I miss home

Do you ever have those times in your life that you wish that you could go back to the days that you were planning a weekend getaway at the beach in a nearby town? The time that you could easily plan to take a vacation for a day or two. The time where everything was so simple and yet  you were contented and happy even in times of difficulties. The time where you didn't think too much of the future and simply enjoy the warmness of the sea water and fine sand, while the cool breeze is caressing your skin down to your bare feet.

Yes, I am having one of those times today. I miss the Bagasbas beach,  I miss the old hang outs, I miss eating taho by the sea breaker, I miss eating fishballs, squidballs and kikiam while watching the sun setting deep into the horizon. I miss the park that I used to hoop at while my sons were enjoying the slides and see saw.  I miss my mother, nieces and nephews and my house.  Ahhhhhh, I miss home and I feel terribly sad knowing that our vacation won't push through due to some unforeseen circumstances. 

This is my life as an expat. I always miss everything about home....the place where my heart is.

Dana and Khaled

Meet Dana and Khaled. They belong to the group of students taking oil painting classes at Al Qattara Arts Center located at Al Anja Community of Al Qattara District. Both of them were busy during the time of my visit and I was too reluctant to ask them a lot of questions, glad that they allowed me to snap these photos.

Al Qattara Arts Center is now offering and accepting students for oil painting classes. You can call +971-3-7618080 for more information.

Pedestrian underpass art

We've been to Abu Dhabi yesterday for a beach getaway (see previous post). It took us about half an hour to find the beach car park. 

From the beach car park, one must take the pedestrian underpass, just like what we did, to be able to reach the corniche and the beach. Here are some of the interesting art on the tile walls that I've noticed while we were walking along the underpass.

I am guessing that this is the traditional bedouin "hair dance" called khaleejia in 

which women are often dressed in colorful and long cloak called Jalabiyas. Women will toss
their hair from side to side while the music is playing. Click here to watch the video.

. 

This one is quite obvious. Falconry is an important part of desert life of the Emiratis and has 

been practised in the UAE for centuries. We all know that falcons remain as the key 

symbol of the United Arab Emirates.

This is quite vague. It looks like a depiction of old houses in comparison
with today's high rise buildings.

This post is linked to My World Tuesday. Thanks to My World team for hosting this wonderful meme. Have a nice day everyone!!

Beach getaway

I woke up early in the morning to prepare our things for a beach getaway. At 06:00 AM, off we went to Abu Dhabi since there is no beach here in Al Ain. Today's weather is hot and relatively humid. Visibility is quite reduced to 50% until ten in the morning making it difficult to take some decent snaps. Here are some of my photos taken between 9AM to 10AM.

Happy Father's Day!!

Playing basketball is my kiddos favorite past time. If they couldn't play in an outdoor setting, usually in an open court, they go to Action Zone at Al Ain Mall or at Fun City in Bawadi Mall to play in a mini ring.

Salute to all the wonderful and loving fathers out there!! Al Ain City Daily Photo is wishing you a very happy father's day!!

Sundown (a drive-by shot)

Just another sundown at Al Maqam District. Happy weekend everyone!

Visit Skywatch Friday for more friendly skies and mesmerizing sunsets.

Quote of the day:

"When we lose one blessing, another is often most unexpectedly given in its place"~~C.S. Lewis

(P.S. I have had 3 successive night duties and a day off. I'll be doing another night shift later. I miss you all my bloggie friends. Will definitely visit your pages day after tomorrow before I hit the sack.)

For kids and kids alike :)

Kids love to visit McDonald's at Khalifa Street not just because of french fries, burger and toys. They also love to watch Tom and Jerry while eating their favourite burgers.

 

One Friday evening, JM asked us to eat out and as usual off we went to McDonald's. We sat on the chair while waiting for our dine-in order and while JM was checking out his favourite place. This is the scenario: 4 lovely  ladies were enjoying their meal while watching Tom and Jerry. Poor boy, he couldn't ask them to spare him a seat.

Dusk at Zakher district (a drive-by shot)

Every time we hit the road even just for a joy ride, I make myself busy watching the sky. I find sky watching therapeutic especially at times of melancholy. This was taken a month ago at Al Zakher District, the moon was out at 06:48 PM.

This quote may not be appropriate for the photo shown above but I feel like sharing it with you guys. Have a nice weekend! 

“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” ~~Herman Cain

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A khaimah

click to enlarge

....but not the traditional one. I saw this ultra modern "tent" at Al Jimi Mall sometime in April 2011. This dome house is a product of First Point Investment. According to the salesman, you can even build a bathroom and install an A/C or set up an office inside the dome house. It is rustproof, rainproof and can withstand dry and hot weather (just like what we're having these days) and even during winter time. 

For more information about this dome house, just click the link provided above. Please be informed that this post is not a product review or a paid post. I was just curious when I saw this dome house and thought of sharing it with you guys. You can click here if you wish to watch the video of the company's presentation.

Word of the day: khaimah is the Arabic word for tent. Salaam!

(P.S. Apologies for not returning your visits. I am still on tonight. Will definitely visit your pages tomorrow afternoon. Thank you for your support and understanding.)

Nunu and Ummi

It's Wednesday once again and supposed to be our weekly dose of desertscape series. Much as we would like to shoot yesterday at Al Yahar desert for today's post, we simply couldn't because of the dry and hot weather. The mercury registered to a blazing 48 degree Celsius! 

I hope you won't mind me posting these photos which were taken few months ago at Al Ain Paradise. These are 4 successive shots using a macro lens with f/2.8. and a product of my experiment since I find macro photography too complicated. 

You might wonder why I have chosen the words nunu and ummi for the title of this post. Nunu is the Arabic word for a baby. I have considered the bud as nunu and the flower as ummi, the Arabic word for a mother.

By the way, I did review this blog's traffic and found out that most of the visitors were looking for info and photos of Al Ain Paradise. Please be reminded that you won't be seeing similar sceneries when you visit Al Ain Paradise since it's already summer time. You should expect that the flowers are already dry. 

Have a nice day fellow bloggers!

Cheese manakish...anyone?

Cheese manakish is an Arabic food made out of dough and topped with cheese. It can either be served for breakfast or snack with a cup of tea or coffee. Similar to a pizza, it can be sliced or folded. Most of the cheese manakish from Al Noor Modern bakery located at Al Sarooj and Al Muwaiji are folded and wrapped with thin, crisp and white bread wrapper. I prefer to eat the freshly baked and warm manakish topped with cheese and scrambled egg. Yum!

Word of the day: jubna is the Arabic word for cheese. Salaam!

The baker

Meet Raffeque C.P., one of the bakers of Al Noor Modern Bakery at Al Sarooj District, home of yummy middle eastern baklava and mouth-watering cheese manakish. Thank you for assisting and answering my questions Raffeque. 

Posted for the Weekend Portrait hosted by DindinMK of Sumedang, Indonesia.

Another wish granted

Emirates is one the leading airlines in the word. Being an employee of a government-owned hospital, one of the good things I like about this airline is the 10% discount that we're getting each time we buy our plane tickets. I am not sure though if the offer still stands because it has been a year since I had my vacation to my home country.

When I woke up this morning, I started browsing the net  looking for best deals since we're going home very soon....another wish granted!! Kids and I are so excited to go home!

This post is linked to SkyWatch Friday.

Al Qattara Arts Center

Our adventure at Al Qattara District didn't end up with Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Darmaki fort (see 2 previous posts). Misael and I were tired but we headed to Al Qattara Fort since we don't get to wander around the city these days because of my terrible and hectic schedule. The fort is located in the heart of Al Qattara District. It is newly restored and serves as the center for arts to promote Emirati art, culture and heritage.

I was so excited to visit the center for arts from the time that I've read it in the news. That's why as hubby drove around to find the right road leading to the fort, I became so impatient. Alas! We couldn't find the way and we had to return to the main road to find out the landmark. It took us about an hour to find our way to the said fort. Our efforts paid off when we finally get to see the center for arts and appreciate every work of art that we've seen on that day. It was unfortunate though that we couldn't check out everything because some of the studios are closed. Here are some of my photos. Enjoy!!

main entrance and the courtyard

framed paintings and on the wall 

another work of art on the wall and sculptures 

This is the "tower" outside the Center for Arts, it is located at the east side.  I love the  details on the windows.

And this is hubby inspecting the well and the courtyard :) 

By the way, there is an ongoing photography class at Al Qattra Arts Center for a fee of AED300. This is definitely good news for photo enthusiasts living in Al Ain because we won't be travelling to Dubai or Abu Dhabi any more to attend photography classes.

Useful contact and links:

Al Qattara Arts Center, Al Ain
Open daily except Fridays, from 9 AM to 1PM and 04PM to 8PM
Contact: 03-7618080 or see www.adach.ae

http://www.adach.ae/en/events/alqattaraartscenter.aspx