Day 20: On the road again . . .

Dubai and Abu Dhabi, UAE

Today we needed to be back at our apartment by 3:00 for a tour we had booked.  So we took an Uber to the Isle of Palms.  The Isle of Palms is a completely man-made space in the coast off Dubai made by piling up and compacting sand.  It is lined on the outside by huge rocks to control erosion.  It was designed

The Isle of Palms is a completely man-made space in the coast off Dubai made by piling up and compacting sand.  It is lined on the outside by huge rocks to control erosion.  It was designed as a tourist destination with upscale hotels and top of the line amenities.  It has a water park and other activities.  We took an Uber to the right of center to take skyline pics and then intended to walk a mile to the center to see the fancy hotel.  Our Uber driver felt nervous dropping us off in the middle of nowhere, but he did.  We started walking, but it was so hot and we could feel the heat from the pavement through our shoes.  The soles of Joshua's soles had melted a bit from the heat of the pavement yesterday when we walked such a long time to find our apartment and he could feel them getting warm again.  We finally flagged a taxi that was driving by and he drove us the last half a mile.  We took some pictures, then decided to go back to our apartment.  We called an Uber and when we were dropped off, went across the street to get something for lunch.  We got pasta and sauce and had that.  

Atlantis The Palm hotel

They made the supports for the freeway overpass into trees!

Then a rest before changing our clothes to go on our tour of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi.  It is 90 minutes away which is why we went with a tour company.  They picked us up at the hotel across the street at 3:15 in a small bus, then drove around the city picking up other groups so that we totalled around 13.  We drove the 90 minutes to Abu Dhabi with our guide giving some history and explanations before we arrived.  Men are required to have legs covered (a few of the men with us had kanduras they had purchased--as souvenirs?) and Women are required to have legs, arms, and heads covered.  I had brought a long, loose dress that was calf-length with 3/4 sleeves.  Our guide handed out abayas for women whose dresses were too revealing (most of us).  At first, he said that mine was okay, but handed me one right after we got off the bus because I was showing a little too much leg (a few inches above my ankles).  I put it on and was expecting it to be very loose, like the ones I've seen Muslim women wear.  It was not.  It was extremely tight in the chest (I felt like I could barely breathe) and clingy in the hips.  Evidently, they are made for small women, though the loose dress I had on underneath didn't help.  I had brought a scarf with me to wear on my head.  

The mosque is simply beautiful.  White marble, it is simple yet breathtaking.  Traditionally for prayer, men enter down one side and women down the other, but since we were tourists, we all went together.  The pillars all have the inlaid marble that we've seen before.  All 1000+ of them.  Inside (which was air conditioned), there were 6 chandeliers, one in each dome.  They were made of Murano glass (from Italy).  The carpet was made in Iran in pieces by over 200 women working in three shifts per day.  It was then brought to the mosque and those women came and pieced it  and connected the pieces together.  The team spent 10 years planning the mosque (including sourcing materials from all over the world), then 10 more years building it.  

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the inner courtyard

flowers

more flowers

and yep, more flowers

detail to look like palm trees

detail from the pillars

Joshua

The gold is a verse from the Quran in arabic

And inner area

Murano glass 

This is the carpet

The largest chandelier, in the center is 11 meters long

Drinking water fountain

Ablutions area for women

The entrance at the parking lot

The parking lot entrance to represent a pearl

After we had seen everything and taken way too many photos, we got back on the bus to Dubai.  Everyone was dropped off.  Since we were the only ones at our stop, Randy asked if they could drop us off at the Dubai Mall so that we could find dinner.  It was after 9:30 when we were dropped off.  Dinner, then we walked to our apartment, stopping again to watch the light show on the Burj Khalifa and the water show.  Then I was so tired, I started this, but didn't get a chance to finish.  Tomorrow I will need to finish!