United Arab Emirates

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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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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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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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Seems everyone’s taking a hit these days, if to slightly different degrees… This caught my eye, as I’d already been planning some posts on Dubai, which will be coming later (those of you reading this one now are ahead of the game).

Anyway, I’m not sure who’s the primary source on this article, so I’m listing both and you can choose which one to read.

Downsized Dubai?
Dubai’s ruler downsizes ambitions amid crisis

What’s to downsize? Dubai has used oil money for all kinds of architectural and engineering projects. See below for a few, though just a warning, the first one requires a head for heights…

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