Dubai and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

All I can say is WOW to describe this vacation!  For 16 days of relaxation and exploring we set out for the United Arab Emirates  ولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة‎ . Just a little geography lesson first, this is a Arab country in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman to the east and Saudi Arabia to the south, as well as sharing sea borders with Qatar and Iran.  We visited two of the seven Emirates, Dubai and Abu Dhabi.  This was the closest I had ever been to my heritage and it was such a positive and fun experience for us all. 

Let me begin with Dubai which lies in the Arabian Desert.  The UAE culture mainly revolves around the religion of Islam and traditional Arab culture.  However the city of Dubai is a highly cosmopolitan.  Most of the males wore a kandura (ankle-length white shirt) and women wear an abaya (a black over-garment covering most parts of the body).  The thing to mention is Western-style clothing is dominant because of the large expatriate population.  We stayed on the The Palm Island which is an artificial island constructed from sand dredged from the bottom of the Persian Gulf.  Our resort was Atlantis and this was 5 star at its finest for adults and children complete with a water park, aquarium and so much more.  Within the resort we enjoyed the Aquaventure Water Park, Lost Chambers Aquarium and also snorkeling. 

Each evening we would taxi to the Dubai Mall which is the world's largest mall.  It is here and also the Emirates Mall that we had our choice of so many western restaurants which we have missed so much.  Also this is the location where we visited the Burj Khalifa, the tallest man-made structure in the world.  We ventured up to the 124th floor where we saw how the city is surrounded by the Arabian Desert and took in some beautiful views.  Dubai is also know for jewelry making and thus Natalie purchased a necklace with her name in Arabic and I bought a new wedding band with everyone's name engraved in Arabic, both great mementos from our trip. 

Next we headed for Abu Dhabi the capital of U.A.E.  Here we stayed at the Emirates Palace, a 7-star resort.  Costing over 6 billion to build, you could spend days just walking about and looking at the architecture.  We quickly became accustomed to pool attendants laying out our beach towels, fresh fruit in the morning and also the price tags the comes with such luxury ;)  The resort even had camel rides on the beach for everyone to enjoy.  I spent sometime paddle boarding in the ocean, Cooper enjoyed collecting shells on one of the most beautiful beaches I have seen with crystal clear water, and we all even went for a Banana boat ride one afternoon.

   

One afternoon we did a Safari in the Al Katim Desert.  We took a very exciting ride in a four-wheel vehicle, otherwise known as Dune Bashing finding ourselves flying over hills and sliding through the sand at high speeds.  As we ended the ride it was a chance to visit with some camels and watch the sunset from the dunes. We then reached a traditional Arabic camp where we had the opportunity to try a host of activities like henna painting and smoke some Shisha.  We also took a few four-wheelers for a spin in the desert.    Once the meal was concluded we were treated to a belly dancing show.  It was a great night and we were treated to traditional Arabic hospitality.  

 Another fun filled day, as Cooper listed as one of the best five in his life, was spent at Yas Water World.  We had a complete day of water park fun!  Even to our surprise after warming up a bit to the park Brady even went on the roller coaster so we all had some great family laughs!  

One morning we travel to see the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. It is the largest mosque in the United Arab Emirates and the eighth largest mosque in the world. The mosque site is equivalent to the size five football fields approximately, truly amazing to see.  In order to enter the Mosque Natalie had to wear the traditional abaya to respect the culture, I just had to pull my shorts below my knees ;)

This was a vacation that we will never forget, most certainly in our top three.  There are still moments that I cannot comprehend our visit to UAE as we are so blessed to be experiencing so many cultures.   On to the next in December!