This is the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi. It is quite beautiful by day, but even more so at night because it is lit and the lighting changes from white to deep purple and back again.
For those who do not already know, Sheikh Zayed is considered the father of the United Arab Emirates. He was the Ruler of Abu Dhabi and the first president of the UAE when it was established in 1971. He died in 2004 and is buried in the courtyard of this mosque. From what I have read so far, he was a very wise man and good ruler. The same can be said of Sheikh Rashid, the ruler of Dubai when the UAE was established. The current rulers are the sons of these men and are proving to be wise, good rulers as well.
Archive for March 26th, 2009
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque at night
March 26, 2009Rain in Dubai
March 26, 2009Wednesday evening we had RAIN and it has been raining off and on since. It began with a spectacular lightning and thunder show. This first video is of the worst of the downpour that we were in. It involved large hail pelting the car. Watch for the guy who is riding a bicycle. By the end of the video the hail has stopped but the rain is coming down so thick that the wipers can’t possibly keep up and we are “rain blind.”
The next video is more of the same driving rain. Notice that everyone turns on their hazard lights, as if that makes it better. After every foggy day, there is an article in the newspaper telling people not to use their hazard lights while driving in fog. I’ll have to check and see if there is a similar article after this rain storm. The comment I make about maybe not going to work the next morning is because if this had kept up all night the flooding would have made it impossible to get anywhere. Notice that already there is significant puddles (less than 10 min. of rain).
This third video starts with one of the many rather spectacular puddles. Keep in mind this is within a few minutes of the start of the downpour.
Next morning, still raining, but not flooded, so we are off to work. If you compare these to the previous videos of our drive when it’s dry, you’ll see that the rain has little impact on people’s driving or pedestrian behavior. We saw a few guys who had put a plastic grocery bag on their head and tied it so that it was a sort of hat. At one point in this video I point the camera at the storm drain that is definitely not doing its job.
The next, and last, video is of the end of the drive to work. Watch for the construction workers who are perched on top of cement blocks in a puddle. They created their own stepping stones in an attempt to get across. The automatic focus of my stupid camera was focusing on the windshield, so everything outside of the car is blurry. It is not really that blurry in real life, even in the rain.
Living the Travel Channel 