Al Ain Mosques #6

A medium-sized mosque located along the main road of 1st street, Teebi Com. of Al Mutaredh District. It has one big dome and one minaret. Taken tonight at 10:35 PM.

side

front 

main door/entrance

front view and the minaret with real moon aligned over the subject

Word of the day: sittah is the arabic word for number six.

A blessed Sunday and Salaam to all!

Monochrome Weekend- Al Jahli Fort

One of the interesting sights here in Al Ain City is the Al Jahli Fort. It is one of the largest forts in the UAE and was built in 1890 until 1898 on orders of Sheikh Zayed Bin Khalifa Al Nahyan (also known as Zayed the 1st). Had undergone restoration but the historic fabric of the building has been carefully preserved. The fort was being restored under the project of Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage under the directive of Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, chairman of ADACH, and transformed the building into a cultural center and tourist attraction. One of my monochrome posts featured the separate circular tower and the main entrance, this time let me feature this beauty that I saw when I revisited the place.

By the way, if you're planning to visit Al Ain City on April 2010, it is better if you will watch the performance of Orchestra e Coro del Teatro La Fenice with the American conductor John Fiore. To book your tickets, click here.

Am linking this post to Aileni's The Monochrome Weekend. Thank you Aileni.

Word of the day: makaan is the arabic term for a place . Salaam to all!

Skywatch Friday- Bye Winter!

After the rain 2 weeks ago, I knew that summer is coming. For almost 5 years that I am living here in UAE, I've noticed that rain is the significant sign of weather change. We have an extreme weather condition, when it's summer, the temperature can be steaming hot, and it can be as high as 50 degree celsius. During the winter months, it is very cold especially in the mountainous part of UAE. For the past 4 years, I've noticed that winter months are getting shorter compared to what I have experienced during my first year here in UAE.

Photos shown below are the typical skies during summer months; clear blue sky, sometimes with some clouds  and date palm trees providing the shades from the glaring hot summer sun.

migratory birds are gone.....

but doves will stay all year round

Oh! let me mention that during summer months, I am always sick. Most of the time, am having dry cough and it really irritates me, just like these past few days. Can't wait for the next winter months.*Sigh.

Entry post for Skywatch Friday hosted by Klaus with team members Slyvia, Wren, Louise, Sandy and Fishing Guy. Thank you Skywatch Team!

Word of the day: fasl al saif is the arabic term for summer. Salaam to all!

Happy skywatching!

Na-aal

These are essentially the sandals that are worn by the Emarati males, common to other male nationals of gulf countries too like Saudi, Qatar, Bahrain, Yemen, Kuwait and Oman. Here in UAE, I noticed that those emaratis living in Dubai wear shoes, whereas those in Abu Dhabi (including Al Ain) and other emirates are sandal wearers. Perhaps the reason behind this is that Dubai is highly urbanized compared to Abu Dhabi and other emirates of UAE or simply they are more nationalistic than those living in Dubai....hmmm I don't think so, maybe it is the influence of the 'white' people and other cultures. Dubai is 'home' to expats. What do you think?

Last week, I've been to Emirates Commercial Complex (will post a separate entry about this) and luckily one of the shop owners allowed me to take some pictures. Photos shown below are na-aals made in Italy, carrying the famous brand name of Pierre Cardin. Made from the finest and smooth leathers. You can simply pick from the classic white, brown and black to the vibrant orange and mahogany brown or ask the sales person if they have the color that you desire.

(click the photos to enlarge)

Price ranges from AED 699 to AED 2,399 (USD 190 to USD 651) for a pair of na-aal. Whew! I told my husband that I won't spend that much for a sandal.

And look what hubby and I found in one of the shops in Al Thouba.....na-aals for a price of AED 100 to AED 300 ( don't look at my hubby's dry skin hahahaha). Cheaper and affordable :-)

Word of the day:  rakhees or rakhis is the arabic word for cheap. Salaam to all!

(will visit your blogs tomorrow, I need to get some sleep, am still on tonight. Ahhh..night duties...)

Al Ain Mosques #5

A small mosque at Salem Ibn Zayed Al awwal Street of Al Mutaredh District. It has one dome and one minaret, situated along the residential areas of Al Ghail Com.

I tried all the angle shots to take at least one with the dome visible but to no avail, I've seen that the dome  is too small compared to the other domes (of some mosques that I have seen and featured here). I patiently tried to take few more snaps...front, back, side, left, right....khalas! (enough!) Can you see the dome in this picture? I hope so or click the photo to enlarge :)

I saw the moon and I've decided to take another frontal shot.

the minaret and the main door

windows

Word of the day: khamsa is the arabic word for five.

Salaam to all! A blessed Sunday to all.

Newspaper Delivery man

I spotted this newspaper delivery man at Khalifa Street reading(?) the Gulfnews while on his midmorning break. He's from Kerala, India. When I asked his permission, he said yes but I felt his reluctance. I was not so sure if he understood me because both of us can speak basic arabic only and in between the conversation, I heard some words that I didn't understand.

Shops, stores, offices and other establishments along downtown Al Ain opens at 09:00 A.M. during weekdays and 05:00 P.M. on Fridays (weekend is friday and saturday). Before nine o'clock, you will see the newspaper delivery men along the residential areas. The most common form of transpost service that they are using are the motorcycles and bicycles.

By the way, Gulfnews and Khaleej Times are the popular english newspapers here in UAE. Arabic newspapers, newspapers written in other languages and Al Ain Times (a weekly tabloid newspaper written in arabic and english) are also available.

Visit Aileni's The Monochrome Weekend  and check out the monochrome maniacs.

Word of the day: khaleej is the arabic word for gulf. Example: Khaleej al Arabi- the arabian gulf.

Salaam to all! Have a wonderful weekend my blogging friends!

Bright and Sunny

This is our usual sky after the winter months, always bright and sunny. Goodbye sweaters, goodbye cardigans and goodbye boots. Welcome flip flops, cool and nice shirts plus high cool air conditioners.

from the back side of the VIP Bldg. of Tawam Hospital

UAE University Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences

Go and visit Skywatch Friday and be delighted with the wonderful skies from all over the world.

Word of the day: mustashfa is the arabic word for hospital. Salaam to all!

Roundabout Series: Sheikh Mubarak Roundabout

A huge roundabout at Al Khrais Com. of Al Jimi District, one block north of the Al Baladiya Roundabout and named after the first Minister of Defense of the UAE.

It is has a beautiful landscape with well trimmed plants, 4 date palm trees and some beautiful small flowers. 

The center of the roundabout is the statue of an incense burner. 

You might want to know how huge is the statue of the incense burner that's why I have included these photos.

After taking few snaps, I was looking for the name of the street and found this one, I loved the effects of the light in this photo.

Based on my personal observations, this roundabout signifies the culture and tradition of every emarati family, as incense burner is very typical to burn their bakhour or bakhoor which makes their houses fragrant. I will post a separate entry regarding bakhour, incense burners, incense sticks and arabian perfumes sometime next week.

Word of the day: 'atar is the arabic word for perfume. Salaam to all!

"Odd and Odder"

Just right after the PICU's first anniversary party last February 6, my hubby and I went to Al Ain Mall because my brother and sis-in-law were having a dinner at Ponderosa Steak House and they have invited us to  join them.

Anyway, moving on to my post for today, I have seen this fountain at the west wing of the mall going to Al Ain Megamart (a grocery store inside the mall). For me, it looks odd to see this kind of theme considering that it was a week before the Valentine's Day but I really enjoyed looking at the dinosaur replicas and the fountain itself hahaha.

I was about to take few more snaps when one of the security guards approached us and told us that it's prohibited to take pictures without the family or somebody who wants to be photographed. They wanted the fountain as a backdrop, we cannot take pictures of the fountain alone as a subject. Khalas! I did not argue with him. Anyway, I have these photos hahahaha. 

You know,sometimes I am stubborn....I took this shot when I saw that it's even odder to see the dolphins in the fountain with those dinosaur replicas. Am I right?

For more watery posts, visit 2sweetnsaxy's Watery Wednesday. 

Word of the day: ana is the arabic word for I or me. Salaam to all!

Abaya

Continuing last week's post about the UAE National Dress; this time allow me to share with you what is an abaya.

Abaya is the long flowing black gown or cloak worn by the UAE National females. Price ranges from AED 150 to AED 2500 (USD 40 to 680) each, depending on the material and design. It can be a plain black or those with intricate jewel designs. I have seen some signature abayas too like those made by Burberry, Drior and Givenchy. Ladies will wear western clothes like jeans and shirts or the local dress under their abayas ( I have seen some women wearing their pyjamas too).

The main reason for wearing the abaya is the concern for modesty. Nowadays, especially in central Abu Dhabi  and Dubai, you will find some emarati women simply putting their abaya on  but they are leaving it open, I mean, you can visibly see their clothes under the abaya. It is quite different with the conservative emarati women and even with the bedouins, I noticed that their abayas are simple, usually plain black and tightly closed, you will not see even their hands and feet, toes and fingers because they wear black gloves  and black socks.

Word of the day: baad wahid usbu'u is the arabic term for next week. Salaam to all!

(Let me take this opportunity to thank you guys for your perennial visits. Please excuse me for being so slow in commenting and answering your questions because I have a very tight schedule due to my much awaited vacation.)