Tourist Duty

We have scant few weekends left here (What? So weird!) and so, to make the most of those remaining, we have decided to venture out a bit more into the countries around which we are living. We've spent plenty of time in Oman and the UAE, but there are still a few things we've noticed and of which full advantage have not been taken.

One of those things is "interior Oman," which generally means not Muscat or the UAE border. The country is full of Dunes and Oasis and Wadis (valleys that fill up with water - ripe for swimming and exploring). Another is taking a (totally touristy) safari in the UAE.

We did both of those things during last week's Eid, as well as spending a cultural day in Abu Dhabi at their soon-to-be-finished-twenty-years-in-the-making-Isalmic-cultural-center (it's technically not a mosque because Muslims are instructed to build very practical and plain mosques meant only for worship, and this is not that; however, people do worship here. They also call it an Islamic cultural center so they can admit non-Muslims.).

It was a great couple of days break to act as a buffer between the days of re-settling in our expat lifestyle while simultaneously conducting exercises to get us out (Jacob's job search intensified last week).

Anyway, here are the memories...ah, Kodak (or, actually Sandisk digital image) moments.

Full album here.

Wadi at Sunset. It's so amazing to come across this - palms and mountains

and greenery in the middle of the desert.

Obligatory camel-love shot. C'mon, I know we all rode one at the zoo, aged 8, but in the desert? A must.

Also a must: dune bashing. It's like a roller coaster with no track! Well, maybe a soundtrack, which in our case was alternating Middle Eastern pop and Western R&B/Rap (ie, Apple Bottom Jeans), to which our driver/guide bashed (quite rhythmically) until he made our Danish girl-companions sick.

And the final part of the evening was a "Bedouin-style" dinner at a tented encampment, wherin we enjoyed a pleasant dinner, a belly-dancing show, henna and sheesha (and the locals enjoyed the show of international tourists mooning over desert livestock and the novelty of sitting on the ground for dinner - win win!).

And now, Abu Dhabi. Every time we've driven into the capitol city, we've passed this incredibly-massive-four-minaretted white mosque off the highway. You can't miss it. This time, we actually stopped. Well worth it. The architecture, detail and design of this place is amazing. Even if camels don't do it for you, check out the album to see the rest of the mosque pics. White Grecian heat-absorbing marble (so you can walk around barefoot and not get burned) inlaid with everything from precious stones to colored natural marble to mother of pearl (black and white) in intricate designs. Not to mention the white- and yellow-gold accents all over.

The hallways, which border all four sides, were arched and inlaid and gold-leafed and surrounded by pools.