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Bithnah Fort

October 15, 2011

Posted by Kanga.

restored fort

Saturday afternoon we visited the Bithnah Fort…

city at the far side of a dry river bed

which is across a wadi from the town of Al Bithnah…

date palm tree farm and mountains behind

and surrounded by date palm farm.

stone building covered in scaffolding

Restoration is still in process.

stone work in a flower design

The restoration includes decorative stonework and woodwork.

wooden door

stone wall

I hope they don’t cover this wall in plaster. It is beautiful, as is.

old rusted Mobil oil barrel that is now part of a water well

This Mobil oil barrel probably didn’t expect to end up part of a water well.

red mountains in the late afternoon sun

The mountains are quite beautiful.

Al Bithnah is between Fujairah and Masafi. The fort can be seen from the highway. It is a short drive with good signage, BUT the road is not paved and goes through the wadi. We made it with our compact car, but had to drive very carefully because it is very rough roadway.

Posted in Fujairah, historical site | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments »

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Thar be Rain Here!

October 12, 2011

Posted by Kanga.

I finally got to enjoy a rain storm here in Fujairah. It happened suddenly at approximately 2:30 pm. Lightning, thunder, and torrents of rain for a goodly while. It was still raining, although more gently at 3:50 when I left work.

Sand is not as absorbant as you would think. Basically, the top few inches get soaked and then turn into temporary cement, so this results in a lot of water not being absorbed causing large puddles.

rain flooded street

A flooded roundabout is a special kind of lake. (Sorry, no picture.) It slows people down, but doesn’t really improve their roundabout manners.

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

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Right Place at the Right Time

October 8, 2011

Posted by Kanga.

You have to be in the right place at the right time. We were driving down the corniche (beach road) when we happened upon a parade.

a parade led by men on horseback

The road was blocked for the parade, so it took us a while to drive around and get back to the park so we could find out what was happening at this event.

easels containing pictures of cultural activities

There were pictures of traditional activities – games, fishing, pearl sorting, camels, races, etc.

boys playing a one legged game

Some boys were playing a game in which they hop on one foot and use their free hand to try to unbalance their opponent. Also, there were young men performing traditional dance.

model of a traditional home

There were dioramas of traditional homes, children at school and play, and caravans. In another display area, a fisherman was mending nets.

easel displaying a picture of two men

There were several historical pictures from the early years of the Emirates.

two camels

Camels probably don’t need a lot of explanation.

horse and rider carrying the national flag

Several horsemen circled the exhibit area.

dark cloudy sky

The weather took a turn for the dark and thunder cloudy.

sign in Arabic

“Emirates Heritage Club” and “Heritage Caravans”

sign indicating Emirates Heritage Club and heritage caravans

There was little rain on the corniche, just “sprinkles,” but when we got back over to the side of town where we live, we found large puddles, so clearly there had been a short squall.

We would have enjoyed the rain, but, all in all, we were glad to be in the right place at the right time to catch this cultural event.

Posted in culture, Fujairah, parade | Tagged , , | 3 Comments »

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Furniture Addiction

October 7, 2011

posted by Kanga.

After our furniture buying spree in August which resulted in closets and bookcases, one would think that the apartment is full and we should stop. However, we ventured out to buy two recliners. Here’s a few things we didn’t buy.

bed shaped like an army jeep

DaddyBird was impressed by this set. It’s a boy-thing. The closet doors are apparently gas pumps. A fully equipped military installation.

mod shaped chairs in tiger print

Tiger chairs! How Austin Powers is that?

ornate bed

And we got to see this bed in the flesh, so to speak.

ornate furniture

We bought none of the above. Two boring brown recliners will arrive on Saturday. When they asked us where to deliver the chairs, it was kinda fun to go to the window and point to our building. It is rarely that easy.

Posted in furniture, Shopping | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments »

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Grocery Store Discoveries

October 7, 2011

Posted by Kanga.

rocky road ice cream

Rocky Road Ice Cream – and there was the sound of angels singing…

various packaged snack foods

Fudgee Bars, which come in “vanilla jolt,” “mocha rage,” “milky craze,” and “durian delight” flavors. The size and packaging led us to wonder if these were like Twinkies, but no, they are not that squishy or lacking in nutrition. Cupp Keyk takes brand misspelling to a new height. Kat Kat Tat doesn’t sound very appetizing to me.

package of Quaker oats for rice

Quaker seems to have thought of everything. Oats to put in your rice, because not just any ol’ oats will do.

Discoveries at other stores:

plastic toy, bunny with wings

Pega-bunny jumps over the moon!

plungers with handles shaped like women

These kinds of things always stick out like sore thumbs to us. Apparently, no one is concerned about sexualized toilet plungers.

Posted in food, oddities, Shopping, toys | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments »

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Johnny Rodgers Band on Cultural Exchange Tour

September 28, 2011

Posted by Kanga.

four member jazz band on stage

Last night we attended a free concert held at Fujairah Women’s College (Higher Colleges of Technology) and brought to us as a cultural exchange by the U.S. of A. Consulate General and His Highness Sheikh Rashid Bin Hamed Al Sharqi (ruler of Fujairah). Ambassadors for American jazz, the Johnny Rodgers band from New York kept the place rockin’ from beginning to end.

They performed selected examples of songs by great jazz legends – Louie Armstrong, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Jerry Lee Lewis. Even managed to squeeze Elvis in with Jail House Rock. However, Johnny was at his very best when singing his own composition, Mary Jean. Songs about old girlfriends are usually the most heartfelt.

four member jazz band on stage

I’m not sure how one is supposed to imitate Elvis with such a tiny guitar. He gave up and sang a song he wrote after visiting Graceland.

four member jazz band on stage

They sang to a full house and received a standing ovation. The band is very talented and it was an enjoyable evening, although it really is cruel to make music like that when people cannot get up and dance.

Posted in culture, Fujairah, Music | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment »

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Reptile Talk

September 24, 2011

Posted by Kanga.

Last July we were having lunch in the Thai Express and overheard the conversation of the men sitting at another table. It’s a small restaurant and it is rare to hear an American accent, so we couldn’t help but notice. The conversation topic seemed to be mostly “snakes of Arizona,” so we also found that an odd thing to hear in Fujairah. The September issue of Fujairah Observer explained it all. “World Renowned Reptile Specialists Visit the Wadi.”

magazine article explaining that two reptile specialists were in the area looking for the Gallagher's leaf-toed gecko

“In June 2011, Wadi Wurayah received the visit of two reptiles and amphibian specialists: Researcher Theodore J. Papenfuss form the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, and his assistant, Todd Pierson, University of Georgia, USA. … they spotted a tiny gecko on the gravel bed of the wadi: the Gallagher’s leaf-toed gecko (Asaccus gallagheri).”

Posted in animals, Fujairah | Tagged , | 4 Comments »

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A Scene I Didn’t Expect to See Outside of a Movie Theatre

September 21, 2011

Posted by Kanga.

On the way home last Saturday night we happened upon a car fire. It was on the east side of the tunnel on the Sharjah-Kalba road. Not sure what it takes to engulf a car in flames. Really bad driving or really bad manufacturing or the combination of both?

a car on fire

car on fire

Posted in cars | Tagged , | 2 Comments »

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More Ridin’ the Green Line

September 19, 2011

Posted by Kanga.

Dos and don’ts of riding the Dubai metro.

Do read the screen carefully on the ticket machine or you’ll end up getting a day pass when you really just wanted to add money to your Nol card.

Don’t bother minding the gap, because there isn’t one.

Do go to the front car (if it isn’t too crowded) to get a good view of the track ahead and the satellite covered roof tops.

Posted in Dubai, Dubai metro construction, video | Tagged , , | Leave a Comment »

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Ridin’ the Green Line

September 19, 2011

Posted by Kanga.

Saturday we headed into Dubai to ride the recently opened Green Line of the Metro train.

sign stating "the metro green line. connecting you through Dubai."

We got off briefly at the Salah Al Din station.

underground metro station

Not sure why the predominant color in a Green Line station would be red.

globe sculpture

This sculpture was interesting. It is a globe and coins of the countries are strategically placed.

entrance to the underground station

The Salah Al Din station is right below our old apartment. I used to dream of the day when I would be able to just walk down and catch a train to work, but that didn’t exactly work out.

alley way with large temporary pipes

Our old alley we walked through many a time still looks like crap. I had hoped that with the arrival of the metro station they would clean up and pave this alley. A lot of foot traffic happens here.

train platform

The platform where one boards the train. The glass doors provide safety against accidental or intentional collisions.

inside of the train

Here’s the inside, in case you were curious. Mostly standing room. If you get on at the end of the line, you can count on a seat, but they fill up quickly.

light fixtures that look like giant jelly fish

The Khalid Bin Al Waleed station has some striking light fixtures and some interesting historical photographs.

large black and white photograph wall panels

Those were the days…

black and white photo of men sitting a a beach and a ship at sea

Posted in Dubai, Dubai metro construction | Tagged , , | 1 Comment »

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