United Arab Emirates - Abu Dhabi

After our less than stellar day in Fujairah, our moods changed as we came upon our last two days. What is this far off land all about? Were we unfairly comparing it to Japan? Japan: the land of efficiency, discipline and respect vs. the UAE: the land of disorder with dogmatic people and overwhelmingly obvious class differences (especially in Dubai). That's not to say we hated everything or didn't learn a great deal during this trip. It was certainly a journey into the unknown and we had some unforgettable experiences during our week here. I wouldn't exactly call it a relaxing vacation, but I learned more about the world and more about myself because of this trip.

I mentioned in my first post about the UAE that unlike our other trips where we hopped from city to city and changed hotels every few days, in the UAE, we parked ourselves in one hotel the entire week. While I don't regret the principle of that decision, it did make seeing other Emirates for an extended period of time difficult. In the case of Fujairah, I was glad to return to Dubai at the end of the day. In the case of Abu Dhabi, however, I wish we could have stayed longer.

Abu Dhabi was much more our pace. Away from the glitz and glamor of Dubai, Abu Dhabi seemed much more down to earth, more business oriented, and just more familiar of a city to a couple of American tourists. Since we only spent a few measly hours there, I can hardly call myself an expert on anything in Abu Dhabi. Though I will say that it was a refreshing change from our day in Fujairah and even from Dubai.

I mention above, the overwhelming class differences in Dubai. I suppose one could make this argument about any American city. The Upper East Side in New York is home to some of America's wealthiest while just a handful of blocks over you have government housing projects and crime-ridden neighborhoods. Los Angeles has both hollywood's elite in Beverly Hills combined with parts where violent gangs rule the streets. But it's very difficult to compare the USA to the UAE. The UAE is only about the size of Kentucky but is almost as wealthy as the USA. That is insane! From the palm islands (completely manmade islands in the shape of a palm tree that house the posh resort hotel The Atlantis) to the Burj Al Arab (the worlds only 7-star hotel) and the Burj Khalifa (the tallest building in the world), Dubai is a city positively dripping with money. (Get it? Dripping with money? Because their money comes from oil...dripping oil? Sometimes I crack myself up...) The UAE is not only an incredibly wealthy country as a whole, but Dubai is where that money is very flashy. It's almost like a cross between the Las Vegas and Disney World of the Middle East. At the same time, the old section of the city (Deira, where our hotel was located) showed us that not everyone in Dubai lived in the lap of luxury. Dubai has a large foreign presence. Approx 80% of people living in Dubai are foreign. Unlike the United States or European countries that allow foreigners to immigrate and become citizens, the UAE does not. Foreigners can come there, live there, do business there, but they can never become citizens and reap the benefits of full Emirate citizens. That's why the UAE-native born people are given huge incentives by the government to procreate. It's also interesting to think about a government with an over abundance of money that only needs to worry about the livelihood of 20% of the population. Once we understood this, it became obvious that it was all foreigners in the poorer sections of the city.

Abu Dhabi, much less flashy and as a result it made us feel less out of place. Being comfortable middle-class Americans, we could not resonate the the Dubai upper-class in the mega malls toting around giant Louis Vuitton and Prada shopping bags, nor did we feel comfortable walking along the poorer streets of Deira. Having said that, the first thing we visited in Abu Dhabi is one of the most opulent things we saw on the entire trip...but I'll get to that.

The day got off to an early start. We decided not to rent a car and drive to Abu Dhabi ourselves, but instead, try out the inter-city public transportation. We were only spending one day in Abu Dhabi and didn't want to worry about navigating through a new city in a car and trying to find parking everywhere we wanted to stop. We got up at the wee hour of 4:15AM and took the metro just 2 stops on the green line to the Dubai bus depot. We easily got bus tickets, found our bus and were on our way to Abu Dhabi by 6:40AM. Being 2 of the last people aboard (we weren't late getting to the bus, but there was already a long line of people ahead of us), we weren’t able to sit together.  There were 2 aisle seats across from each other, so we each took one and mostly dozed for the 2 hour drive. We arrived in Abu Dhabi without any traffic delays and took a taxi to the Seihk Zayed Grand Mosque. 

We got there around 9:30 and walked through the mosque and the grounds before a guided tour at 10. This place is absolutely magnificent. It's the largest mosque in the UAE and clearly no expense was spared in this stunning complex. It only opened in 2007 which surprised us and didn't all at the same time. Given how new everything seemed in the UAE, it only made sense that this gigantic, palatial house of worship also be a symbol of the country's recent oil wealth. From the outside, one can appreciate the sheer size and white brilliance of the building against the blue sky day that we had. It was the inside, however, that truly blew us away.

Seihk Zayed Grand Mosque - Abu Dhabi

Seihk Zayed Grand Mosque - Abu Dhabi

The inside left us stunned. My picture below hardly shows the true beauty of this place, but I'll do my best to describe just how extravagant some of the things are that you're seeing in this picture. First, the chandelier in the center is made entirely of Murano glass imported from Italy. If you've been reading my blog since the beginning, then perhaps you remember my post from our visit to Northern Italy? The small island of Murano off the coast of Venice was made famous for its hand-blown glass. A single vase of Murano glass cost several hundred Euros. Can you even imagine the cost of the glass to make this light piece? Don't forget about the millions (yes millions) of Swarovski crystals that were also used. Oh, and I didn't mention, that there were seven of these hanging throughout the main prayer hall? According to wikipedia, the chandelier hanging in the center, is the third largest chandelier in the world. Crazy, right? 

In the background of the picture along the white wall is an arch of what looks like flowers. We saw these mosaic arches throughout the entire building and learned on the tour that they were inlaid with precious and semi-precious stones. In short, this place was ridiculous and beautiful! And absolute must see if you're ever in Abu Dhabi. 

It's worth noting that you need to be completely covered from head to toe to enter (women, of course). And it's not enough to simply be covered. You must be covered with loose fitting clothes. There is a sign at the entrance showing the types of "looks" that are acceptable and unacceptable. One thing that surprised me was that even women in long sleeves and jeans had to be more covered if the jeans were too tight. I was fine in my attire, I just had to cover my head before going in. The rules for men are much different. My husband wore jeans and a t-shirt and he was fine. As with all other public mosques that we visited, if you didn't come wearing the right clothing, you could borrow or rent some before entering. 

Seihk Zayed Grand Mosque - interior

After the tour, we took another taxi to the Marina Mall on the other side of town. We got some lunch and ice cream in the mall food court and walked around the mall for a little while. I have to say that I was disappointed with the shopping in the UAE. Whenever I travel, I love to buy local souvenirs that remind me of our travels when I get home. Sadly, the malls consisted of mostly chain stores that can be found in any US mall. 

Up until this point, the weather had been pretty mild. Most days were hazy but not overall unpleasant. I was comfortable in long sleeves and long skirts and my husband (whom I call a polar bear because he's never too cold) didn't even complain about wearing jeans. Our day in Abu Dhabi, however, was one of the hottest day by far so we decided not to walk along the Corniche. The Corniche is right across from the Marina Mall and has walking paths and fountains along the water. For us, it was just too hot. 

Instead, we caught a local bus (#34) and took the scenic route back to the bus terminal. I thoroughly enjoyed the bus ride. It made several stops downtown and we got to see a quick snapshot of local city life in Abu Dhabi in a very whirlwind way. Both my husband and I remarked on how much more "normal" Abu Dhabi seemed. During our tour at the mosque, the guide took a quick poll of people in our group to see who was from Dubai and who was from Abu Dhabi. Since the majority of the people in our group were from Abu Dhabi, she took the liberty of asking them if they liked Abu Dhabi better than Dubai, and they all resoundingly said yes. Interesting, I thought. 

Abu Dhabi Skyline

Once back in Dubai, we still had a few more hours left to the day, so we took the metro to the Deira City Center (another big mall) for a falafel dinner, some shopping, and a cinnabon for dessert with dunkin donuts for tomorrow's breakfast (did you miss my comment where I said that we could only find chain stores?). Only one more day to go. It was on our last day that we realized that we did our entire trip backwards. Our last day should have been our first, and if ever given the opportunity to go back, we would do so many things differently. 

That's why I'm writing this blog. If any of you loyal readers have an interest in visiting the UAE or any of the places I've gone, learn from my mistakes, and you'll have such a better time than we did. 

Our last day in Dubai features one of the coolest things...the Burj Khalifa (the world's tallest building). Click HERE to check it out. 

Thanks for reading!

- Foxy the Traveler