Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque- Abu Dhabi

I'll keep the commentary to a minimum. Getting to the Mosque was a nightmare-- NO signage! Once arrived we really enjoyed the visit. Everyone must remove shoes and women must wear the abaya in order to enter the mosque, which we did. A beautiful mosque, biggest in the UAE and the 8th largest in the world, I think I prefer the outside to the inside, but both were lovely. The giant main prayer room is only for men, and as men and women are not permitted to pray together, we also visited a very pretty ladies's prayer room. Below are separate men's and women's washrooms.










The 99 names of Allah:

Burj Kalifa (formerly known as Burj Dubai): Tallest Building in the World

The Burj Kalifa is the tallest building and man-made structure on Earth. At 828 meters (almost a kilometer!) high, the Burj (meaning tower in Arabic) was originally named "Burj Dubai," but at the last minute the Sheikh of Dubai re-named it in honor of the Sheikh of Abu Dhabi as a thank you for sending millions of dollars to Dubai during the financial meltdown. All souvenirs had to be re-made, postcards re-printed and signs re-hung. Apparently this happens all the time with naming things. Sadly, two days before I got to Dubai they closed the observation tower due to a faulty elevator...

Ibn Battuta: The Middle Eastern Marco Polo

Obviously Dubai is known for shopping, but I nevr imagined the grandeur of the malls. Dubai Marina Mall, The Dubai Mall, Mall of the Emirates, City Center, Ibn Battuta Mall... I could go on and on and on. These malls are gorgeous and HUGE. Seriously massive. The way they're laid out is cool, too. For example they put all the watch stores together to make it easier for you to compare without having to run around the giant mall. All the chocolate stores are near one another, all the mid-range (H&M, Zara, Mango, etc.) all the super high-end (Dior, Chanel, Louis Vitton, YSL, etc.) together. It's a good idea.

At first I wasn't really interested in the shopping, but walking around the malls was fun, and, really, a cultural experience in many ways. What I didn't expect was to learn something. That's right. One of the malls, Ibn Battuta (my favorite) actually has an educational exhibit in the middle. Please let me explain, but first, enjoy these photos:

Andalusia Court (Arab Spain, essentially):


Tunisia Court:


Egypt Court:

Persia Court (personal favorite):



India Court:



China Court:



Yes, I took these photos IN the Ibn Battuta Mall. The mall's architecture and design, in my mind, has no equal. So Ibn Battuta was essentially the Muslim Marco Polo. Originally from Morocco, Ibn Battuta travelled around a bunch and wrote a journal of his adventures. He's really famous in this area of the world. The mall is themed after his travel adventures. Each "court" represents an area he traveled in and wrote about. You wander around the mall and admire the design, then in the middle there's this cool series of exhibits that tell you all about Ibn Battuta, where he went, what he did, they show spices and musical instruments and pages from the Quaran and fabric and all other kinds of neat things. There's a lot of pride in this man accompanied by a lot of propaganda. The exhibits never forget to remind you that Ibn Battuta was Muslim. "The roots of our Islamic journeyman Ibn Battuta..." "Spreading the word of Islam, Ibn Battuta..." "The first Muslim to..." Anyway, I'm not criticizing it I just find it humorous. I guess we say things like "First American to..." and "This brave American pioneered...", so they're not the only ones to have pride in one of their own.

Hope you learned something (like who Ibn Battuta was) just like I did when I went to the mall. Now that's culture for you!

Desert Safari!

The Desert Safari was amazing. Driving up, down and around sand dunes in a 4x4, then a camel ride, traditional Arab barbecue and bellydancing... not a bad way to spend a Thursday evening. I have to say that I have no idea how the laws of physics don't apply in the Arabian desert. There were moments I was absolutely sure that the Toyota Land Cruiser was going to tumble down (dégringoler en français) the dune. You'd look out the window and be almost completely sideways. Scary but exhilarating. Katja was a brave sport, though I think I enjoyed it more than she.

Etretat and the Alabaster Coast (La côte albâtre)

Please let me indulge in the opportunity to share my etymological nerdiness with you:

If you hadn't noticed before, the accent circonflexe (ˆ) is put in place where was formerly an "s" in old French. "Forêt" was once "forest," and as you can see in the title of this posting (Etretat and the Alabaster Coast (La côte albâtre)), both "coast" and "alabaster" lack the "s" in French and have the accent circonflexe. I hope this information serves you well at some point in your future. Please remember me if this comes up on Jeopardy.

OK...

Check out the gorgeous cliffs I walked around today! Etretat is on the northern coast of Haute-Normandie and is known around the world. Unfortunately, the weather was normal (i.e. rainy and windy), so some day I'll return in the sun. Enjoy the pics!

Le Havre, ville de béton

Le Havre is the largest city in Haute-Normandie (upper Normandy) and is a large port on the English Channel (La Manche for the French- nothing English about it). Le Havre was basically obliterated during WWII and had to be completely rebuilt. There remains very little that existed before the 1940s except some red brick houses and a small church.

During the reconstruction of Le Havre in the late 1940s and early 1950s, Auguste Perret came on the scene and gave Le Havre a look never before seen in France. Le Havre is basically a city made of concrete, and on the surface I must confess it's not the prettiest city. However, after learning about the reconstruction, how concrete was used in many different ways, I can start to see the beauty in it.

There's a cool museum in a real apartment building: the city has preserved one of the original flats with period furniture, linens, kitchen bric-a-brac, etc. and it's really a cool visit. Note the concrete pillar in the entry way.