Abu Dhabi

United Arab Emirates

April 10, 2016

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is the largest mosque in the United Arab Emirates and the eighth largest mosque in the world.

I can’t think of anything more to say than what is written in my guidebook:*

“Rising majestically from beautifully manicured gardens and visible from each of the bridges joining Abu Dhabi Island to the mainland, the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque presents an impressive welcome to the city.

Liwa

Abu Dhabi

United Arab Emirates

April 13, 2016

Hello, 

So I picked up my rental car in Abu Dhabi city and set the GPS for the southwest town of Liwa.  In a few minutes I was hopelessly lost. 

In my frustration I made a turn I shouldn’t have.   Seconds later, blue lights were flashing in the rear view mirror. 

Al Ain  (pop 632,000)

Abu Dhabi

United Arab Emirates

April 15, 2016

As-salamu alaykum,

Friday.  The Muslim Sabbath.  Al Ain is quiet.

I wander alone downtown.  Modern, low-rise office buildings dot the broad streets.  No skyscrapers!  A pleasant, colorful city.

I find a market area.  Only a few shops open.  Scarves on display.  One in particular?   I bargain hard ($20 to $5).  And wrap my new cotton treasure around my neck and shoulders.

Prayers over.

Holiday!  Day off!

Al Ain

Abu Dhabi

United Arab Emirates

April 17, 2016

The automobile models available for rental in Abu Dhabi are all equipped with automatic transmission.  Shift to D and drive for hours on straight modern roads across the flat desert.   

But today, a vehicle with manual transmission would have helped!  

Al Ain

Abu Dhabi

United Arab Emirates

April 18, 2016

 I didn’t count them of course, but there must be several hundred camels for sale at the Al Ain Camel Market.  Goats, too.

At first I thought,”Why do we need so many camels?” 

A few may be bred for racing.  But camels as a major means of transportation are now a distant historical memory.  **

Then I remembered, “Aren’t we all envious of anyone who can afford the ultra soft luxurious texture of a camel hair jacket or coat?” 

And that’s just the beginning.

Al Ain Zoo

Al Ain

Abu Dhabi

United Arab Emirates

April 19, 2016

Howdy,

Many, many years ago, my wife at the time, the late Alice Dawn and I took a road trip from New York to San Francisco.  We visited her younger sister, the late Carolyn Dawn and her family.  On the way, we stopped in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Alice was a proficient horsewoman so we decided to take a two-hour early evening ride into the Grand Tetons.  Towards the end of our tour, in the deepening shadows of the majestic and inspiring mountains, I spotted a shy and apprehensive four-legged creature off in the distance. 

I proclaimed with excitement, “There’s a deer!”   Riding along side of me, our guide, calmly and with the taciturn air of a native of the mountains, responded, “That’s not a deer, son. That’s an elk!” 

Opps.