The Pace Of Change in the UAE

Standard mantra for Abu Dhabi and Dubai is how quickly everything changes. Have dug up some pictures that really make the point.

This is a picture of the Abu Dhabi Corniche in about 2004. The large building, in the center, is now complete and is the headquarters of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. ADIA manages the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, $800 billion dollars, the largest in the world.



Here's the same neighborhood in the late 1960s.



OK, I know what you're thinking. Forty years, hey, a lot can change in 40 years. OK, try this. See that white building in the center of the photo, stocky rectangle with a turret and a tall antenna on top? That's the World Trade Center building in Dubai.



Here's a picture I took from a window on the 20th floor. Dubai, 2008.



Same view, 1991. You read that right. 1991. The only way you know it's the same stretch of road is the four low apartment buildings that have survived. 12 years ago, the Trade Center building was the tallest skyscraper in the entire UAE. Now, you can barely find it in the crowd.



S & J

January and February

Sorry for the lack of posting, but it's been a bit hectic here these past two months.

So when Aubrey's grandparents visited, we decided to do a little travelling. Here's Aubrey getting packed to go...


We went to Sharjah, about 150 miles up the coast. Among the sites we saw, the al-Hisn Fort, right in the middle of downtown. You sorta gotta imagine that about 25 years ago, none of these other buildings existed and the Hisn set in the middle of a lot of sand...


Aubrey, in the morning. "Hand over the food, or the remote gets it..."


After Sharjah, we went to Al-Ain. At the Hilli Garden, Aubrey enjoyed a ride on daddy's shoulders...


And discovered slides!




Just a random picture of a happy baby. In this picture, she had eight teeth. As of today, we've seen her first molars, for a total of ten.


We took a walk through the Al-Ain Oasis, a huge grove of date palms right in the middle of the town. Very peaceful.




And went to visit the Al-Ain Airshow. Here's daddy with a very traditional hooded falcon.


At Heritage Village in Abu Dhabi, Aubrey got to ride a camel!


And hang out with grandparents


After that, we went to visit the new (and not quite finished) Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi. Second or third largest in the world, it can hold 40,000 people. The carpet is, in fact, the largest Persian carpet in the world.



Aubrey seems to like round things.


And, just in case you were wondering whether we are really in the Middle East, yes, we have seen...


And now for some random unrelated events.

We went to a dinner at a restaurant. Here's the food.


The dessert table...


Fruit, anyone?


Caught this photo of Aubrey at about 2 in the morning (good flash on that camera). When we laid her down, she was straight in the bed and her head was pointing the other way.


Another trip to the pool at the Hiltonia...



Daddy had to go to Dubai. Got a couple of pictures of the Burj Dubai, the newest tallest building in the world. The cladding is about half done.




No comment. :-)


S & J

Fine Local Cuisine and Merchandise

Something off the usual topic, a view of some of our fine local emporia...it's why we travel, right? Immersion in foreign culture and cuisine?



(This one's a two-fer -- look at the Bratz lamp in the top window...)


























And Steve's personal favorite, where to shop for that "je ne sais quoi" item for friends who have everything...



S & J