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.

La Comédie Française

La Comédie Française is the ultimate theater experience in France. It's France's most prestigious theater company and venue and is a gorgeous building. Technically this indoor shot at the end is contraband because you're forbidden to take photos inside the théâtre itself. "Excusez-moi, madame, je ne savais pas."

Statue of Molière himself (If you don't know him, he's like the French Shakespeare)

Snow in Normandy and Snow in NM

Snow in New Mexico


Snow in Normandy

Guess which area was completely shut down? *ironic grin*

To be fair, it rarely snows in Normandy, so they aren't really prepared for weather like this. No school buses which means hardly any students (but they don't do a delay or have any system to modify the school day. Teachers are expected to show up whether they have students or not and they in the next few days the school tries to add hours here and there to make up the missing hours for the classes and teachers. It's a real mess. Twice they canceled school.) It's so gray and cold here that the 4cm of snow didn't ever have time to melt, so it just stayed... and became ice.

Un Marché Typique

I can't get enough of the charming shops in France. I love grocery shopping here!





Bonne année et bonne santé-- happy new year and good health to all!