Little tourist, big city . . .

Well, I finally decided to venture out into the baffling heat to see the sights of Abu Dhabi. 

However, before I indulge you in the beautiful sights of the Grand Mosque, let me explain something to you.  I am sure I am beating a dead horse at this point, but I can't articulate the seriousness of the heat situation over here.  The only way I can explain it to you is by giving you this scenario: Imagine sitting in an actual sauna, in your clothes.  You pour water over the hot rocks and then someone holds a space heater up to your face.  Now hold this situation there, in your brain for a second, and add in that it is Ramadan and drinking or eating is forbidden.  Not U.S. forbidden where you can sneak a sip of water in your car, no, you will get fined if you are caught.  So, I just thought I would enlighten you all with that piece of visual information, just because.

Now, I can continue with my 'Day out in Abu Dhabi'.  A few friends (nice group of girls I've managed to meet) and I decided to do the Big Bus Tour of Abu Dhabi on Thursday.  After purchasing our tickets at the hotel (I hope my apartment comes with a concierge), we were told that the Grand Mosque closes at 12noon, and if we wanted to head inside, we should take a taxi over right then and there to get in, on time.  So, after a 40 minute taxi ride at 50 Dirham ($13), we were dropped off at the entrance to the Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque.  It is one of the largest mosques in the world.  It is constructed of Italian marble, gold, Austrian crystal and semi precious gems.  Needless to say, they now how to fancy-up a church around here.  We swiftly walked to the mosque, as to avoid melting out in the heat.  We were kindly shown the women's entrance where we were given Abayas to put on.  I had my own scarf, threw that on my head and went into the courtyard.  Words can't quite explain the grand scale of this building.  Not a single inch of this place had a speck of dust on it.  There were constantly people (discreetly) walking around with dry mops, keeping the floor clean.  In order to step out onto the courtyard, it was politely suggested that you remove your shoes.  It amazed me how many people did not abide by this.  I guess they didn't get the memo about 'when in Rome'. Anyway, we walked around the courtyard, roamed the hallways and ended up the gorgeous (and air-conditioned) inner sanctum of the mosque.  Apparently it can hold up to 41,000, with the main prayer hall holding up to 7,000-9,000.  The chandelier is the largest in the world and is adorned with precious and semi precious stones embedded into the Austrian crystals.  Th rug is also the world's largest handmade rug (I wonder what Chrissy's wholesale price on that would be).  After walking around we head out back into the entrance, threw our clothing into the basket and caught the bus onto the next stop.

The Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque

One of the entrances to the mosque

One of the pools surrounding the mosque

(I wonder what the fine is for 'accidently' falling into the pool?)

Marble columns inlaid with colored marble flowers

One of the hallways

The open courtyard in the middle of the mosque

The inside looking out

A sign inside (the men and women pary seperately)

The inside looking out into the courtyard

One of the walls inside the mosque.  The inlaid colored
marble is actually raised up to give a 3D effect

A tour group standing in front of a door inside.  Tours are free and given by local Emirati

to inform people on the religion of Islam.

The entrance looking into the grand prayer hall

One of seven chandeliers.  They are made with crystal, semi-precious and

precious gems along with 'a little' gold.

Looking odwn the grand prayer hall

A pretty little nook in the wall

Myself and two other girls (Heidi and Carrie)

Contemplating the degree of sweat I am collecting underneath my Abaya

Can I get an Amen for air-conditioning?

Standing in front of  one of the entry ways into the mosque

The Big Bus pulled up just in time and we headed up to the upper level, air-conditioned deck.  We plugged our headphones in, turned the channel to 'English', sat back and enjoyed the ride.  An added bonus was that the bus company allowed us to drink water while in the bus.  What a treat!  The entire loop was 2 1/2 hours and we were able to hop on/hop off.  The trip was intended to be a chance to see the city, more so than getting off and exploring.  We did, however, have every intention of getting off at the Iranian Souk (outdoor market like Zern's).  Upon pulling into the Souk entrance and not seeing anyone buying anything, and realizing that it was 115 degrees, we quickly agreed we would hit the Souk up at a more appropriate (and tolerable) time.

A funky bridge (I bet their tolls don't go up a dollar every year)

Ah, yes. My employer...

The Carpet Souk

One of th emany Abu Dhabi skylines, inlcuding the Abu Dhabi beach

One area of the Corniche

A view from the Corniche looking out into the gulf

Another view of the skyline (They have a few skylines)

The Emirates Palace (the world's most expensive hotel to build)

Date Palms (they are practically the national fruit)

They are everywhere!  The bags around each bunch of dates catches the dates as they fall.

I saw this back by the bathrooms in the mall

This was the old leader and these are his sons, th new leaders
(These signs are everywhere)

Rosa Parks would not be too impressed with little sign

Hum, I don't think I saw one of these in Schwenksville...

The tour ended up being worth every penny (or dirham), because it actually gave us the chance to see and situate ourselves into the city scene.  Although the city is similar to NYC, being that it is on an island with gridded streets, it is still a little overwhelming.  So, it was nice to get our bearings and see what there is to do.  They even have an attraction called Heritage Village, which is a working traditional Bedouin village that tourists can visit and interact in.

A few other things I'd like to share, to make the experience more relateable:  they drive on the 'correct' side of the street (those British didn't leave their stubborn driving habits on the city), you do not jaywalk!, it is polite not to stare or smile at a local Emirati man unless you intend to leave the impression of being a flirt (that has been tough;)), you can wear what you were at home with minimal limits, haggling is expected at many markets and souks, you can pretty much eat and buy the same things you would at home (although what's the fun in that?) and I've noticed that I do get some looks and stares (I'm guessing they got the memo on how awesome I am).

I've included some pictures and video, so I hope you enjoy them.  I took most of my pictures at the Mosque, as we did not get out of the bus often to get snapshots of other sites.  I will get back to the interesting spots when I can actually physically walk outside for longer than 15 minutes without passing out.  I also thought I would include a video of some drivers practicing on the racetrack last night.  How cool, right?

Driving by the Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque

Inside the mosque out in the courtyard

Inside the mosque, in the grand prayer hall

A short video of the cars practicing at the Yas Marina Circuit

Enjoy!!