journalarabia

Here are some very random shots from our recent trip to Dubai. It was really great to be back and to see all our friends there who we miss so much.

We are still taking photographs of our travels, and even though they are less likely to be in Arabia (we no longer are residents there), we’ll keep posting them here for a while. I’ll actually be in Jeddah in a few weeks and we’ll be back in Dubai in January, so those posts will be on theme!

Week started with a whirlwind stop in ABQ to take part in ISEA 2012:

on to New York City to take part in Freshkills Park “Sneak Peak”:

On to Frankfurt to take part in the EU Photovoltaics Conference:






















Frankfurt cheese…yummy

Perhaps the highlight of the week was our tea with this family in Hajir, Oman.

First Day

Palm Jumeirah, Atlantis, and Emirates Mall

Janet Bellotto’s installation in the Harvey Nichols windows

Art Dubai

Observers of Change 4 by Her Highness Lateefa Bint Maktoum

Madinat Jumeirah

Deira and Bur Dubai

(first time)

Friday Market and Fujairah

Global Village

(first time)

Diera and Bur Dubai

(second time)

Oman

The two photos above were taken by a nine year old Omani boy.

Abu Dhabi

Global Village

(second time)

Dubai Mall and Burj Khalifa

Had a great time with Tasmena today exploring the area around Dubai Creek and considering public space.

Price is in UAE Dirhams. That comes to $52.28 for a 750ml bottle of water from Tennessee. There’s nothing else in there, just pure water. Very pure. It must be 24 karat water it’s so pure. The company claims to have a nine-step purification process that includes ozone, ultraviolet and microfiltration, but in an expert blind taste test it tied with Manhattan tap. Get yours today at Dean & Deluca, Souk Al Bahar or in the Dubai Mall.

Oh, they also have a website: blingh2o.com. If you’re really cool, you can buy a $2,600 bottle of water there via their online store. That bottle doesn’t just have Swarovski crystals on the logo. It has 10,000 Swarovsky crystals encrusting the whole thing.

Anyway, if it’s good enough for Paris Hilton’s dog, then it’s good enough for me.

This is a really long pedestrian bridge (almost 1 kilometer long) that is going to be constructed from the Dubai Mall metro stop to the mall itself. Presently, you have to walk two large blocks outside and then through the parking lot to get from the station to the mall. One can’t help but notice how much of an afterthought this bridge is. I wonder why it wasn’t made subterranean.