When we went to Abu Dhabi last Eid, my husband insisted that we drop by the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. The first time we went there was three years ago. We decided to go again last Eid holidays because it was rare that my aunt (my mom’s sister who also is in Dubai) and my two cousins had off from their respective work.

It was still hot and humid in September even after 3 pm but the sky was blue and it served as a beautiful backdrop to the giant minaret of the mosque.

For those who are curious what is inside the mosque, this one’s for you.

I see some people raising their eyebrows…”But isn’t this exclusive for Muslims?” Yes, it’s a place for worship for Muslims. But this mosque is special.

…special in the sense that it is open to the public.

Not only that – even non-Muslims can enter! Here is the husband curiously looking at the worshipers during their mid-afternoon prayers.

Now, I don’t know if there’s a rule that says it is prohibited to take photos (and post them online) of people who are praying. If there is, please let me know. There were so many people taking photos of these worshipers aside from myself inside the mosque, though.

Moving on…other intricate details of the mosque includes these very pretty doors.

A bright colored mosaic flower on the floor.

These two very exquisite chandeliers – which one do you like more?

The grandeur of the mosque against a small subject, my daughter Pristine.

The mosque is open to anyone wanting to know more about Islam, or simply want to see what’s inside a mosque (this was not an ordinary mosque, though). However, there are rules. Ladies have to wear an abaya (black robe and head dress – provided at the entrance) and slippers/shoes are not allowed inside. Here’s my mom, aunt and cousin with their flowing black robes.

These abayas (black robes) are available at the entrance for ALL ladies. Don’t worry, every one gets  a fresh piece. Once worn, it goes straight to a hamper and they only give out freshly washed abayas, packed in plastics. Men don’t have to wear the traditional Arabic costume of long white dishdasha unless they come in shorts. Then they have to cover their legs.

More facts about the Grand Mosque in my past post: Getting to know the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi.

I hope you enjoyed your little tour today! Check out what other bloggers are sharing in their world in That’s My World!

It’s Thursday here and the end of the work week (we have Fridays off) so let me post something I found in my inbox this morning.

*****

An Arab student sends an email to his dad, saying:

Dear Dad,

Berlin is wonderful, people are nice and I really like it here. But dad, I’m a bit ashamed to go to school driving my pure gold Ferrari 599GTB when all my teachers and fellow students travel by train.

Your son,

Nasser

The next day, Nasser gets a reply to his email from his dad saying:

My dear loving son,

Twenty million US dollars has just been transferred to your account. Please stop embarassing us. Go get yourself a train too.

Love,

Your dad

*****

Have a happy weekend, all!

Some time last month, I claimed the prize I won from a radio trivia contest and took my troop (we are a small battalion consisting of only three people) to an eating spree. My prize was a dinner voucher at the AZUR restaurant at the Harbor Hotel in Dubai Marina.

I had to crane my neck. The building was so tall at 52 floors. Pristine and her dad went ahead while I took photos around.

In Dubai Marina, the construction seems endless. How many more hotels, residences and apartment buildings does Dubai need?

We arrived too early so we went up to the 52nd floor. There is an observatory restaurant at the highest floor that promises great view of the Palm Jumeirah but unfortunately, it was hazy that day and the man-made islands were not visible.

We went on to the restaurant and as we entered, Pristine asked, “Mom, how can we ever eat in the dark?”

I think this is our first time to a restaurant not of the family-restaurant-with-bright-lights-and-a-coloring-book-for-the-kid variety. The ambiance was great, although too strange for a 5 year old. I got 1,405,377 questions that night.

She’s gone totally 80′s with the headband and she refused to take it off. Everyone was saying it was cute, so be it.

First batch of food came.

You guessed it. This was the point in the story that she asked the 1,405,378th question. I stare at my plate blankly, foie gras – what are you?

It was hard to consume all the voucher with just two adults and one little person. We had to add orders. My husband was willing to consume two main dishes and 3 desserts so that I don’t have to. Thank God for thin husbands!

So we wait for the food to arrive and went outside the patio to see Dubai Marina at night. It’s dark but the ones on the lower left are yachts docked in the man-made marina.

I like this side of town during the night. If I see this outside my room every night, I might not need Panadol after a hectic day. There’s something with night lights that detaches me from the real world. And, and…ok no more of that. I am sure some of you would agree. No?

This is what happens when M takes the camera. Pristine rolled her eyes – too tired of her dad’s,  ”one more, one more”.

At least the view behind us was nice.  Night shots are always a challenge, especially for someone who doesn’t like taking photos or having to do anything with a camera. That is the reason why I don’t have that much photos – there’s no one willing to take it!

I am currently training my 5 year old daughter to take photos of me.

We went back inside for dessert, in which while walking I was fighting with my inner demons to resist the temptation. This too shall pass, this too shall pass…Pristine read the menu and the easiest for her to recognize was the one that had ba-na-na on the name so it’s banana flambe, served with vanilla ice cream. The waitress who served us brought all the ingredients and a stove near our table. Looks like we’re in for a demonstration. Pristine was all eyes and ears on her.

First, sugar is caramelized.

Then the banana joined the caramel and in a lovely swirl of the pan and more flame, the rest was a blur. All I know is that Pristine screamed, “Whoa, fire!”

I wouldn’t blame her a bit. This is too much flame a five year old can handle.

After the “fire show”, banana flambe was served and our wide-eyed little person made a declaration that will go down in food history forever: “BANANA IS BEST WHEN BURNED.”

She means it, so believe it.

Only if in Dubai.

Intriguing, right?

Wait, there are no casinos in Dubai as all forms of gambling is prohibited. Please come back for the full story tomorrow! I promise to share after I finish doing the things I need to do to pay my bills.

I didn’t report for work today, Saturday (my first day of work week) because I am tired, have not had a two-day weekend since uhm, December last year. As I usually say whenever I have two straight days off, what a difference an extra day makes!

*****

Yesterday, we took Pristine to the beach to gather sea shells for her project in school. We usually go early in the morning when the beach is quiet and clean but yesterday was different, we went at 4 pm. The sun was still up and I am glad we brought a proper swimwear for her.

By the way, in the above photo, Pristine is wearing a fabulous swimwear for kids from UV Skinz. They sent a sample for me to review (and one to giveaway soon - so watch out for that!) and I must say, how on earth parents in Dubai let their kids go to the beach without these kind of swim wear! We all know the importance of sun protection especially from a young age. I’ve had sleepless nights scratching Pristine’s back whenever she goes to the beach with a swim wear that exposes her back skin and I promised myself to get a swim wear that has maximum coverage. It was so hard for me to find one here in Dubai – which is odd because the sun is out 330 days of the year and the necessity is there!

She has another swim wear like this which I bought here but it’s an overall style – shirt and shorts stuck together which is so hard when she wants to go the toilet.

See how the other kids are exposed to the sun?

UV Skinz is like a second skin, lightweight, not hot and so comfy. Most importantly, it protects the skin from the harmful rays of the sun. I’ll write a more thorough review of UV Skinz in another day as it deserves a post on its own.

Anyway, at the  beach…I have a plea!

I don’t understand why some men think that their underwear/briefs are meant for swimming! I have seen these men in beaches here, public or private and they frolic in their undies without shame althought the whole shape and contour of their *ahem* manly properties are so exposed. And when I thought that there’s nothing worse than that, a man with a WET thin white cloth wrapped around his torso walked in front of us.

Look at that man in the leftmost. Zoom the photo if you want. * M took this photo. *

My goodness, I was looking and Pristine was too! Our Friday family day turned into something rated R!

Pristine and I went to the beach yesterday despite the cloudy skies. Recently, going to the beach had been a regular, weekly routine, which I don’t really mind since it’s just a 10 minute drive from home and on Friday mornings, there’s no traffic and aggressive drivers to think about.

When we got there, the wind was blowing and it was cold! The water was cold so we weren’t able to swim. I was quite disappointed since I planned to take a dip and was already wearing my swimsuit underneath my clothes.

It was definitely no swimming day yesterday so we just played in the sand, played music and did something else. Lady Gaga was on. I meant THIS Lady Gaga.

Turn, baby, turn.

Sway those hips, too. Yeah!

Please don’t ask me why about the pink overload. I do not have any control of this, whatsoever.

Dolphins? in the desert? YES!

Dubai Dolphinarium opened last year and I have heard lots of good things about it. We have postponed going there for the longest time but finally went – and wondered why we put it off for so long!

They have added special lighting, smoke and sound effects to all of the programs. The photo I took couldn’t justify the amazing light and sound effects we experienced.

The 3 dolphins had a grand entrance. Pristine couldn’t stop clapping her hands.

The dolphins, each having their own names (wait, I’ll  ask my daughter, she knows the names by heart) entertained the crowd with their impressive jumping.

Through suspended rings…

Twirling ball, dancing…

Seals join the dolphins for the second half part of the show. They are all so intelligent creatures.

The show was spectacular. Pristine, my girl who’s scared of small fishes is NOT afraid of the big fishes at all. Just minutes after the show started, she was already telling me that we’ll just have to come again!

If you’re in Dubai and haven’t checked out Dubai Dolphinarium, then you should! We spent a great time there and it’s not just for kids, it’e great entertainment for adults as well. I can’t tell you how much I said “wooo!” and clapped my hands plus I was smiling the entire show which lasted for an hour! *yes, that is my idea of entertainment*

*****

You can find Dubai Dolphinarium inside Dubai Creekside Park. There’s a 5 dhs entrance fee at the Park main gate and entrance to the Dolphinarium is at 50 dhs for adults, 30 dhs for children (standard seats). There are other prices available, depending on the seat locations, check here. Oh and check the timings before you go.

It’s the second week of March and yesterday (our weekend here in the UAE) we went to the beach, anticipating lovely beach time.

Someone already made a big splash as Pristine tested the water.

As of yesterday, the water on the beach is still cold and while there were brave souls who took a dip and we hear screaming children around, we decided we’ll wait for another week.

Since there weren’t any human swimmers around, we saw plenty of professional swimmers coming near to say hi.

M pointed out the fishes to Pristine. Here’s her simple reaction.

If we can’t play in the water, it doesn’t mean beach weekend is ruined. We walked around to check shells and saw interesting sand forms. M and Pristine check out something in the sand. Small crabs?

Closeup look of their find. “Ewww!” The sight of this disgusts me. Small perfectly rounded sand and then a hole. Any idea who lives in that hole?

Pristine freaked out at the fishes in the sea but the strange sand formation did not bother her at all. There were plenty of these in the seashore. Do you know what it is? I don’t – want to know, that is!

Sand play continues. M always has a busy schedule and rarely home on weekends so father and daughter moments like this is a treasure

After building sand hills, she declares. “Let’s see how soft the sand is!” Boing!

We walked further along the shore, counting our footprints in the sand as we go. Learning Math while in the beach is cool, what do you think?  We found a little girl with his family and they clicked really well, instantly.

“Hi, where are you from?” They talked and the girl told Pristine she’s from Jordan and Pristine replied she’s from Japan. These little girls knows the most common first conversations of people living in Dubai!

I was able to talk to Kenda’s (the girl’s name) mom, who gracefully talked to us and gave us a cup of hot cafe latte - and very surprised to know that her daughter Kenda is still 3 years old. She’ll be four in June this year but I think she’s BIG! Look at them! Pristine turned 5 last December and if you are wondering, her height and weight is normal for her age.

“Why I’m small, mom?”, she asks. I have to clear things up, oh no honey, you’re not small, the other kids (especially those of Arab origin) are just big!

Hope you all have a happy weekend!

I have never been to a Polo match before. Honestly, when my hubby told me we’ll be going to Dubai Polo Club to see the game, I wasn’t really that excited because first, I do not know the rules, second, for the life of me, I can’t see anything except for the running horses (why did they make the ball that small!?) and lastly, I have to wear something feminine to go watch it. Ugh.

Nevertheless, we went to see a Polo match held last weekend because we have a girl who’ll do a happy dance when she sees horses.

The weather was perfect for al fresco dining.

The weather was very nice – with sunglasses and sunblock, we opted to spread a picnic mat under the sun rather than staying in the shade.

Pristine loves horses and wasted no time looking for the stable. We found it at the edge of the Polo Club premises. Can you tell she’s trying to “talk” to the horses?

I wonder why they have to tie the horses’ tail like this. It looks like Pristine’s hair style on school days!

The Polo match begins.

The referee looked our way because Pristine waved at him – but actually, more like, she was waving at the horse not at the referee.

The Polo players in action. We were seated a little bit far from the pitch because it is dangerous for children. One will never know how far these aggressive horses will go to chase a small white ball.

During half-time, spectators were called to come to the pitch to “fix” the grass. Everyone had fun stomping.

The best thing about living in Dubai I guess is that you can go out anytime without worrying that you might be rained on.

We had a lovely time! It was a rare Advil-free weekend for me.

Note: If you’re living in Dubai, Dubai Polo Clubis a pleasure to visit with the kids. I am sure your children will appreciate the wide, wide space for playing. They also provide Friday brunch for 165 dhs per person on Fridays. Location map here.

We had the pleasure of seeing a stunning Whirling Dervish performance during a desert safari a few days back. The whirling dervish, performing the traditional Egyptian folk dance Tannoura is something you wouldn’t want to miss. It is spectacular and will leave you in awe.

 He started slowly turning along with the soft music:

The performer “turns” or whirls endlessly while manipulating skirts in a colorful display.

The dancer continues to turn round and round faster this time, keeping up with the faster music beat. Amazingly, he did not stray far from his original position meaning, he didn’t feel any dizziness or disorientation.

Ten, 15 minutes passed and the music refused to die down. The dancer is still alive, ecstatic and obviously NOT dizzy at all! Then the lights were turned off and we wondered why.

The lights on his colorful skirt lit up, creating an illusion of human kaleidoscope! Pristine thought it was a UFO.

The whole show, which lasted for TWENTY MINUTES  was magnificent from start to finish and left me breathless. Then the whirling dervish asked for volunteers. He was heavily sweating but still very articulate, smiling and looked very normal.

My friend Rose bravely took on the challenge, put on the colorful skirt with the help of the dervish, gave a big smiled and took off. She turned and turned and stopped after less than 10 SECONDS.

Everyone who took on the challenge did not last long and had to grab hold of the dervish so they might not fall down.  How can he stay sane in TWENTY long minutes!? I can only imagine the concentration and training required.

Try turning round and round. How long can you go without getting dizzy?

Note: There are several travel operators providing desert safaris but they don’t offer the same type of entertainment at the camps. Ask your travel operator if the desert safari includes the Tannoura dance before making your reservation if you want to see this spectacular show.