Monday, May 29, 2006
One of the nice things about living in the UAE is getting to travel to some very unique and interesting places. Click on the links to view some of the photos from my trip to Lebanon
The Cedars of Lebanon
Baalbeck
lebanon254
lebanon275
Posted by Jerald @ 11:10 AM GMT [Link]
Thursday, May 4, 2006
here is a place, removed from the tumultuous streets of the capital, where one can step back in time and experience a simpler way of life. A sanctuary of culture and tradition, the Emirates Heritage Village sits on the Abu Dhabi breakwater with the backdrop of the capital's towering skyline in stark contrast.
The visible disparity between the UAE of seafaring and Bedouin days and the country's current distinctive urban feel is nowhere more omnipresent than on the 1,600-sq m stretch of land, where scenes from traditional daily life in the Emirates can be relived...
Open to the public every day of the week, the Emirates Heritage Village attracts close to 1,000 visitors a week according to Al Falasi, especially during the milder winter and spring months.
Visitors at the Emirates Heritage Village can journey into the past in three different sections: the sea, the desert, and agriculture. Each section showcases the customary ways of life of the UAE, where people can see wool tents (bait al sha'ar), seamen's houses designed especially to shield them from the often harsh environment, and irrigation systems manned by an ox.
"I don't believe in our heritage as just the past, but about embodying it and making it real," says Al Falasi. "Visitors need to see it, see women cooking traditional food, people making handicrafts and just the way life used to be in the UAE."
The desert section rests on red sand brought in from oases and camels, horses and falcons are in plain view. The Emirates Heritage Village offers falcon training courses to those who are interested, while visitors can take a breather in the hadhira, or a makeshift tented coffee shop where Bedouin used to meet.
Palm carpets, rice bags and rope lie nearby, while a clothes shop and an herb and spice shop are open to those looking to buy a little piece of tradition. The area designed to showcase life by the sea holds a beach house erected on white sand. A big wooden door welcomes you into the quaint house, where the barjil, or a wide and open tower set up on top of the house, evenly distributes cool air from the sea... MORE
Posted by Jerald @ 11:22 PM GMT [Link]
Monday, May 1, 2006
A Dubai company will build the world's longest hotel strip as part of a Dh100 billion tourist and leisure resort in the city, its developers said yesterday.
Unveiled yesterday by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the project will be spread over 139 million square feet in Dubailand. It will feature a cluster of 31 hotels offering more than 29,000 rooms and 100 theatres presenting live cultural shows...
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