Dubai Public Library

I stopped by a branch of the Dubai Public Library today and took a few photos. This is what it looked like:

Very pretty, and full of resources, but one of only 8 branches to serve this city of more than 2 million people.

Burg Khalifa is within view. Across the street is Safa Park to compete with, (UAE version of Parks and Recreation rivalry?)

I like the air conditioned bus stop directly in front.

Nice landscaping and even a water fountain by the door.

These are the last pics before I was asked to quit taking photos.

It was a fun 5 minutes before I was getting looks that said my time at the public library was over. I'll visit again someday and not take pictures.

Da'Beach in Dubai

Wherever you are in the city of Dubai, you are not far from the beach. The coastline runs along the entire city, some of it is private access for hotels and such. But the open beach is pretty nice and you only have to pay a few dirhams for parking.

On the drive there, I saw an Oreo cookie truck!

You can rent umbrellas and stuff.

"There is always money in the banana stand"(Arrested Development) I was cooked after 30 minutes, so it's alright that I could only come up with a few coins for the parking meter.

The view is nice and now I've been swimming in the warm waters of the Arab Gulf. Lovely, relaxing weekend.

Into the Frying Pan

Last week marked one month of living in Dubai. I spent the evening that marked this event touring around old Dubai eating. The oldest neighborhood in Dubai is Deira, which was developed in the 70's and 80's by the way. Before that there were caravans and pearl divers, but not an established city like Abu Dhabi. I haven't visited the history museum yet, so sorry if this information is inaccurate! Arva is an entrepreneurial woman who wanted to share the food treasures of her part of town, so she started this special tour company, called Frying Pan Adventures, which caters to foodies. Here is a pic of her and her small team, the head of the show is sitting, probably because these tours are exhausting.

This is a list of the food we had and the places we ate: • Falafel mahshi (chickpea falafels stuffed with chilli paste, sumac and onions), hummus with a capsicum/green chilli pepper/garlic/lemon sauce called tatbeela, foul (Egyptian slow-cooked fava beans), kunafa (Palestinian cheese pastry) - at Qwaider Al Nabulsi, Murraqqabat Street. • Karabij (pistachio cookies with the soapwart cream!) and a tray of baklava called ‘bukaj’ (knapsack-shaped baklava stuffed with cashew nuts) from Samadi Sweets, Murraggabat Street • Shorbat adas (lentil soup), Iraqi masquof fish with amba (mango pickle), rayhaan (a type of basil), hashwat as-samak (tomato-onion-peppers fish stuffing) at Bait Al Baghdadi on Muteena Street • Emirati Chicken Machboos (lamb cooked in an Emirati blend of roasted spices or besar and with the rice simmered along with the chicken), Laham Salona (lamb curry with the traditional blend of Emirati spices), Yemeni chicken Mandi (spiced and slow-roasted chicken) served over two kinds of rice (the regular spiced one and then one with paprika and tomato paste called ‘Bukhari’) and Laban (drinking yoghurt) at Al Tawasol, near the Clock Tower • Persian Faloodeh (vermicelli noodles with sugar and rosewater, drizzled with your choice of lemon juice and/or rose syrup), topped with saffron and pistachio ice cream at Sadaf Sweets, Maktoum Road. This is a photo my boss took of me trying to figure out what I was about to eat. It is the saffron ice cream... with vermicelli...

I felt like I would burst, but it was a lot of fun. Well worth the price. Met some funny folks and will hopefully hang out with some of them again soon. Inshallah, a much used phrase meaning God willing.

Dragon Mart!

The city of Dubai is drawn up into several different districts, for example I work in the Academic City, and I live in the World Trade Centre district. Nearby Academic City is International City, really all of Dubai is international, but this area is more so, mostly Asian if my observations are correct. I had to do some business at Dragon Mart-- which seems like a flea market in a warehouse/mall-- imagine Concord Mills outlet mall 50 years from now, and full of crazy junk... This is another story that I feel I can tell best in pictures. The entrance to Dragon Mart-- a giant dragon fountain, you can see this from the highway.

It was about lunchtime and being crazed from the short drive, I felt ravenous. So, of course, I had a Mexican Chicken Shawarma for lunch-- why not? I really don't know how this was prepared, but it seemed like a taco in a wrap. "Mexican" because it was spicy and it had some cole slaw inside... It hit the spot and I wasn't hangry anymore.

There's lots of weird stuff at Dragon Mart-- except for what you really came for. Plenty of styles of leggings to choose from. Someone, please dare me to wear the American flag leggings around Dubai. 

I don't know if these photos really show it, but this gigantic place is filled with little shops selling whatever strange stuff. "Boil Fashion?" Maybe that is a funny translation?

I love lighting stores, and there was plenty of that here. Really creative lighting actually, but some of it was flashing like crazy and kind of gave me a headache. By the way, if you have seizures, be careful in Dubai, some places are really intense. I hope these photos came out, it is some big globe disco-style lights, a horse lamp, and some palm lamps. One of these for my apartment is on the wish list.

When I finally made my way out of there, I snapped a photo of the scenery on the way back to work.

Fibber McGee/Birthday Celebration, Royal China/Farewell Brunch, and Saray Spa.

Big weekend in Dubai, I will start with Thursday evening, when the weekend begins in the Arab world. I feel like I need to explain a lot about how the liquor licenses work in Dubai, but I'm really no expert.. All I know is that there is an authentic Irish pub several steps away from the entrance to my apartment building.. For better for or for worse, I have easy access to all the beer, cider and mixed drinks I like.. Last week we celebrated my fellow Zayed University newbie's birthday. Justin turned 21, so we had a Guinness or 10... Happy hour is too good to pass up.

A librarian from the Abu Dhabi campus, Inger, is leaving for Australia in September, so a goodbye brunch celebration was called to celebrate. The food was amazing, a la carte dim sum, all you can order. I cannot begin to tell how many delicious and different things I tried. Here are some photos.

Then the Hamam- Turkish bath/massage. This is one of the things I've been looking forward to about Dubai and have been planning this for months. On various reviews the spa at the Marriott Marquis kept coming up, so I made my reservation. There was also a 50% discount off 90 minute sessions, so I went for it. I showed up two hours before the appointment to make sure I could find the place, navigating in Dubai deserves another blog entry... I took advantage of free valet parking, which is the standard at most places, such as hotels. I had time for a lamb sandwich and Moroccan tea at the French cafe. C'est magnifique. Is it Turkish spa day or French treat day? I get so confused.

So I also had time to spend before the hamam in the relaxation room. Just as lovely as it sounds, I got to enjoy all the other spa amenities before the hamam treatment, which is included in the cost. I brought my swim suit and tried the jacuzzi, sauna and steam room. I have these things at my swank apartment gym also, but it was nice to try these facilities. Hamam is usually a table shower, exfoliation and massage. This one included a body mask, rose or coffee, I chose a rose mud mask. The entire experience was so interesting-- when is the last time someone gave you a bath with a giant wooden ladel?