Abu Dhabi, UAE

Sunset last evening as we sailed away from Fujairah was beautiful- reminding us of the Beautiful sunsets we see at home. We watched and sipped wine as the city disappeared into the fog.

Terminal Tent at Dubai

This morning we sailed into Dubai. We’ll be aboard today and tonight and then off the ship tomorrow morning. Been a great cruise.

No we are not at a snow mountain. The Sheikh wants the children to experience all of life so during the winter holidays he sponsors a snow festival. This sign greeted us inside the port.

 The emirate of Dubai is often misperceived as a country in its own right. Dubai is a city in the United Arab Emirates, whose capital city is Abu Dhabi. The UAE was formed in 1974, following independence from the United Kingdom. It is a federation of 7 emirates. Money and population determine the numbering of the Emirates but it seemed to me it is mostly money. As we departed Dubai for a day visit to Abu Dhabi, the capital, we saw a billboard that said “Money built the buildings; ambition built the skyline.” We also saw amazing tall, mirrored buildings reflecting the sun. Saw a completely round building.

Dubai has 3 million people and Abu Dhabi has 3.5 million. Seemed like there was also lots of competition between the two emirates.

Today we will visit Abu Dhabi, which means “Father of Gazelle.” Tomorrow we will be off the ship and spend a looooong day visiting Dubai before we begin our even longer journey home. You could tell when we passed from Dubai into Abu Dhabi because there were lines of trees. Since this emirates has lots and lots of money the Sheikh doesn’t hesitate to spend money on all things beautifying.

We passed a stadium for Camel Racing   also a place for Falcon Racing. Ali, our driver, also pointed out a hospital for falcons. We saw

The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi was huge- one of the largest in the world. It is made of gleaming white marble and can accommodate 40,000 worshipers. The landscaping around the mosque was beautiful. When you consider what a little bit of rain this area gets it was really amazing. We also saw the Sultan’s palace. Plus we saw lots of big fancy house for the royal family. Ali told us no one really even knows how many people are in the royal family because there are many brothers and cousins and the people cannot talk about all of that. BUT there were a lot of houses for the family.

Dubai covers 1,588 square miles. It’s population exceeds 2 ½ million people with only 17% being of Emirati origin. The city is home to the tallest man-made structure in the world, the Burj Khalifa standing 2,722 feet tall. Construction began in 2004 and was completed in 2009. Tomorrow we’ll be going up in a fast elevator to the top of this building.

We depart the ship in the morning, tour all day, board a Delta flight at 11:00PM and arrive in Atlanta at about 6:00 AM. We will get home about noon.

Been a great trip and I’ll finish with what we learn about and experience in Dubai when we get settled at home. Thanks for reading along.