Archive for the ‘United Arab Emirates’ Category

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Meandering through UAE Archaeology

December 8, 2013

Posted by Kanga. Please do not reblog.

entrance of the park

We headed out to Maleha with the intention of visiting the wildlife center there. Unfortunately, this is a private park and not open to the public. So, the closest one can get is these pictures and this video.

From there we went just down the road to the Umm an-Nar Tomb of Maleha.

round stone structure

This was interesting, although it was clear that no one visits this site or uses the park around it.

stone structure

This tomb dates back to around 3000 BC. There are eight chambers.

brown road sign

Next we went across the road to the fort archeological site.

partially restored stone structure

The structure has been partially restored. The lower, rougher wall in the foreground is most likely the original wall remains.

camel laying by the side of the road

We headed north a bit to look for the camel race track and saw this fellow just taking a rest by the side of the road.

stone ruins of a tobacco drying shed

On the way back to Fujairah we stopped off at Al Fara to drive past the remains of Sheikh Suhail bin Hamdan’s home and tobacco farm. These walls were a tobacco drying shed. Most of the site is not easily accessible due to a current residence near the site. We didn’t want to trespass.

covered archeological site, stone riuns

After a quick, late lunch in Fujairah, we headed up the coast to Bidya to search for the ancient fort site. This site dates to back approximately more than 4,000 years. This is one of the oldest archaeological finds on the East Coast of the UAE. It was a small, round fort built around a well.

These places are not necessarily easy to find (although some are right on the side of the road). They are also not necessarily set up for visitors as there is little to no information displayed at the sites. (A bit of a missed opportunity for education and tourist attractions.) However, information on some of the sites is available at area museums. Information and artifacts related to the archaeological sites in Maleha are on display at the Sharjah Archaeology Museum in downtown Sharjah city. Fujairah Museum– located near Fujairah Fort- is small, but very nice, and includes information and artifacts from the fort at Bidya in its archaeological section.

Posted in camel, camels, Fujairah, historical site | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

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Thunder Bolt and Lightning

November 15, 2013

Posted by Kanga. Please do not reblog.

We had a wild rain storm last night in Fujairah. The lightning was hitting close by. One hit was so close it was more like a pop than a rumble.

http://instagram.com/p/gsqylOpUjT/

The electricity went out all over town. At least in the buildings without their own electricity generators. We found ourselves in the dark except for the battery run light in the entry way. We expected it to take quite some time – hours, if not days.

a book, candle, and make-shift aluminum candle holder

I settled down with a book and a candle, but before I could finish reading the first page, the lights came in. That spoiled the reading mood, but it was pleasant since it was starting to get a bit stuffy and warm without any air conditioning or fans running.

Posted in Fujairah, rain, weather | Tagged , , , | Leave a Comment »

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Totally Fabulous Fujairah Food Tour

November 3, 2013

Posted by Kanga. Please do not reblog.

peanuts, onions, chili

Peanut Sandeko

The tour began at Nepal Kitchen House. Peanut sandeko, chicken momos, mutton momos, thukpa (noodle soup), chicken chili, chicken tass (chicken and puffed rice), and aloo jeera fry (potato, cumin seeds, cilantro) graced our table.

crescent shaped dumplings

Mutton Kothe Momos

Then we took a brief break from eating to drive up to Al Hayl Castle.

twisted tree

This is the historical home of the Fujairah royal family.

inner courtyard

Al Hayl Castle inner courtyard

We stopped briefly to check out a petroglyph. There are many in the hills, although rock quarries and development are taking their toll on these historical treasures.

image of a man carved into rock

Petroglyph

After a quick tea break, we were off to our next meal at Salu Salo, a Filipino restaurant tucked away in an alley.

four plates of food

Salu Salo Filipino Restaurant

Bicol express, Bopis, Lumpia, Pinakbet, and Kare Kare were our choices. Bicol express is a stew in a coconut milk sauce. Bopis is heart and lung sauteed in tomato, chili, and onion. Lumpia is meat filled fried rolls, Pinakbet is a shrimp and vegetable dish, and Kare Kare is an oxtail stew in peanut sauce.

milk tea in a unglazed clay cup

Another tea break on the beach with tea in a clay pot – the best tea I have ever had – then, we were off to Zamarod Al Afghani Rice Bukhari Restaurant.

mixed grilled meat, flat bread

After a mixed grill, flat bread, and hummus meal, we were done in. With a cup of mint tea, our eight hour eating experience came to an end.

Posted in food, Fujairah, restaurant | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

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Pinoy Lomi House

November 2, 2013

Posted by Kanga. Please do not reblog.

restaurant sign

We tried out another Filipino restaurant last night. We noticed it while driving down an unpaved alley on our way to the grocery store. In preparation for the “Totally Fabulous Fujairah Food Tour,” we thought we better check this one out. When we arrived the restaurant was about half full of Filipino patrons, which is a very good sign.

salad with fish, cucumbers, onions, lemon, turnip, and vinegar

This is kilawin, a salad made with fish, turnips, cucumbers, onions, chili peppers, red bell pepper, and lemon. The fish starts raw and is cooked by the vinegar marinade. Very delicious (as long as I avoided the little pieces of chili pepper).

two plates, one with a beef dish and the other with a shrimp dish

The dish on the left is caldereta, a beef dish. The dish on the right (name unknown) is made with bitter gourd and shrimp. These were DaddyBird’s choices and he didn’t want to share the caldereta with me, so we will need a double order next time. Very delicious. I’m not as crazy about the bitter gourd, though. It has earned it’s name.

beef and cabbage soup

This is bulalo. It is a very savory but simple beef soup. Next time I have a cold or flu, I will be requesting bulalo from this restaurant and seafood soup from The Oriental. That will make everything better.

two bottled drinks

For drinks, we chose orange flavored basil seed drink and coconut juice. The basil seed drinks, which come in multiple flavors, are interesting because the seeds are a bit gelatinous. The coconut juice is the most refreshing. The dish in the front is our dessert choice, a coconut and ube gelatin which also had corn in it. Ube is a purple yam that is used in many desserts and pastries.

Normally, all this would come with rice, but due to our semi-paleo diet, we are not eating rice. This will be a great restaurant for us because we can get dishes that fit our diet and fill us up.

We give this restaurant a A+. This meal cost us a whopping 65 AED ($17.00 USD). Great value and great taste.

Posted in Dubai, food, Fujairah, restaurant | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments »

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Mashup or What?

October 11, 2013

Posted by Kanga. Please do not reblog.

Fujairah streets are under major construction and have been for most of the year. It is much needed, but makes it even more interesting to navigate the town than it was. Fujairah is not laid out in a system of rectangular streets and intersections. It is a web of diagonal streets and roundabouts. So, even when things are normal and not under construction one has to zig zag across town.

cement fence with upside down ionic capitals attached

We came across this last night while negotiating a rather challenging detour. The construction of this villa looks standard except for the upside down ionic capitals that have been tacked onto the fence. I’m curious to see what more this will involve.

close up of upside down ionic capital

Posted in construction, Fujairah, infrastructure, oddities | Tagged , | Leave a Comment »

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Infrastructure Should Come First

October 5, 2013

Posted by Kanga. Please do not reblog.

trench dug between buildings

This is the view around our apartment building lately. This is not the first time they have dug a trench along here and torn out the paving bricks and made a mess.

trench across parking lot

This trench goes across the one and only entrance/exit to the underground parking. Now, why this trench can’t be dug 30 feet north where there are no structures, I don’t know. Why these pipes weren’t laid before the buildings were put up, I don’t know.

Here is how building is done. They put up a building first. There are no electrical lines to the construction area. There are no sewer lines laid prior to building. There are often no paved roadways to the construction site either. The building may never get a sewer line. (Sewage goes into tanks in the subbasement and trucks come by to pump out the contents, hopefully on a regular basis. Our building is 21 stories tall with 7 apartments on each of 17 floors and offices on 3 floors – you do the math.) The building may, or may not, get city supplied electricity. Our building is one half city utilities and one half connected to a generator in the basement. The generator is permanently installed.

Posted in construction, Fujairah | Tagged , , | 1 Comment »

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Industrial Area on the Move

July 21, 2013

Posted by Kanga.

skyscrapers in distance, unpaved road and old industrial shops in foreground

Fujairah has an industrial area. It used to be on the outer reaches of town, however, town has grown. Now the land under the industrial area is prime real estate.

Since before we moved to Fujairah, the city has been working toward moving the industrial area to a new location. It is finally coming to fruition.

semi-demolished cement buildings

We thought we would give you a tour of the emptying out, old industrial area. For all the pictures, click here.

[I was going to insert a picture here, but I’ve run out of image storage space. When I get that upgraded, I’ll come back and put the picture in.]

And, it is only fair, to show you the new industrial area. For those pictures, click here.

Posted in Fujairah | Tagged , , | 1 Comment »

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Ukraine: Day One

June 29, 2013

Posted to Kanga.

view out plane window of airport control tower

We departed from the Sharjah Airport on Air Arabia. This was a new experience. We usually travel from the much, much larger Dubai airport. Sharjah airport is small and quite efficient.

SANYO DIGITAL CAMERA

This is my food court breakfast (freshly made mushroom and onion omelette), which I had to gobble down because the loud speaker started calling passengers for our flight. We arrived at the “gate” and were bussed to the plane.

space between my knees and the seat in front of me

Happily, the flight was only half full, so we had plenty of space and no one reclining the seats in front of us. Air Arabia was a pleasant experience. They are a low frills airline, similar to Southwest Airlines. The tickets are cheaper, but you pay fees for things like the weight of your bags (which is nice because you can pay less if you travel light or if you know you will have a heavy bag, you can pay for the weight you need). There is food on the plane, but you pay for that separately, too.

airplane drop down screen showing safety video

The safety video was the best I’ve seen because they cleverly cast only children. It was actually interesting to watch.

Japanese style fan on an airplane seat

It was a bit hot, especially since we had been bussed out to the plane on the tarmac rather than walking through an air conditioned gangway. However, I always come prepared for these eventualities.

close up of the airplane safety guide sheet showing a red X through a remote control toy car

I was disappointed to find that I was not allowed to play with my remote control car. All that aisle space and I can’t race up and down it?

airplane safety sheet showing a red X through something indistinguishable

I never did figure out this illustration of something I am not supposed to do. My best guess is that when the plane crashes, before I exit, I am supposed to remove my shoes and leave my briefcase behind. I assure you, I will not be taking off my shoes during a crash. My bags are on their own, but until they provide ample leg space, my shoes are sticking with me.

cartoon on an airplane drop down screen

There was entertainment provided, beginning with a Bugs Bunny cartoon. It was nice to see old Bugs. I haven’t seen him in ages. We were amused at how much kissing and groping there was in this little cartoon. I wouldn’t be allowed to have this cartoon in my library.

view out the airplane window

After a short flight (less than 5 hours), we arrived in the verdant Ukraine.

Soviet style apartment buildings

For all the pictures and commentary, click here.

We ventured out in the evening just as a summer rainstorm let loose. We waited under a sheltered area until the worst was over. Thunder, lightning, rivers rushing down hill. All very exciting. Needless to say my shoes were soon soaked. I only brought one pair. 😦

Brief video of the fountain at Ocean Plaza mall.

Posted in Sharjah, travel adventures, Ukraine | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

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Sharjah Maritime Museum

June 25, 2013

Posted by Kanga.

After visiting the Sharjah Aquarium, we went to the Maritime Museum. (The entrance fee of 20 AED per person covers entrance to both.)

small wooden model of a galleon

They have several lovely wooden models, some small scale and some full scale.

full size pearling boat

To see all the pictures, click here.

Posted in museum, Sharjah | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

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Sharjah Aquarium

June 24, 2013

Posted by Kanga.

After nearly five years in the country, we finally got around to going to the Sharjah Aquarium.

large ugly fish

There were lots of tasty looking groupers. These are also known as hamour, the most commonly eaten fish in the area. Unfortunately, they are now overfished. It doesn’t pay to be so very tasty.

diver hugging a sea turtle

Turtle buddies.

purple fish

The aquarium is quite pleasant. We were there on a Saturday afternoon and it was fairly quiet and peaceful. As we were leaving around 6 pm more people were arriving, so it may be more populated in the evening. The entrance fee is 20 AED per person and includes admittance to the neighboring Maritime Museum. Well worth it.

sign instructing not to use flash photography, rap on the glass, drop coins in the tanks, or offer your finger to hungry fish

Please don’t pay the fish, flash the fish, feed the fish, or punch the fish.

More pictures here.

Posted in animals, aquarium, Sharjah | Tagged , , , | Leave a Comment »

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