Global Village

Dubai is a fascinating mix of western and middle eastern culture.  Lots of things impress me about this city.  The UAE is doing all sorts of infrastructure building so that their economy is not strictly based on oil.  One of the many things they have built is Global Village.

Global Village is a cross between a county fair, amusement park and shopping center.  What they've done is established zones for vendors from specific countries to come in and sell their handicrafts and wares.  You can enter the Africa pavilion and see hand carvings from Kenya, leather goods and baskets from the Congo.  The Indian pavilion has saris, sugar cane drink stands, and brass fitted hand carved chests.

There are more than 39 countries represented in this seasonal venue.  I can't imagine what it would be like with more places to shop.

I'm pretty sure we didn't make it to one quarter of the country pavilions, but did we see some stuff.  Like any fair promotions, there is quality hand goods and just plain junk.  But it was fun to see it all the same.

I was quite taken by the lights and lamps available in the Turkish section.

They are acrylic globes that are mosaiced with glass tiles and beads.  The tops and bottoms are solid brass and the resulting fixture is pretty, stout and individual.  Like many things, they are available in all sizes, colors and shapes.

If I only had a home to hang one in!!  I would totally buy a giant chandelier.

Our friends bought a giant globe fixture to take home to the states.  It's going to look amazing in their two story entryway.

We wandered through some of the shops and stalls, all of which are open only for the season (November 1st through March 3rd) then headed to the food court.  There are as many food stalls as there are countries exhibiting their wares.  Of course, being the world traveler I am, I ate at Pizza Hut!

Then we went to the midway.  The two kids had been so patient with the grown ups shopping, they deserved a few rides.  I liked the double-decker Merry Go Round!

There were lots of rides for big kids and an equivalent number for the little tykes.  It's wonderful to see so many families out enjoying a place like this.

We dropped all kinds of tokens, ate cotton candy and popcorn.  Fairs over the world are the same in some ways, different in others.  There was not an Indian Taco, Scotch Egg or Belgium Waffle stand.  No funnel cakes or turkey legs.

There were all kinds of Arabic sweets, Egyptian breads that they tossed like pizza dough, and nuts I've never even heard of.  We ate our way through the park.  In that way, it was just like a county fair at home.

Best of all, since this is their final weekend open, lots of the vendors were offering deep discounts.  We had fun at Global Village.  We will definitely be going back next year.

--  Sandee Wagner

Madinat Souk With The Folks

One of our next outings with the folks was to take them to the Souk at the Madinat Jumeirah.

This place has several things going for it, from an 'entertain the visitors' point of view.  First, it is a new, easy to navigate around shopping area.  Second, it's built to look like a historic marketplace.  Third, it has a canal, giving it waterfront appeal, and finally, a great view of the Burj Al Arab.

I'm quite taken with the modern architecture that tries to preserve the historic feel of the area.  Those towers with logs exposed are wind towers used to ventilate homes pre-air conditioning.

I'm not sure how it worked, but the Al Bastakiya quarter in Dubai is filled with historic buildings sporting these wind towers.

The souk itself is a rambling haven for shoppers and strollers.  It is a more planned out version of the San Antonio Riverwalk.  There are restaurants, shops and kiosks selling all kinds of handcrafts from around the world.  Hardcore shoppers love some of the upscale shops, we just go for the restaurants and the water views.

We walked around a little and then settled into a table at The Meat Co.

One of the benefits to the area is that since it is 'associated' to a major hotel, the restaurants can serve liquor.  So, a nice cold beer sounded really good!

We had a lovely meal, some yummy 'beetroot and chocolate bread' and possibly the best hamburgers that DH and I have had in all of Dubai.

It's a little pricey, but as you can see, you're paying a bit for the lovely views and waterfront seating.

At night, this area is lit up and the restaurants crowded with folks.  We found the luncheon service to be excellent and less filled with people.

We considered this lunch to be a huge win, because I managed to pay for it.  Dad has threatened to send me a check to cover the price of the meal, but that's just cheating.  I got the bill, got it paid, so I win that round.

-- Sandee Wagner

Folks Visit

My parents emailed to tell me that Emirates Airline was adding a non stop flight from Dallas to Dubai in February.  They planned to book tickets and visit for a week.

I awaited the dates and was thrilled when I learned they'd be here from February 11th through 18th.

Then I began to fret... what to do, what to do??  What sights would they want to see?  They've been through Dubai on their world travels.  Also, they are not youngsters any more--there's only so much they can do physically.  So, Dune Bashing was out.  I researched the local history and decided on an easy drive by tour.

The Big Bus Tour.

This company has tours of several major cities: London, Philadelphia, Hong Kong, Las Vegas, and many more.  But we were interested in Dubai.

There are two routes, the red line and the blue line.  The red line goes through the old town and historic sights.  The blue line runs down the beach and features the Burj Al Arab and the Palm Jumeirah.

What this day tour has going for it is the 'hop on, hop off sightseeing' offered by the scheduled stops.  A bus comes by every 20 minutes at each stop.  You can get off, look around for as long as you like, then get back on and go to the next stop.  The lower deck is air conditioned, the upper deck, open air.  There is a recorded track that is triggered by the sights and informs about each thing you pass.  There are earphones provided and jacks in the back of each bus seat.

We climbed aboard at the Mall of the Emirates, which is a stop on the blue line.  We rode a couple stops, jumped off at the Wafi Mall and boarded the red line.

We listened to the recorded information, then stepped off the bus at the Dubai Museum.

The Museum is in the oldest building in Dubai, a historic fort.  What is most interesting about this facility is that in order to keep the original building intact, they excavated below it to create the space for the museum exhibit.  So you walk through a small fort, then down a spiral ramp to more exhibits.

In the dark lower floor, they've recreated an ancient market place with life sized characters posed performing historically accurate activities. There's a potter, a spice merchant, a weaver.  You can look into a school room, a private home and a traditional prayer room.  Each one of the displays has a description of the period activity and dress.  It's pretty compelling.
 

I asked Mom & Dad to pose in front of the archaeologist's dig.  They had a full tent set up with all the tools and gear.  I thought taking a photo of the geologist in front of the dig exhibit had a nice irony.

Unfortunately, the lower part of the museum is very, VERY dark.  Lighting is the biggest issue and main complaint I had.  I took a few pictures, but the tiny flash was not up to the all consuming darkness that was the lower floors of this fun museum.

We enjoyed the displays anyway, but we spent a lot of time holding onto each other's elbows, standing still and waiting for our eyes to adjust to the gloom.  Parts of the walk-through had actual sand floors, so it made it a little tense because the footing was unstable.

We really liked the small gallery.  We got back on the bus and rode the rest of the red line, then got off at Burjaman to rejoin the blue line.  We ate lunch at Hatam Restaurant.  A shared meal of kebabs, hummus and flat bread.  Yummy!

The blue line took us past the Burj Al Arab and out to the tip of the Palm to the Atlantis Resort Hotel.

During the ride out the trunk of the Palm to the Crescent Road, the recorded soundtrack told how many pounds of sand were heaped up to create the Palm.  The description of the building of the area was fascinating.  I had no idea what an engineering marvel the dredging and construction were!

Once we completed the circuit out to the tip of the Palm and back, the Big Bus took us back to the Mall of the Emirates, where we were parked for our return home.

The tour bus was a great way to see the sights when you want to take things at your own pace, but like the route driven by the bus.  By riding both the red and blue lines, we had a few overlaps and heard the same soundtrack for the sights, but that was little enough bother for a day of seeing the city of Dubai.

--  Sandee Wagner