"Spooky"

It is quite eerily quiet tonight. All lamp posts were switched off early by the natuwr. I was standing by my window when I saw the moon......as if it's inviting me to grab my gadgets out of my camera bag and snap its beauty right away.

I was so desperate to take a good close up shot but to no avail. I really wanted to capture every detail of it. So unlucky that I don't own a nice telephoto lens. Photo turned up gloomy and spooky :(. Nevertheless, that was once in a blue moon opportunity for me to capture the beauty of the moon because I am on perennial night duties. Spooky?..........so be it!

Word of the day: natuwr  is the arabic word for watchman. Salaam!

Starbucks Service Crew

These men are the hardworking employees of Starbucks-Tawam Hospital branch. They always greet their customers with their contagious smile and serve them with courtesy.

I am not a coffee drinker but I do drink coffee once in a while, usually post toxic night duties. I also love their chicken and cheese paninis.

By the way, M.H. Al Shaya Company is the leading Middle East Retailer that handles Starbucks here in the United Arab Emirates.

Word of the day:  qahwah is the Arabic word for coffee. Salaam!

Happy Nurses

These ladies belong to Group 1 and 3 of the last month's Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) Training Program held at Tawam Hospital, one of the American Heart Association's International  Life Support Training Centers here in the United Arab Emirates.

They were all happy after they have successfully completed the 2-day training program for the cognitive and skills evaluation of PALS. Congratulations fellow nurses, well done!

Word of the day: mabrook is the arabic word for congratulations.

Have a great weekend fellow bloggers. Salaam!

Green Mubazzarah by night (3):Fountain atop of the hill

Atop of one of the hills at Green Mubazzarah, there's a medium-sized fountain that accentuates the beauty of the hill. It may not be as spectacular compared to the fountains in downtown Al Ain, but it is pretty enough to make me happy :).

We were about to leave when I asked my buddies if I can take pictures of the fountain and wait for a while. I was clicking for more than 10 minutes when I saw them coming. They followed me :). They were are all panting and complaining. I can almost hear the gush of air coming from them when they stood next to me as their body compensated for the sudden change of oxygen requirement. I've noticed that the temperature at the top of hill was quite cooler and less humid.

 rugged steps leading to the fountain

Marco was looking at the water pipes and tubes.

If you squint your eyes or take a closer look at the lower right side of this photo, you will see the blue water pipes and tubes.

We stayed there for few more minutes before we finally decided to go home and before we left, I asked Eunice to stand in front of the fountain and pose for me. Eunice recently resigned from her job and she will be flying back to the Philippines anytime next month. We will miss you Eunice.

Click here and here if you'd like to see part 1 and 2. 

Word of the day: baad shahar is the Arabic term for next month. Salaam!

Entry post for Watery Wednesday, click the badge for more.

Green Mubazzarah by night (2)

Continuing yesterday's post on Green Mubazzarah by night, here are some of the photos of the foothills of Jebel Hafeet. As you can see, there are lamp posts that creates a trail leading to the mountain.

This is one of the entrance areas and one of the exit points leading back to Al Ain Town Center. It is not actually too far away from our place and the roads are traffic-free.

I've noticed that there were quite few tourists because it was actually late in the evening when we visited the place. These ladies were about to leave when I snapped this photo. Apologies for the quality of the pictures, I forgot to bring my tripod.

buddies

my sis-in-law

Posted for my World Tuesday. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants of this week's My world Tuesday. Next will be the fountain atop of the hill at Green Mubazzarah. See you tomorrow.

Word of the day: ba'eed is the Arabic word for far or far away. Salaam!

Green Mubazzarah by night (1)

I've posted several photos of Green Mubazzarah but those were snaps by day. Let me share these photos of Green Mubazzarah by night, taken few hours ago.

These Emarati men (one is wearing the traditional kandura and egal) asked me to take a picture of them (not aware that they will be blogged hahahaha!).

My sis-in-law Juliet, Friends Eunice, Anna and Marco

Word of the day: suwra (pl. suwar) is the Arabic word for a picture. Salaam!

Happy Father's Day!!!

Just want to share an old picture taken in May 2005 with a 1.3-megapixel phone camera. Am still alone here in Al Ain. My hubby and our children are still enjoying their vacation in the Philippines. Yours truly is so happy because they are coming back by next week. Yipeeeeeeeeee!!

Happy Father's Day to my hubby and to all the fathers out there!! 

Word of the day: ubuw is the Arabic word for father. Salaam!

Golden Sunset

Yesterday's golden sunset.

Word of the day: ems is the Arabic word for yesterday. Salaam.

Street Scene: Big Bikes

Big bikes aren't my fave but I found these big bikes pretty cool. Cool enough to amused me. Maybe it has something to do with the color (I reckon). Photos shown above were taken last night while we were waiting for the bus at Khalifa Street. I was a bit hesitant when I asked these Emarati men if I can take some snaps when they were about to leave. My sister-in-law liked the white one.

Word of the day: layl is the Arabic word for night. Salaam.

Enchanting Bottles

Incanto perfumes by Salvatore Ferragamo

I have to confess that I have a thing for perfumes (aside from the fences and silver & crystals hahaha) but I don't use and wear them every day. I just love collecting perfumes because of the enchanting bottles, its shape and design. 

In here, Paris Gallery is one of the most popular perfume stores. It has a wide array of brands that you can choose from but I don't usually buy my perfumes in Paris Gallery. There's a perfume depot in Khalifa Street that I have discovered in 2007. I was so surprised about the prices, it is really reasonable till this time.

Word of the day: attar is the arabic word for perfume. Salaam!

Dancing Fountain

Here are some of the photos of the Dancing Fountain at Al Ain Town Square which I took last night.  We enjoyed looking at the fountain while listening to the music. 

my sis-in-law

Misalyn

Word of the day: Shuf is the arabic word for look! Salaam.

Posted for Watery Wednesday hosted by 2sweetnsaxy. Click HERE for more. 

Town Square

This is the entrance leading to the Al Ain Town Square where there is a "dancing fountain" which operates daily, from 09:00 PM to 10:00 PM. It is located in the heart of the city, about 10-minute drive from my place.

Please come back tomorrow if you'd like to see the photos of the Dancing Fountain. 

Word of the day: qoul youm is the arabic term for everyday or daily. Salaam!

Monochromatic Monday: "Gloomy"

Visit Aileni's page for more.

Word of the day: aswad is the arabic word for black and abyadh for white. Salaam!

Green

One of the many reasons why I like living here in Al Ain is the lush green environment that I get to see everyday, just in front of my favourite taxi stand where in I patiently await for a cab to give me a lift, whenever hubby is not around.

Word of the day: akhdar is the arabic word for green. Salaam! A blessed Sunday to all!

Weekend Scene

These are the usual Friday afternoon scene in front of the Al Ain Bus Station and Al Ain Souq.

Word of the day:  Souq is the arabic word for market. Have a great weekend. Salaam!

For him and For her

A friend of mine delivered a healthy baby boy. Few days ago, I was searching for a nice gift and found these in a flower shop in one of the stalls at the ground level of Al Ain Mall.

Word of the day: huwa is the arabic word for he and hiya for she. Salaam!

"The Good"

I have posted quite few photos of the statue of Sheikh Zayed, the first president of the UAE, but I have never mentioned the meaning of the arabic calligraphy on it.  The "الخير" text just before the palm tree has a literal meaning of "the good" in arabic and I guess, the date palm symbolizes the Arabian hospitality or it symbolizes the uniqueness of the city compared to other emirates of UAE as Al Ain is built around an oasis with thousands of date palms.

Thanks to my neighbour for answering my question regarding the arabic text. Shukran Katir sadiqa (Thank you so much my friend).

This is my entry for Skywatch Friday. Thanks to the Skywatch Team. Click here to view thumbnails for all  participants.

Word of the day: Sadiqa is the arabic term for a friend (female). Salaam!

Al Yolla

I saw these men performing at Bawadi Mall's Around the World in 60 Days representing the UAE. They  were dancing the Al Yolla, which is a traditional battle scene dance from the UAE. 

Al Yolla is one of the most common UAE traditional dances, performed by a group of men using their sticks, rifles or sometimes swords. Usually, the performers form 2 or 4 rows, with alternating forward and backward steps which symbolizes victory and defeat. 

The very first time that I saw Emarati men performing Al Yolla was in July 2007, in a wedding celebration held at the wedding grounds and khaleej tents in Al Hili District.

Word of the day: khaleej is the arabic word for gulf. Salaam!

Weed's flower

I snapped this photo last February 2010 at Tawam Hospital garden, just right after the small roundabout beside the taxi stand, on my way home after a toxic night duty. I can't even remember how many times I clicked my camera to get a nice macro shot. I've added the mat border to highlight its beauty. So tiny yet so lovely. To give you an idea about its actual size, please have a look at the photo posted below.

(click the photo to enlarge)

My entry for Mellow Yellow Monday

and

  Macro Monday.

Word of the day: youm al ithnayn is the arabic term for Monday. Salaam!

Have a nice day fellow bloggers.