Ah.....yes, the last photos I posted of our trip were only just the first stop. We still have miles (make that many more photos!) to go. Amsterdam was fantastic, but the Middle East was like nothing else I've ever seen or shopped!
The library I spotted at the Schipol Airport on our way out of Amsterdam.
Dubai Mall
Dust storms in the days prior to our arrival made for a hazy view.
JSM at the top!
Wonder what a block of gold could buy downstairs at Dubai Mall?
The work week started on Sunday for JSM so the girls and I took a tour of Dubai.....we visited the Dubai Museum, stopped at the textile souk, and saw all of Dubai's skylines from every angle.
Boats made out of a single tree trunk
Be glad you weren't born in old Dubai and had to sleep on this roof!
Sisters
Textile Souk
Fabrics at the souk
Shoes for sale
Shelly :)
I love the written word no matter what the form....I may even like it better when it's in the shape of swans!
We ended the day at a Chinese restaurant with impeccable service at Jumeirah Hotel, I think!
Our table
Yes, please!
Christina and Rachel
That would be $975 for the whole Abalone!
One of many, many dishes
Day 2 was spent seeing the rest of Dubai, another trip to the top, and then a few drinks by the pool!
at the Burj Al Arab
The Atlantis on Palm Island
The view was much better the second time around!
JSM took me to the largest food show in the world as the newest Papa Murphy's librarian. We ate lots of international food from countries like France, Ireland, Sweden, Greece, Morocco, Belgium, Taiwan, South Africa, even Iran!
About to eat some Swedish caviar
Working it....
Yum....
It's no longer just white or brown rice....
Made from bird's saliva......and I found out after I drank it!
South Africa was offering these samples......yikes! No, thank you.
Iranians were big on water storage. Water storage? Not the first thing that comes to mind....
My favorite part of our time in Dubai was the tour of the Jumeirah Mosque. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to learn about Islam in a Muslim country. Here in the US we generally (if unfairly) get a biased view of the world's second largest religion. It's easy to associate Islam with strict rules, dresses akin to black garbage bags, and women as second class citizens. What we don't hear are the similarities between Christianity and Islam like foundations that include being kind to others, serving the poor, and the Adam and Eve story (yes, the Koran has one, too.) I particularly enjoyed the daily calls to prayer, heard around the city, which served as a reminder to consider my own Christian faith and thank God for my many opportunities.
Before leaving for this trip, my friend, CWDB, who has traveled to the Middle East, offered wonderful advice and told me that the UAE and Oman weren't really very oppressive at all. I believed him, but I also wondered, if they aren't oppressive why do women wear the black abaya to cover their body and the shayla to cover their head? According to the volunteer Muslims at the mosque the Koran states that women are to dress modestly. The traditional female dress of abaya and shayla accomplishes this and in addition, offers sun protection, acts as shade from the Middle Eastern heat, not to mention provides an instant outfit for running a quick errand (unaccompanied and in public!) I kind of wish I had one for the days I'm just not feeling it!
I now understand that dressing modestly is a choice that Muslim women make and if they have no choice but to be completely covered, cannot attend school or drive a car, that is not Islam. That is their own society's rules that have been forced upon them in the name of religion. I now have a clearer understanding and a deeper appreciation for a faith so different, yet more similar to my own than I ever thought. Thank God for that!
Facing Mecca
Korans
To be continued.....
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