Arabian Peninsula

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For about two weeks I studied abroad in Dubai. It was winter break of the 2009-2010 school year and the trip included environmental, design and journalism students who rang the new year in together on a beach with expatriots from around the world.

Through the whole trip, one image dominated – literally. Even when we couldn’t see the tallest building in the world, we were surrounded by reminders. From the scale Lego model at Dubai World to the gift shop postcards and newspaper headlines, it was everywhere.

We couldn’t wait for the January 4th opening and a chance see the view from the top. We knew it would be spectacular – and we weren’t disappointed. From big lights to big noises, the event had everything. There was even the twist of a last minute name change from Burj Dubai to Burj khalifa.

What I didn’t expect were the little things – the individual voices and faces that made up the crowds pooling in streets and courtyards all over Dubai to gaze upwards together and form something even greater than the fireworks.

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The only thing better than getting to see the world is getting to see it along with someone who means the world to me – thank you for everything…

… I can’t wait to see what comes next!

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A lull! A short break between work and school means one of two things : trip or break.

This time? A little laying back, a little relaxing – and in this case, a little remembering… Yep, here come a few more Dubai posts…

Before we visited Jumeirah Mosque, we were warned not to be disappointed – this was not, we were told, like the Sheikh Zayid Mosque in Abu Dhabi, which we’d already seen. They were right – it’s very different. The value of this mosque isn’t measured in its trappings and decorations. While it’s beautiful, Jumeirah Mosque’s real value lies in its congregation and the experience its members provide to guests and visitors.

A British woman led our tour, which started outside the mosque with a description of the washing ritual that cleanses worshipers before they attend services. Before we went left, Chrystall took photos as Evan attempted the ritual himself.

Once inside the mosque, our guide introduced us to the building and its community. She covered basic principles like the five pillars of Islam, described services and demonstrated prayers. She also took a wide range of questions from the audience, which had a people from all over the world and different experiences and backgrounds.

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I’ve been putting in some work on my practice mock-up website, using material from the winter break trip to Dubai. This reminded me that the trip blog still needed a little tweaking here and there – fixing links and photo alignment, covering any gaps in the travel. I’ll be transplanting a few of the entries like this one over here and adding to them, because this work has me remembering the trip in a way I haven’t had time to do since the semester started, and boy, did we see some incredible things – some, like Dubai Mall‘s aquarium, have even made the news since we were there! In this map view, the Burj Khalifa building site is still under construction right next door…

How does an aquarium work in a mall, you may ask? Think of it this way – what if you had to walk through this :

to get to this?

OK, at Dubai Mall it’s more like walk past, but it’s still the first mall that I’ve ever been to that had actual sharks in it. Along with all the stores and a little thing called the Burj Khalifah, there’s a three story aquarium featuring everything from otters to crabs to the people who go diving in the largest tank. An aquarium ticket lets you walk through the main tank’s tunnel and see the rest of the store from inside.

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saffron spice

Sometimes traveling isn’t possible – time, money and finals can all get in the way. But, to flip a famous saying, if you can’t go to the mountain, maybe you can bring part of the mountain to you. Photos, souvenirs and maps are all great ways to relive or predict get trips.

Another way is recreating a dish from somewhere else that tastes fantastic. While in Dubai over winter break, I made sure to pick up saffron in Dubai’s colorful spice markets – a lot of saffron. Now that we’re back, Steven’s putting it to good use.

Part of cooking with saffron is knowing how much to use. It really only takes a tiny, tiny pinch to turn a whole pot of rice yellow, and our 20 dirham stash will probably last us years if used judiciously. Steven said he marinated the chicken breasts normally – in this case using Italian dressing – and then sprinkled the saffron on top while it cooked in a broiler pan.

The saffron chicken here is served over white rice, also cooked with saffron, and with sauteed onions, mushrooms and chives – and it was amazing! Steven’s also made hummus and lebnah, and they’re delicious too – I can imagine I’m sitting in a cafe nearly anywhere on the Mediterranean. But the saffron – that brings back the sights, sounds, and most importantly the smells of Dubai’s spice souks.

At times like these when work restrictions make my movements limited, it takes a bit of effort to ignore spring weather and the travel advertisements that suddenly seem to be everywhere. But I enjoy knowing that I’m far from cut off from the world – it’s just a few steps and a few minutes away in a plastic compact on the spice rack. And the saffron will last a lot longer than the Arabic labeled chocolate bars did!

saffron chicken

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Sometimes when we’re stuck in the thick of things – like the beginning of final project season! – we have to take little breaks and live vicariously through others. Ever sit around and wonder, “what have New Zealand Herald travel writers been up to?” I do – and the answer is, a lot!

Find out what David Brown discovered about gorilla tourism – this is something I really hope to do someday.

See how Jim Eagles learned to look at travel in new ways – I’m really curious to see what kinds of trips Innovative Travel will develop based off of Julie Woods’ ideas.

Find out why Stuart Dye sees Dubai as all petal, no stem – I can see Dye’s point, but I think I liked the souks more than he did.

Learn from Michael Brown what not to miss before or after seeing the World Cup in South Africa this summer – if things don’t work out this summer with my internship hopes, I may console myself by running away and checking out the first World Cup in Africa.

As for my real life right now : the light (and palm tree) at the end of the tunnel are at least in sight… That means, at some point, more posts here including my suggestions for where to eat on a trip to Tucson and the pros / cons of commuting for research, and of course, more photos – thanks for bearing with me just a little longer!

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Welcome inside the tallest building in the world… Walk down this hallway, step inside this elevator, and in barely a minute you can step onto the observation deck halfway up.

Or at least, that was how I began this report before I found out that the Burj Khalifah is now temporarily closed.

The building’s had an eventful history since December 2004 when Samsung signed on for its construction. Online, Gulf News showed us how they chronicled its development, and as the opening date neared, real estate values rose and the city filled in anticipation.

During the January 4th opening, the record breaking building was renamed the Burj Khalifah. The fireworks and ceremonies didn’t disappoint a local population whose pride in the building has been compared to that of other cities hosting national buildings like the Sydney Opera House and was evident in the work of photo contest participants like Ala’a Kahel.

The adventure didn’t stop with the opening – within weeks, the building had seen visitors ranging from national leaders to base jumpers. In fact, the building’s closure has been partially attributed to its popularity.

In the meantime, you can watch the tour or look off of the observation deck here, and there’s behind the scenes looks at everything from sustainability discussions to cleaning the building (I’m sure the merchandise is still available too). Also, the amazing Burj al Arab which recently celebrated its birthday remains open too.

Above is a link to the gallery with more of Steven’s pictures. I’ve also posted a few more pictures of the view from the observation deck and one of the maps I found when I first found out I’d be visiting Dubai (along with Abu Dhabi and Sharjah) over winter break. At the time, I didn’t realize I’d be there for the event myself.

United Arab Emirates map

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On the sixth day of the trip, we went to Abu Dhabi (check out Lonely Planet’s interactive map here) and started with the marketplaces. Here’s another post from our trip blog. I’m also continuing to update my trip photos map – a never ending process at this rate! I have a lot more to post, and what I don’t get up before our Monday evening departure I’ll post from home base.

So, without further ado, Abu Dhabi markets:

Dates

I think few things taste as good as a chocolate covered date.

Fruits & Vegetables

The fruit and vegetables in these stands were so many beautiful colors.

Fish

This is a place of truly… amazing… smells – for people with strong stomachs only!

For the rest of the Abu Dhabi pictures, click below…

Abu Dhabi (January 2010)

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I’m stealing this from my post on our trip website so that you can get a sneak peak at what we saw in Sharjah, and yes, for better or worse, there’s lots of photos! (Also, you’ll see a couple examples the black and white I’ve been playing with for a few days.)

Mosques

Sharjah, or “Knowledge City” as our instructor calls it, is a city just outside of Dubai. It’s older, and the cost of living is much lower, so many workers live there and commute to their jobs in Dubai each day, and the traffic during those times is legendary.

We visited two mosques first, but in Sharjah mosques are closed to non-Muslims, so we stuck to admiring the outer architecture and patterns. Then we walked down the pier of Sharjah Creek towards the museum.

Museums and Art

The booklet for the Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilization describes it as “the first of its kind in the UAE” and that it “started its life as a traditional Middle Eastern souq,” specifically the Souq al-Marjarrh. The building is known for its zodiac mosaic and has over 7 galleries and display areas for cultural and historic items from all over the Islamic world. Afterwards, we walked through the art district on the way to the souks.

Souks

There are two sets of souks in Sharjah – the old souks and the newer, blue souks. The old souks are together in a building which has an Indian restaurant in the middle of it. We had a choice of chicken, lamb, or fish (barracuda) to go with our rice and drinks. The picture below is of my lamb. As you can see, it’s a little tricky to eat rice with your hands, but we managed, and got to catch up on Arab Idol at the same time.

Afterwards, we shopped at stores like these below. I was thrilled to finish my shopping, and Anthony also bought presents for people back home.

Sharjah’s Old Wall

We’re almost done, but I love this wall so much that I did give it its own heading.

Animals, Fruits, and Vegetables

After lunch and the souks, we walked through several markets – one for “birds and animals,” one for fruits and vegetables, and a butcher’s market. Then it was back on the bus and back to Dubai to get ready for evening events.

For the rest of the Sharjah pictures, click below…

Sharjah (January 2010)

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Tonight, the Burj Dubai opened, renamed as the Burj Khalifa. Many made it downtown to the event, including some of our team from ASU, and even more watched the event from all over the city including this group near the Mercato Shopping Mall in Jumeirah. But the event wasn’t just about a building opening – the 4th of January is 4th anniversary of Sheikh Mohammed becoming the ruler of Dubai – check out the last picture of the Burj al-Arab wishing him the best. A few more photos can be found by posters like nileshzw, who’s already linked photos to the Burj Khalifa’s location on Google Maps, as well as more coverage through Gulf News and Dubai City Guide.

If you look backwards at my blog, you’ll see why I’m visiting Dubai and some of the recent news I looked at before I came. I’ll be updating shortly on the trip so far – including how I ended up trying something completely new, spontaneous, and totally unexpected – so check back to see what’s been happening and what will happen next.

Also, while you’re here, tell me what you think about fireworks – what’s your favorite kind, favorite color, or favorite fireworks memory?

Burj Khalifa fireworks (January 2010)

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