What I did yesterday, in three parts

Part 1. Dubai meeting

I’ve had several business meetings lately in Dubai, which still amazes me every time I say that or write it down.  Dubai is still, in my mind, a magical place of legend and mystery.  Of course, I’ve worked in Abu Dhabi for the past year and a half, but I guess I’m more used to it.  The drive to Dubai most of the time is sedate, but it can be wild.  Yesterday morning was lovely and quiet on the road, with very light traffic and very clear air – both of these are rare around here.

Dubai is a massive city that has risen out of the desert in steel and concrete and glass. It is awesome to see and a nighmare to drive through. The main road into and through the city is 8 lanes, and every few kilometers is a mass of exits and ramps and extra lanes and soaring loops overhead. It took me 20 minutes last week to get from one side of the main road to the other, and to find the place I was looking for.

When I get a chance to stop somewhere, I figure I should take a few pictures. My meetings have been at an office in the Marina District, which is about 25 km (15 miles) south of the main city.  Here are a few shots from the yesterday and last Friday. 

One of three buildings in a group where I met

 

The building where I met, 33 stories tall

The view through dusty windows on the 33d floor – the tops of more tall buildings!

A video look at the Marina district from my meeting place

A broader image of the Marina district; note the round object on the left side

The Dubai Eye – under construction since before I arrived here, this will be the
world’s biggest “eye” type wheel attraction.

 Dubai Eye video

Part 2. Ibn Battuta Mall

After the meeting ended at 1 pm I was hungry and thought I’d pop into the mall just down the street a ways. The Ibn Battuta Mall is quite a place, with 7 big courts with displays documenting the travels of Ibn Battuta:

“In June 1335, a young man of just 21 years set out to explore the world. His journey spanned 24 years and six different lands - Tunisia, Egypt, Persia, India, China and Andalusia. Along the way, he survived storms and pirates, served as a judge and scholar, dined with nobles and commoners.

This extraordinary adventurer was Ibn Battuta. His life and travels are an inspiration to us. It has influenced our mall in design and spirit. You’ll see it in the interior themes and names of our courts.  It has influenced our mall in design and spirit. You’ll see it in the interior themes and names of our courts.” 

This place could be a museum and I could spend a week in here to read and study all the displays! And it’s all life size, in massive spaces! Of course, it is also jammed with every imaginable kind of shop. Each court depicts a place Ibn Buttata visited and documented, and his record is still referenced today.  The outside design of the mall also reflects the interior courts, but I don’t have pictures of that because driving here keeps me plenty busy just staying on the right road!

This place is a fascinating, remarkable effort to honor this man and his journey. Remember, it is outrageously, continually BLAZING HOT here for 9 months out of the year, and malls are much more than just a place to go to find new socks. They are gathering places, activity centers, and contain the grocery stores and restaurants in your area. So here are a few images to give you some idea what I’m talking about.

China Court, with a life-size junk in one corner!

Chinese junk

India Court

Life-size elephant and men statue

Persia Court

Ibn Battuta

Egypt Court

      Above and Below. From a display poster: “One of the most effective instruments developed to record and display the movement of the heavenly bodies was the armillary sphere.  The sphere was ingeniously devided to make allowance for the daily and seasonal rotations of the earth on its own axis, and around the sun. It has the ability to plot and measure the position of any observed heavenly body on a centralized three-dimensional celestial coordinate system.” 

Part 3. Walk, cool old cars

This evening I needed to stretch my legs and went out for a short walk. As often happens I heard engines at the Formula 1 track across the street and walked over to see what was going on. There were 6 Porsche Carreras driving around the course. It often happens that a car maker will hire the track and send a team of cars, mechanics and drivers to test or train, but tonight I think it was a local car group just out for fun.

I came across a young German family trying to take a selfie, and offered to help. I took them to a spot with better light and a better view and took a couple of very good shots for them. It’s always pleasant to do something nice for someone else, and they were very pleased with their images.

There were a couple of cool cars on display, so I caught a few shots of them, described below. While doing so I met a very friendly Arabic gentleman and enjoyed a chat for a few minutes. He wanted to know where I was from, how I liked it here, and anxious to ensure that everyone was helpful and welcoming – this is pretty normal behavior for most Muslims.   

 Bentleys on display at the Viceroy Hotel

He told me a story of going to the Four Seasons Hotel in New York, and trying to get on an elevator but the man inside it was frantically pushing the button to close the door. He laughed and said he waited for the door to close, then waited a few seconds for the elevator to have left, then pushed the Up button again. The same door opened, and the same fearful man seemed to dive into his tiny reservoir of courage and stepped aside to allow this fellow to enter. He said by the time they reached their floors they were talking like friends.

Excalibur – a custom car built in the 70s and based on a Corvette chassis and engine.

It's sad that Americans have become so fearful of other people. There’s no need for it. Despite what many political leaders are trying to sell us, we cannot reject an entire region or race or religion based on the actions of a few extreme people.  These people have much more reason to be fearful of coming to America, but they still try very hard to do so. Maybe we should relax and open up a bit and try to be welcoming to them.

  7439 Classic Rolls Royce

 #Dubai  #InbBattutaMall  #ViceroyHotel  #AbuDhabi