My parents (aka Grandma and Grandpa Walker) are in town. We made them do boring stuff with us like set up a wireless network in our house and get my driver's license, but we also did some pretty fun things. Aaaaaand for some reason the pictures are out of order. Let's pretend that makes it even more fun.
We drove through the Business Bay area of Dubai, which tends to remind me somewhat of what a futuristic colony in outer space would look like.
We went to the Museum of Islamic Civilization in Sharjah. Aside from the obvious favorites like the Egyptian Museum or that one in Istanbul, this is the best museum in the Middle East I've ever been to. Uncluttered, interesting, informative, and well presented - it was lovely. They had a small exhibit on the hijab style of dress, with examples of innovative, modest clothing (see hijab swimsuit, above).
In Utah I used to see cell phone towers disguised as fir trees. Here, they hide them as super tall palm trees.
This is as close as you can get to the Burj al-Arab without paying 80 bucks to eat breakfast there (or a few thousand to spend the night). Trust me, that building is bigger than it looks.
We went for a water taxi ride on Dubai Creek. It was neat to see all the boats queuing up with their varied cargo from all over the Gulf area.
Ah, the afternoon siesta. Very much alive and well in Dubai.
We stumbled into the textile district of Deira by accident but it was a very happy one.
An Emirati friend took us out on the town - er, dunes - in Al Ain. Amazing.
He also drove us to the top of the highest mountain in the UAE.
This is in Deira (Dubai) again. Seeing this view was the first glimpse I've had since we moved here of the Middle East I'm used to.
The Gold Souq. Obviously. While we were browsing (but not purchasing, my goodness no), one of the stores ended up cleaning my wedding ring for free. So that was nice, even though my wedding ring and the displays in these stores do not really belong in the same echelon.
Dubai Mall. It deserves so much more than the term mall. Have I said that already? A few times, maybe?
Our shoddy green Egyptian stroller is not really classy enough for this place but we continue to persevere.
For an indoor zoo that is inside of a mall, the Dubai Underwater Zoo is actually quite fantastic.
Is it just me, or could this iguana have been the inspiration for Anjelica Huston in The Witches?
The Burj Khalifa.
Why yes, we DID go to the top!
I stuck the camera out through the gap in the window and pointed it down to take this picture. Doing so almost made me throw up just thinking of my hand (still attached to my body) being so far above ground.
Last of all, here is a video of the elevator ride up to the top of the Burj. It was so fast I thought it was fake until we stepped out and we really were 124 stories high.
So far, project Grandparent Visit is a success!
Last of all, here is a video of the elevator ride up to the top of the Burj. It was so fast I thought it was fake until we stepped out and we really were 124 stories high.
So far, project Grandparent Visit is a success!