Some quick facts about Dubai:

1) More than 80% of the population of Dubai is non-native, ie. not Emeriti.

2) Dubai is a governed by a monarchy, the current ruler is Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Here’s a great interview with him.

3) Dubai is home of Burj al Arab, the world’s only 7 star hotel, which is the source of a wee bit of a religious scandal.

4) Seemingly anyone who is anyone has a wee piece of the action, Tiger Woods, Universal Studios, Schumacher, Ferragamo… um, can we say expensive?

5) Dubai boasts of 3 man made palm shaped islands (Jumeriah, Jebel Ali, Deira) and a man made series of islands of the world. yes, the world.

I could go on.

Anyways, I arrived on a full plane Sunday morning at 4 am( after an 8 hour flight), feeling the uncertainly we all feel in a new place. After waiting in a surprisingly long immigration line, (long enough for me to hear the chanting of morning prayers over the intercom) S found me in the ladies waiting area (indeed, a Muslim country) and i learned my first of many new things, that Sunday is not the weekend, but the first day of the week.  We dropped off my stuff at S’s apartment  (she lives on the first and oldest of the palm islands, Jumeriah) and went to see what would be open to find ourselves some head scarves. It was 9 in the morning, and the only thing really open are grocery stores… S wanted to take me to Jumeriah Mosque, or Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding.

Short of wearing tea cozies on our heads, part of the cultural understanding included the recognition that us foreigners lack said understanding, and they had many for loan…

The tour is really informative and I really have a renewed respect for Islam. They were quick to disassociate themselves from the extremists and were eager to share the fundamentals of Islam and the Koran.  Islam means “peace” and the focus of Ramaddan is charity – to be reminded of the many who do not have enough to eat. beautiful.

So most of Dubai is under construction, and I exaggerate not when i say most. I woke up at 3 in the morning my first night to the incessant beeping of what i initially thought was an alarm clock, only to have S’s husband A tell me the next morning that that noise is not an inconsiderate neighbour, but inconsiderate construction trucks backing up. all night. sheesh. Or according to A, if you can dream it, they will build it. Here is the view from S and A’s appartment:

I apologize for the poor photoshopping. Nice beach eh? All reclaimed (as they do live on the one of the palm “leaves”).  Note the wee white building in the middle is the Burj al Arab, and the houses on left are multi million dollar residences are reputed to be owned by the celebrities and the such.  That area to the right is all under construction, that’s where they are going to put the QE2, a cruise ship they will dock and convert into a hotel and luxury accommodations. Thus the construction right outside my window…

There were certainly things I really appreciated about Dubai, being able to swim everyday in the gulf (the water was pretty warm tho, bath water, but hey, not complaining!), the great food (mmm), and that I felt super safe wherever we went.  The latter really speaks to the leadership of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum (oi! mouthful) i think.

Some other great highlights:

The Souks, or the outdoor markets.  We bought curry and dates in the spice souk, marveled at the beautifully delicate jewelry in the gold souk and dreamed of matching outfits in the fabric souk (they sold fabrics with minimums that would make more than one garment…) Adjacent to the souks is the Dubai Creek, where the ships bound for india and other places are docked and loaded.  Here are some of the views from shore…

Another highlight, the world’s tallest indoor ski slope.  At $60.00 for 2 hours, it was rather expensive, but

worth it to say i i’ve seen it <grin!>

One thing i missed were the camel races with robot jockeys… unfortunate, but next time.  I got a few camel magnets instead. This has definitely made me more interested in seeing more of the arab world, hopefully one day it will all be safe for tourists again. For more pics and random anecdotes, click here.

thanks to S, A, and F, for being such gracious hosts!