Dubai's blue sky

Its not very often that one can mention 'blue sky' in Dubai.

This was shot over Dubai airspace only a few minutes before landing at Dubai's airport. The sky looked divine. Almost magical.

See another picture of Dubai's blue sky here

I have always been fascinated by the various types of dhows that one sees in the arabian waters. They are a very important part of the traditional trade in the arabian gulf. For many centuries the dhows sailed right across the Indian ocean to India and the East African coast using only the sail as a means of propulsion.

The dhow was known for two distinctive features. First of all, it's triangular or lateen sail, and secondly, for it's stitched construction. Stitched boats were made by sewing the hull boards together with fibers, cords or thongs.

This picture is of a dhow displayed outside the Al Fahidi fort in Bur Dubai

Read about Al Fahidi fort here.

The humble bicycle

Got this picture a few days back while I was down in Bur Dubai.

I found this cycle along one of the many bylanes of Bur Dubai. Resting along the side of the building, the cycle was securely chained to the water pipe. It was rusting in many places and had probably been used for many years by its owner.

And amidst all of Dubai's glitzy and shiny cars, I was instantly drawn to this humble bicycle. It was as if time had stood still.

Also read:

The hand carts of Bur Dubai

The only Hindu Temple in Dubai

Misty Dubai

Or dusty Dubai? Got this picture 2 days back while going down Sheikh Zayed Road early in the morning. Dubai has been experiencing mild dust storms in the last few days giving the city a dull hazy look.

Dubai's best...

Alex McNabb, Dubai's new media guru has put together a list of Dubai's top blog for Catboy@Breakfast on Dubai 92. And guess who made it to the list?

Here is the list of Dubai's top blogs put together by the guru himself.

http://www.motherinferiordubai.wordpress.com

http://discoballbreaker.com/
http://www.dxbsunshine.blogspot.com/
http://uaecommunity.blogspot.com/
http://fadfada-online.blogspot.com/
http://maiandsara.blogspot.com/
http://rupertbumfrey.blogspot.com/
http://mideast.blogs.time.com/
http://dubaithoughts.blogspot.com/
http://some-like-it-not.blogspot.com/
http://grumpygoat.blogspot.com/
http://www.momentaryawe.com/blog/
http://blogs.sun.com/christophersaul/
http://onebigconstructionsite.blogspot.com/
http://sandman-files.blogspot.com/
http://dubaiphotostory.blogspot.com/
http://emirateseconomist.blogspot.com/
http://dubai-jazz.blogspot.com/
http://louisefareed.blogspot.com/
http://carolynn-dubailife.blogspot.com/
http://auhgal.blogspot.com/
http://dubaiconsumermirror.blogspot.com/
http://blog.grapeshisha.com/
http://www.the-media-junkie.com/
http://thefatexpat.blogspot.com
http://fakeplasticsouks.blogspot.com

REST IN PEACE

REST IN PEACE MICHAEL

Al Khawaneej

As is my habit over a weekend, I set out to explore a new part of Dubai I hadn't visited before. As I drove eastward down the D89, Al Khawaneej seemed like an interesting place for a pit stop.

The pictures above are of the main roundabout in Al Khawaneej.

Camels on Dubai roads?

You can imagine my surprise to find these camels grazing off the lawns of a roundabout!!!

Found these fellows walking about freely and getting stunned looks from drivers zooming down the road. You can see the cars in some of the pictures. One of them walked right up to me and almost kissed my camera!

The train souq

This is an old picture that I found while browsing though some old files. Located in Sharjah, the Central Souq is also commonly referred to as 'train souq' on account of its shape that resembes a train.

It houses a thriving gold market in one wing and an odd mix of electronic shops, imitation jewellery shops and others in the other wing. Its a popular stop along the tourist trails in Sharjah.

Also read about Al Qasba in Sharjah here

Yet another perspective

My last post on Buheirah Corniche sparked off a lot of interest in Sharjah.

Here is another pic of the Buheirah Corniche shot during the day. The water gives Sharjah a new feel!

A mosque in Jumeirah

This beautiful mosque is located at the junction of Al Abaari Street and Al Wasl Road in Jumeirah 3

I was once told about this very famous 'Jumeirah Mosque' by a visiting releative from Canada. And having lived for a few years here, I must conceed that I had never heard of it yet. So when she landed here, the first thing we did was to go out and visit the famous Jumeirah mosque.

But this post is about the 'other mosque' in Jumeirah. I think this mosque is extremely beautiful and is probably the best design in terms of its architecture. This mosque is located at beach road in Jumeirah. Surprisingly I have not had a post about the Jumeirah mosque yet.

My other post on a mosque.

The art of making a Mushaltat

Loneliness...

Loneliness is probably one of the largest issues that plagues the expatriate work force here in Dubai. I spotted this worker sitting alone at the beach in Jumeirah. He lives in Dubai while the rest of his family has remained back. On this particular day, his other mates were away at work while he enjoyed his weekly day off. Enjoyed? He spent most of the day sitting alone in this spot with loneliness for company.

Parking fine?

I wonder if there is something wrong here?

This is a picture I shot at some palce in Al Qouz. The guy from Officemart in fact walked over and asked to move my car. I wonder if the no parking sign was installed by the RTA in the first place. And if so, is it within the law to let the officemart guys now block it out by sticking their own instructions here?

I was told that parking here is 'not fine'.

Good intentions gone bad...

It is fashionable these days to be seen as concious about the environment and seen to be doing your own little bit to save it. It is also not uncommon to see many of the well known names around the city use every other opportunity to ride the bandwagon.

I've been keeping a watch on this recycling centre located at Dubai Knowledge Village. This centre may have been opened with much fanfare but obviously has since been forgotten about. I'm not very confident that the garbage from here is recycled. But I am sure about one thing. Nobody has been here to collect the garbage since about a fortnight now.

And like many others, here is another good intention gone bad.

Corniche by night

I happened to be in Sharjah the other day and got the opportunity to capture a picture of Buheirah Corniche by night. Almost the entire Corniche is lined with small stretches of lawn and rows of date palms. This makes an ideal setting for families to come out in the evenings and spend time together.

This area is very popular with local families who come out with their chairs and tables and spend time together

Also read Al Qasba

Lovers at Dubai Creek

Spotted this beautiful couple at Dubai creek a few days back. They seemed to enjoy their time together as they sat atop the buoy. They were oblivious to the noise and chaos around them. They didn't even notice the abras and various other boats going past them. They had probably not even heard of the Dubai property market woes.

They continued to cuddle each other. They seemed to be so much in love.

Other Dubai Creek related posts here:

Seagulls are Dubai Creek

Abras

Mini Manila

Often referred to as Mini Manila, Satwa is home to thousands of Filipino expatriates in Dubai. As one walks through the narrow lanes of the locality, one cannot help but notice the popularity of Satwa as a preferred area for residence among the community.

There are about 280,000 to 400,000 Filipino expatriates in UAE mostly located within Dubai. And within Dubai, you may get a feeling that almost all of the Filipino community lives in Satwa! Al Hudaiba Street in Satwa is also referred to among the Filipino community as Dubai's 'Little Quiapo' after Manila's busiest commercial district.


So the next time you feel like a Daing na bangus, a chicken apritada or a helping of Bulalo, head down to Satwa to get the real Filipino experience.

Souq Khan Murjan

Wafi City has always been one of my favourite malls in Dubai and I have covered a musical event at the mall earlier (click here) A recent addition to Wafi City is the new Souq Khan Murjan

I was at the mall last weekend and had the opportunity to visit the souq. Its another world as you step out from Dubai's modern glitzy mall and into a magical and authentic souq.

The souq is made up of various quarters including Moroccan, Syrian, Egyptian and turkish quarters each offering its own traditional ware including gem stones, rugs and carpets and beautifully carved furniture. The souq is made up of several alleys and passageways and its very easy to get lost around the place and live a truly arabian experience.

Summer time... just another time

Am I pushing it too hard?

This is probably my third post this month talking about the arrival of summer ;-) These yellow flowers are also very popular at this time of the year. I just love the sight of these beautiful flowers. I am not sure what these flowers are called but I think these are commonly referred to as ice cream flowers.

Spotted these along Wasel Road in Jumeirah.

Date Palms - Getting ready for the summer

A few days back I blogged about the arrival of the summer in Dubai.

One of the other activities that also signal the arrival of the summer is the cleaning of the date trees that happens at about this time each year. The date palm trees are cleaned by the municipality workers probably in anticipation of a good crop. The photo above shows one such worker perched on top of a tree somewhere in Jumeirah chopping off dried palms and other waste.

You may also want to visit my other post on 'dates' here

Edited on 26th May

Moryati adds: In Arabic, what he is doing is called 'tas'eef', to keep the trunk trimmed and clean. Not only it makes the palm look nice and presentable, cutting those layers short and not allowing them to grow excessivly helps prolong the palm's life. Parasites and other contiminents tend to gether in between those extensions and could eat away thru the palm's body.

Hi Moryati: Thanks for the additional and important info on the subject

Traditional Lamps

One of the things that you notice about Dubai is the array of traditional lamps that one sees. Here are a few I saw the other day. Hopefully I will be able to put together a comprehensive series of lamps soon.

Summer time

The summer is here. Unofficially.

The summer flowers are in full bloom. And the shower now has water at 2 temperatures. Hot and Very Hot. So now I have to store water in a bucket so that I can have my daily dose of a cold water bath!.

The govt. is yet to announce the staggered work hours for the construction workers. That I guess confirms the official arrival of the summer in Dubai

A 'Bachelor' in Dubai

The term bachelor has been discussed on several occasion on so many blogs. Yet I am tempted to discuss it here.

The term itself is probably unique to the Middle East which has such a high ratio of an expat population. The term bachelor is commonly used to refer to a single male resident. This does not in any way reflect his marital status. It only confirms that he lives alone here while the rest of his family resides in his country of origin.

This young man is an example of a 'bachelor' in Dubai. He spent most of the Friday afternoon sitting on this step and watching the people pass by.

The hand carts of Bur Dubai

For a city known for its skyscrapers, glitz and modernity, the term hand-carts may seem a bit out of place. I spotted these handcarts during one of my many trips to the Bur Dubai souq. Bur Dubai still manages to hold on to the old world charm.
These hand cards are usually used by the local trading community to transport goods from the creek to the shops and surrounding areas.

The only Hindu temple in Dubai

I understand that this is the only Hindu temple in UAE? Located in Bur Dubai, the Shiva and Krishna Temple caters to the religious needs of the vast Hindu community in Dubai. While the temple performs marriage ceremonies among the Hindus, interestingly the marriages cannot be registered in the country.

It's strange to see the temple located on the first floor of a building. I found out that this was a pre-condition to having a temple in Dubai i.e the premises should not be located on firm ground. Can anyone confirm this?


For directions to the temple click here

Read about the only Gurudwara in Dubai here

Edited
ps: Refer to comment by Harsha for more info on the topic


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The Al Fahidi fort ...contd

Here are some more pictures as a continuation of the last post.

The Al Fahidi fort

I've been in Dubai for several years now but must concede that I had never been to the famous Al Fahidi fort since my arrival in Dubai. I had passed by the fort on a number of occasions and had always wanted to stop and visit the site.

This weekend was a good time to go down to Bur Dubai and visit the fort.


Built in 1799, the structure is probably one of the oldest in the city. Built with the primary objective of protecting the city from attacks via the sea, the structure lies on the banks of the Dubai creek, close to the abra stations. The fort now houses the Dubai museum which was opened in 1971 and provides a fascinating peek into Dubai's history and culture.

The fort has an underground gallery of artifacts depicting Dubai's history and traditions.

Check out some more pics here