations on the Celebrity Constellation

We’ll be home in The Stone House on the Hill for Christmas and thankful that we had a chance to experience The Festive Season during the month of December.  Good wishes to you and yours ~ whatever your season and whatever your holiday, we hope it is magical.

May it be magical

Thanks for being with us ~ as always we appreciate your time spent here.  Next week we’ll have more tales from Arabia for you!

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Afternoon on the Arabian Sea

It is mid-afternoon on a December Wednesday.  The navigation map on our television tells us that we are beyond the mid-point in crossing the Arabian Sea; our ship, Celebrity Constellation is closer now to India than Oman.

Our deck and view of the Arabian Sea

If you are a regular here you know that we set out last week to stretch our comfort zones by taking a cruise that began in Abu Dhabi and will end 10 days from now in the same Emirate.  I often get so ‘taken’ with the places we visit that I drop you right into the location and then many of you ask how we even got here from our rural village in the Greek Peloponnese.  So, today, as the song lyrics say, “Let’s start at the very beginning. . .”

Getting There. . .

Our flight from Athens to Abu Dhabi

We’ve not – aside from a few cruise ports of call in the region a few years ago – traveled much in this area of the world. The Scout  had to figure out the airline we’d use as well as where we would stay until boarding the ship (we usually arrive a day early ‘just in case. . .’ and that also gives us time to explore the area a bit.)

Arriving in Abu Dhabi we took a bus to the gate 

We flew from Athens to Abu Dhabi, a 4 hour 20 minute flight, on Abu Dhabi’s flagship airline, Etihad. There’s a daily flight between the two airports. With a two hour time difference between the two cities, our early afternoon flight got us there in the evening.

The aircraft, an Airbus 320 had comfortable seating in the economy section.  The meal (no extra cost) was one of the best we’ve had on an airline in a long time. I chose the chicken – very tender and moist.

My meal - Etihad Airlines

Yes, that is white wine in my glass above – also free if charge.  And I sipped it while flying over Saudi Arabia (the idea of which still feels real exotic to me) and I chuckled at the fact that I was getting caught up on one of my favorite U.S. television shows, Criminal Minds, while doing so!

Movies and television shows were available on individual screens

Maybe this exotic adventure wasn’t going to be so exotic after all!

Arriving Abu Dhabi

Entering the Emirate was simple, there were no lines at immigration. They took a photo of us as part of the entry process – slick, smooth and easy. And yes, everyone speaks English!

We had received -- several weeks prior to our departure -- a letter from the cruise line and one from the travel agency where we had booked the cruise warning us about bringing drugs –  the prescription kind – into the UAE. They are strict and e prescription drugs have a protocol set out for review and approval. We were nervous that our over-the-counter vitamins and cholesterol drugs might raise eyebrows so I had them in original containers in the carryon bag and brought only the number of pills we will consume while traveling . . .and no one even mentioned drugs!!

Marriott downtown Abu Dhabi

We were each allowed to bring a bottle of alcohol into the country (in our checked bags) and that is the same amount allowed to be brought on board by the cruise line.  We had no problem bringing two bottles of wine. However, it was readily available at the many bars that were found inside our hotel, the downtown Marriott.

Our Junior Suite - bigger than The Stone House on the Hill

Those customer loyalty programs do pay off!  We’ve stayed loyal to the Marriott brand and have finally reached a level where the benefits can be startling, like being upgraded to a junior suite in Abu Dhabi (we could have entertained far more guests here than our home in Greece.)

A room with a view - Marriott Abu Dhabi

The morning after our arrival we opened our curtains to this view of the city - ceiling to floor windows that gave us a window on Abu Dhabi. But we were ready to explore further and had one day in which to do it! Next time I’ll show you some of the city’s magic. . .and believe me there is plenty of magic in this part of the world!

Grand Mosque - Abu Dhabi

Thanks for being with us today ~ as always we are thankful for the time your spending reading our blog! We’ll be back soon with more Middle East tales and hope you’ll join us.
We are linking up this week with:

hrough My Lens
Our World Tuesday
Wordless Wednesday
Communal Global
Best of Weekend

Setting Sail on the Arabian Sea

'Bizarre travel plans are dancing lessons from God.'

                                   --Kurt Vonnegut

If that is the case, then it is time to put on the dancing shoes!

We are going on a cruise next week. Admittedly, that in itself isn’t anything too out-of-the-ordinary but the routing may strike some of you as a bit bizarre: we are cruising in the Middle East.

We had booked a similar cruise back in 2016 but got lazy and switched to cruise closer to our Greek home. We flew to Rome and sailed to Athens. But this year it is time to stretch our comfort zones.  We'll fly from our gateway airport, Athens, on Etihad Airlines, (national airline of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ) to. . .

Abu Dhabi

Just let that roll off your tongue: Ahh-Boo Daah-BEE. Reminiscent of the mid-century cartoon character Fred Flintstone’s call of Yabba-Dabba-Doo, just saying Abu Dhabi makes me smile!

Abu Dhabi, with a population of 1.8 million in 2016, is the capital and the second most populous city of the United Arab Emirates. It is capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the largest of the UAE seven emirates. This modern city can trace its history back to around 3000 B.C.

Celebrity Constellation will be our home at sea

In doing our pre-trip research we read that Abu Dhabi has a 'more distinct Arabian ambiance' than nearby Dubai.  We’ve given ourselves an extra day prior to the cruise to do some exploring on our own. I’ll let you know if we agree with the claims of more Arabian ambiance or not after we’ve had a chance to experience both.

We’ll board an old favorite ship while in Abu Dhabi, Celebrity's Constellation (or ‘Connie’ as many former cruisers like to call her.) She’s been refurbished since we last sailed on her in 2016, so in many ways it will be like being on a ship that is new to us.

Store display at the Dubai Airport

Dubai

When we set sail on the Persian Gulf  we’ll be heading for Dubai, the modern city that travelers who've been there tell us we’ll likely hate or love. There seems to be no in between for this ultra sleek neighbor only 93 land miles away from Abu Dhabi.

Dubai, with 3.14 million population this year,  is the largest and most populous city in the United Arab Emirates.  It is the capital of the Emirate of Dubai.

We have booked a balcony room again as we don't want to miss any sights 

Up until a few weeks ago I have to admit the only thing that came to mind when I thought of ‘Persian Gulf’, was Operation Desert Shield, the war of the early 1990’s. Back then this part of the world was in such conflict that I didn't think we would ever -- in this lifetime -- travel here. So the idea of actually sailing on the Persian Gulf has me dancing a happy dance.

Sea days are one of our favorite parts of cruiseing

One of our favorite parts of cruising are those lazy days at sea. With the call of the sun, sea, and a good book we easily laze away our afternoons at poolside. Mornings will be spent in the ship’s gym as we are both missing our workout routines we had back in the States so it is high on our list of sea-day activities!

We’ll have three of those carefree days as we cross the Arabian Sea heading to . .

India

Fishing nets at Cochin, India

Our introduction to India was aboard a cruise ship four years ago. We are delighted to be revisiting two of the ports we visited then, Cochin and Mumbai, as well as adding Goa and Mangalore to the list on this cruise.  It will be a rapid-fire tour of the four as we have only one day in each port, but we’ve always considered cruising to be the appetizer of travel: we get a taste and if we like it we go back for a larger serving at a later date.

Holy man at a temple - Mumbai, India

We’ll have a couple more sea days to rest up from our travels in India then make a stop in

Oman

C

Covered from top to bottom and with bare feet I could enter the mosque

This time we’ll be heading to Muscat instead of Salalah as we did on an earlier cruise.  I have to tell you that when I talk of stretching one’s comfort zone, this is a place where we did just that!  It was hot – an intensity of heat that finally gave reality to the phrase white heat. It hurt it was so hot. And it was definitely a different culture and way of life. So much so, that we are eager to have another look at another city and see if we have the same reaction as last time.

Then we’ll sail back to Abu Dhabi and after a night on board the ship there, fly back to Greece just in the nick of time to celebrate Christmas here.

We are eager to expand our explorations of the world and this itinerary is an intoxicating blend of Arabian Nights, Lawrence of Arabia and Jewel in the Crown, don’t you think?

Again thanks for the time you spent with us today and we hope you’ll come back for more tales of travel. We’ll be back next week – hope you will as well! Until then, safe and happy travels to you and yours ~

Linking up this week with:
Through My Lens
Our World Tuesday
Wordless Wednesday
Communal Global
Best of Weekend