Dubai....Where East Meets West

Dubai is a huge sprawling metropolis on the edge of a vast desert.  Their riches have been spawned from trade and tourism and they have buildings that compete with the novelty of Singapore without the beautiful landscaping.........

 

 

 

This tower is the tallest structure in the world and has over 160 stories..........

It is an Islamic country and mosques are everywhere......

This is their most famous one, which we were not allowed to enter, the Jameera mosque....

The houses here are expensive and opulent and cost in the millions.  I did not see where the poor or working class people lived........

And of course shopping is everywhere.....

Since we stayed overnight I went out on my balcony before sunrise and listened when the Muslims where called to prayer,  The lone singer's voice wafted through the air and was strangely beautiful as he sang the verses of the Koran.

We visited Jameera beach, a popular local place......

And it was here we were able to capture pictures of the only 7 star hotel in the world.  It is shaped like a sail and has slightly over 200 rooms, all suites.  The most expensive goes for $28,000 a night!!!

We visited the Dubai Museum in the old part of the city which is by the city's first fort.  It had been a trading area with sea going merchants on the Mesopotamia/Indus route (no inside pictures allowed)......

 

We were fascinated by these wind towers.  They somehow helped cool the buildings prior to air conditioning.

 

 

 

We had to cross the river in these rickety "ferries" which are used by everyone to get to the deira district where the old "souks" (shopping areas) are located.......

The "souks" sell everything from textiles to gold.  This one was the spice market......

And this one was the gold market where jewelry can be bought at much reduced prices than in the west after a great deal of haggling...

Note the ladies in their burkas.  They do not like to be photographed so I captured them in the corner of my shot.  All of the conservative Islamic women wear these very hot clothes and some cover their entire face as well...........

 

The next day Carolyn and I went on an adventure by ourselves and after visiting the souk took a cab to Atlantis.....

It is built on Palm Island, an area reclaimed from the sea.  From the air it looks like a giant palm tree with 17 fronds.  After crossing a 300 meter causeway, on it can be found these very expensive condos in a beautifully landscaped community....

Then we came to the grand Atlantis.......

It has spectacular interior architecture, very over the top and grand.....

 

 

 

 

 

Even the bathroom is spectacular......

 

 

And here is where the guests were enjoying the water with a view of the city skyline.....

However it is these HUGE windows with the interior aquariums that really impress.....

 

 

After stuffing ourselves on an international buffet there we took a cab back to the ship and were shocked by the cab driver.  Apparently the hotel transportation guy thought it appropriate that we get a proper driver.  It was a woman in less conservative Islamic dress with a pink hat that said "Ladies Taxi"!!

Dubai is much more western than its Islamic counterparts and the middle eastern wealthy flock to their city.  It has limited usable area so is constantly reclaiming land from the sea and so far have reclaimed 75 miles of sea.  Their plan is to be an international trade city and so far, so good.

Next stop is Egypt and the Temple of Karnak but first we have 5 days at sea traversing the Persian Gulf and Red Sea before stopping in Egypt then going through the Suez Canal!

Muscat., Oman...Been There, Done That

I was looking forward to my visit to Oman since very few westerners visit there.  I had seen a story about their sultan showing what wondrous things he has done for his people giving them a much better quality of life raising the average lifespan from 47 to 75.

It is a mountainous, dry, arid, desert country devoid of much vegetation.  It is also strongly conservative Islamic where water is more costly than fuel.  The water has to be reclaimed from the sea.

Everything is two colors, white and tan, (and once in a while a dash of blue) and it is HOT......

 

 

The men wear the traditional long robe and cap (as worn by our guide) and the women are covered from head to foot.  Although I saw men on the street, there were NO women except the few in the bazaar.

Our first visit was to their Grand Mosque.  We shed our shoes and the women covered their hair.  We had to wear long sleeves and long pants as well.

It is a beautiful building with magnificent architecture, stunning chandeliers and mosaics...

It also had this stunning carpet that is one piece, over 40 square meters and made with over 4 million knots.....

Then we were taken to the bazaar that was frankly a rip off, lots of haggling, not someplace I would go again...

We made a visit to their small museum before leaving which was interesting for its information about their lifestyle...

Although they tried, frankly there is not much to see here.  It is on the sea and had this one pretty area I could see but the place is a very hot, arid, rocky place.

One very unusual thing I saw was this HUGE incense burner they use for frankincense.

Next time I come here, if ever, I'm staying on the ship.

Next stop is Dubai!

Mumbai, India...Surprises...Yes and No

I was not looking forward to my visit to Mumbai.  I had read about the poverty, overcrowding and density of the city.  However some things really surprised me.

Originally a sparsely inhabited swamp, the East India Company was give the land rights for 10 pounds a year in the 1600s.  In the mid 1800s, the British took control.  Then in the mid 1900s, led by Gandhi, India gained its independence.

Part of it is a modern city....

There are some beautiful buildings in Mumbai.

This is the Gateway to India....

This is the Prince of Wales Museum we visited...

And here are some pictures of various colonial buildings from the British occupation....

 

 

We visited the Mumbai residence where Gandhi stayed during his visits to Mumbai.  His room is the one on the left with the balcony....

This is where he slept, his sandals and his famous spinning wheel.....

Unfortunately after leading his people to independence through non violence, he was assassinated by a fellow Hindu who did not like his policy of co-existence between Hindu and Muslim sects.

After leaving there we visited a Hare Krishna temple...

 

 

It was undergoing some restoration but was very beautiful...

But I was most taken with its policy of feeding a midday meal to anyone who wanted one, no exceptions.....

All the food, preparation and clean up is done via donations and volunteers.  These women were cleaning the plates on which the food is served.

Then we saw the world's largest outdoor laundry.  These people pick up the laundry from the people who can afford to pay 100 pieces for $35.  Then they deliver it back, clean, ironed and folded.  Although illiterate, they have a system with a 99% accuracy rate which is amazing.

But this is not all of Mumbai.  We arrived on Easter Sunday morning so the city was relatively quiet given its usual chaos.  However everywhere we went there were beggars, buildings in need of dire repair and tons of open air shops where any and everything is sold.....this is the real Mumbai.

 

 

 

 

 

There is great disparity and poverty in Mumbai.  Built to house 500,000 people, there are 20 million living there.

There is the high rent district where the few wealthy live......

Then the middle class rent district......

Then the low rent district....

Then the almost no rent district......

And finally the no rent district.  Over 300,000 Mumbai residents live on the streets.......

These belongings belonged to this woman and child.  The child was playing on the street with only a small shirt on his back, nothing else, as his mother watched him.  He was enthralled by the bus and his mother lifted him up to interact with us.  She had great joy, laughing in the midst of her poverty, at her child's antics.  This picture continues to haunt me.  Everything she owns in the world is on that street...mattress, pots and pans, filthy blankets and quilts, yet she she was laughing and enjoying her happy child.....

As I was going through my pictures, I came across one that I accidentally shot that in some strange way represents the city.  You can decide your own interpretation......