Celebrating the Spirit of the Union

 

Tomorrow, the United Arab Emirates marks its National Day, celebrating 41 years
since the union between the 7 emirates in the UAE was established in 1971.

New Year's Day 1434

 

A panoramic view of one of the three spectacular beaches at Al Mamzar.
Although the park is located in Dubai, the buildings in the background are actually in the neighbouring emirate of Sharjah.

Happy New Year 1434

 

We've had a long weekend here in the UAE what with it being Hijri New Year.  We celebrated New Year's Day by heading to Al Mamzar Park, one of Dubai's hidden gems with over 100 hectares of greenery, swimming pools, playgrounds, picnic areas, and beaches to relax in. The 5 Dhs entry charge was worth every fil.

Probably......

 

.........the only VIP mosque entrance in the world!
As seen at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

Geodesic architecture

 

Two of the 82 geodesic domes at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

Fast and Furious

 

Driver's view of the Corniche Road heading towards Meena/Mina port.

Finding El Dorado

 

The iconic turquoise and pink neon lights of the El Dorado Cinema in Hamdan Street, Abu Dhabi's first cinema.
Check out this article from Abu Dhabi Film Festival about one of their projectionist.

Bitter Sweet

 

Thanks to places like the Imperial College London Diabetes Centre in Abu Dhabi, the UAE is at number ten in the prevalence of diabetes worldwide, eight notches lower than 2010.

Hot Table

 

With a view of the self-proclaimed seven star Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai.

Life in the Piazza

 

The piazza at Madinat Jumeirah in neighbouring Dubai is the ideal venue to sit back and chillax.

Lovely Day

 

When I wake up in the morning, love
And the sunlight hurts my eyes
And something without warning, love
Bears heavy on my mind

Then I look at you
And the world's alright with me
Just one look at you
And I know it's gonna be
A lovely day
Lovely day, lovely day, lovely day

When the day that lies ahead of me
Seems impossible to face
When someone else instead of me
Always seems to know the way
Then I look at you

And the world's alright with me
Just one look at you
And I know it's gonna be
A lovely day
When the day that lies ahead of me
Seems impossible to face
When someone else instead of me
Always seems to know the way

Then I look at you
And the world's alright with me
Just one look at you
And I know it's gonna be
A lovely day

'Lovely Day' by Bill Withers
Photo taken from the InterContinental Hotel towards the new Etihad Towers

Trinkets & Treasures

 

The traditional souq at Abu Dhabi Heritage Village is located on the Breakwater and offers a glimpse of Abu Dhabi life before oil. It's one the last remaining places in the capital you can haggle your way to a bargain.

Time Square

 

Time Square Circle is located at the far end of the Corniche road near the Sheraton Hotel & Resort and features an enormous sundial and laser clock.

Twin Peaks

 

The new Abu Dhabi Investment Council HQ located at Al Qurum beach in the eastern district of Abu Dhabi. Once complete, the towers will provide working, private amenity, dining, conference and meeting spaces for over 2,000 employees.

The Earth is Flat

This photo should finally convince any last remaining skeptics out there that the Earth is in fact round not flat.
Photo taken at sunset from Al Bateen Beach of the new bridge to Hodariyat Island and clearly showing the Earth's curvature.

Night in the Grand Mosque

 

Visting the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque at night is quite a surreal experience with the architecture taking on a whole new look and feel to that of the daytime. Checkout the mosque's facebook page for the late opening times and special events.

Diamond Lights

 

One of the gold-coloured Swarovski crystal chandeliers from another angle with the faithful looking on/up below.

Crystal Palace

 

The Grand Mosque's seven gold-coloured chandeliers feature thousands of Swarovski crystals from Austria. Here's four of them.

Finding Islam

 

Young worshippers crossing the 17,000 square metre courtyard to the prayer hall at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.

Magic Mountain

Now that's what I call a hairpin! According to Wikipedia, the Jebel Hafeet Mountain Road extends for 7.3 mi (11.7 km) up the mountain, rising 4,000 ft (1,219 m). With 21 corners and three lanes (two climbing and one descending), the immaculate road was called the greatest driving road in the world by Edmunds.com. The road scales the mountain and ends at a parking lot with only a hotel and a palace belonging to the country's rulers.