Dream on....and wish!

"It is almost impossible to watch a sunset and not dream."

~Bern Williams~

"May you have warm words on a cold evening, a full moon on a dark night, and a smooth road all the the way to your door."

~Irish Blessings~

Whenever I'm weary from the obstacles of this paradigm that I called life, I just look up and watch the sun or the moon, close my eyes and chant my prayer in a soft whisper.

Have a nice day my blogger friends. I may not visit your blogs often but I want you to know that you are always in my thoughts. I want to take this opportunity to thank each and everyone of you who wished for my hubby's speedy recovery.

Word of the day: giraha is the Arabic word for surgery. Salaam!

Walking along the beach at sunset

I was trying to figure out which program shall I use to make a photo collage until hubby told me to try the Paintbrush since I don't know how to use the Photoshop and Picasa. For the border and frame, ACDSee Photomanager worked well with me. Ahhhhh....I still need more time to study about these programs.

Images shown above were taken last week at Jumeirah Open Beach in Umm Suqiem, Dubai, around 130 kms from Al Ain.

Have a great weekend my blogger friends. My sincere apologies for not visiting your blogs these past few weeks. I am a bit emotionally unwell till this time because of hubby's ligament injury. He will submit himself under the knife for ACL Reconstruction soon after the 6-week physical therapy.

Click here if you wish to see more skies from all over the world. Thanks to Skywatch Team!

Word of the day: tah'ban is the Arabic word for sick or unwell. Salaam!

Colorful

Photos shown below were taken in July 2010 at the parking area of The Dubai Mall. I must say that it's quite pretty coz it really entertained me while I was waiting for hubby to look for a space to park the car.

 Wanna make your eyes wet? Let's all get cyberwet!! Click here.

Word of the day: helwa is the Arabic word for pretty. Salaam!

Roundabout Series: "Al Ain Airport Roundabout"

Yay! I'm back! It's been a while....been busy these past few days. I missed all of you, my blogger friends. How I wish I could spend more time with blog hopping. I need to study for our nursing competencies and  for the Peritonial Dialysis training. Anyway, I hope that everybody is doing well.

Around 200 meters from Al Ain International Airport, there's a statue that resembles a jet plane. As far as I know, this roundabout doesn't have a name that's why I coined the name Al Ain Airport Roundabout. It is located 13km(8 miles) northwest of Al Ain, along Al Dahmaa District.

Sky-watching with the camels :))

Last week I have posted the sunset photos which I took at the desert of Al Dahmaa District. I have mentioned as well in that blog post that we were looking for the road that will eventually lead us to the sand dunes and it was like playing hide and seek until we finally found the way. 

Prior to that, we've been to this desolated place. I thought it was a hill when we were looking from afar. I asked hubby to continue driving until we find the way. There was a narrow road that led us to this place. Hubby told me that it wasn't safe to go to such place because we might get lost but I insisted (oh yeah, me and my bratty attitude!). I saw that there were trees and I can almost hear the sweet and enchanting 'music' of the chirping birds aside from the beautiful blue sky and some cotton-like clouds. We were about a hundred meters away from the 'hill' when I saw the flock of birds flew away :(( but just the same, it didn't stop me from exploring the area as soon as we arrived at the place. 

Look what I've found......dromedary camels!! hmmm.....enjoying the sunny weather?, must be :))

I moved closer.....

and they saw me coming.......hahaha! look at their faces!

this one was standing a bit far from the group....must be a loner :)).....oh! look! he's looking at me as if he wanted to tell something..

I took several shots until I heard my son telling me..."come on Mama, that will be enough!" And that prompted me to stop clicking. Hubby was patiently waiting inside that car. Thanks hubby ;). Hubby asked me to get in the car and he drove back to Al Dahmaa District.

This drive-by shot was taken while we were heading back to Al Dahmaa District. I was a bit anxious when I saw the sun sinking into the horizon and thought that I might not be able to see the sunset at the desert.

Guess it was my lucky day. I saw the magnificent and breathtaking sunset while sitting on the fine sand dunes......and that's another story. Click here to read that story.

Am linking this post to Skywatch Friday. Join us.

By the way, today is the first day of Eid Al Fitr that marks the end of Ramadan. Eid Mubarak to our Muslim brothers and sisters!

Word of the day: jamal is the Arabic word for camel. Salaam!

Lamp posts

Most of the major roads and streets here in Al Ain are divided (according to the direction of travel) by fences and/or date palm trees. Photo shown above was taken at Hazza Ibn Sultan Street of Al Dahmaa District. Date palm trees are dividing the said street. There's nothing special with this photo, I just like the lamp posts, all lit up and its constant distance, aside from the fact that I took this one without a tripod. I have consulted Mr. Google Earth and found out that the distance from one lamp post to another is approximately 65 meters.

Word of the day: tariq is the Arabic word for street. Salaam!

Roundabout Series: "The Other Jabal Roundabout"

In the southern part of town, along Khaled Ibn Sultan Street of Al Mnaizfah Community in the Al Muwaiji District, there's a beautiful roundabout with waterfalls, lush grass and foliage. As far as I know, this roundabout doesn't have a name and I think the word jabal is more appropriate for this roundabout rather than the true Jabal Roundabout (click to compare).

This is how the roundabout looks like from afar(against the light shot)....

and this is how it looks like from 100-meter distance. I like its lush grass that goes well with the waterfalls.

Moving closer to the roundabout (oh yeah I crossed the street! Kids, don't you ever try what I have done, it's too dangerous!), you will see that there are ornamental weeds and foliage.

There are waterfalls on both east and west sides. On the east side....

there is a walk way that runs right in front of the waterfalls with this small wooden bridge.

I walked in and went up with these steps leading up to the top of the "rock formation" and found out that...

the waterfalls from the top flows to the west side, it looks like that each side has different water source.

Look what I have found! I think the white metal box(connected to water pipes) on the left side is the water source since it looks similar to our water meter attached to our water tank. If you will look closer at the second photo, you will notice that there's a small "cave". I saw that it houses the electrical equipment.

And these are some of the night shots, so that you can compare the difference with those lamp posts all lit up. 

That's all folks. Hope you like it.

Am linking this post to Watery Wednesday and Outdoor Wednesday. 

Word of the day: jabal is Arabic word for mountain. Salaam!

Iftar...wanna join them?

Ramadan is about to end in few days time but I haven't posted a photo of people having their Iftar meal. They say that it is better to be late than never :). Well, it isn't late yet since the UAE's official Eid Al Fitr holiday will start on Wednesday, September 8, 2010 until September 12, 2010.

Photo shown above was taken last Friday infront of Hazaa Mosque at the 3rd Street of Al Mutaredh District just right after the salat al maghreb. Their Iftar dishes were dates, biryani, steamed rice, kebab, hummus and vegetable salad. Since the first day of Ramadan, Iftar meals are for free for those who come and pray at Hazaa mosque and for whoever wants to join this group of people.

Word of the day:  Eid Al Fitr is a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan. Salaam!

Skywatching at Al Ain Desert

Few days ago, a friend of mine told me that the sand dunes along Al Dahmaa District, on the way to Al Ain International Airport is beautiful and watching the sun sink deep into the horizon while sitting on the fine sand dunes will be an enthralling experience for a photoblogger like me. She knew that I really love watching sunsets.

Yesterday afternoon, I asked hubby if he can drive me along Al Dahmaa District, luckily he said yes even if his right leg was painful (because of ligament injury) and it was a bit difficult for him to drive. Since hubby couldn't walk without the use of his cane, I asked my eldest son Joel to come along so that there will be somebody to carry my gadgets :). Looking at Joel's face, I saw that he didn't like the idea but I told him that nobody will accompany me going up to the sand dunes. I used my mommy charms to convince him ;) so off we went.

Al Dahmaa District is just a 20-minute drive from Al Mutaredh District, our place. It was like playing hide and seek when we were looking for the road up to the sand dunes until we finally found the way....just in time before the sun finally bid goodbye. Here are some of our photos, taken at around 06:45PM to 07:00 PM.

before we left, I left a trail......Misalyn was there:)

bye-bye sun...see you again next time :)

a drive-by shot on the way to Al Dahmaa Roundabout (will post about it anytime next week)

Am linking this post to Skywatch Friday and Looking at the Sky on Friday. Join us and enjoy looking at the amazing skies all over the world.

Word(s) of the day: sa'a sahba'a is the Arabic word for seven o'clock. Salaam!