We stopped by the Dubai Aquarium to purchase annual passes and took a quick walk through.
It was Otter nap time.
At first we thought these were beavers, but they lacked the appropriate tails. They are nutria.
This crab was quite large and tasty looking.
Posted by Kanga
Thursday evening we joined 9 of our Twitter friends and others at the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding for a dinner and cultural exchange. The purpose of the centre is to help visitors (both tourists and residents) better understand Emirati culture.
First a little explanation for those who might not be aware – Ramadan is a month long fasting experience that occurs once a year. During daylight hours, muslims refrain from eating and drinking. At sunset, the call to prayer sounds and the fast is broken with a meal called iftar. The fast is usually broken with water and a date (the fruit – either dried or fresh), then prayers are said and a full meal is eaten.
Here are some of our friends, Mita, Lin, Dru, Maddy, Mohammed, and Khalid.
Here is the food. Biryani, Fareed (aka Thaleed), Harees, Vegetable Magooga, and salad. It smelled delicious! Tasted delicious, too.
After dinner, we ladies covered in abayas and sheylas. Men were offered the option of wearing kanduras, but I don’t think any took the opportunity. Then we were off to the mosque.
Once inside the mosque, Nasif, a volunteer at the centre, explained what goes on inside and the basic tenets of Islam in a very pleasant and humorous way.
The whole point of this is one of cross cultural communication, to dispel myths and misunderstandings.
Along with dessert, we got a little fashion information. This is a type of veil called a niqab. (This is what all the fuss is about in France and a few other countries that assume if a woman is veiled she is oppressed. Wearing a veil is not required by Islam and is discouraged by the UAE government, as in, if a woman wants a government job, she cannot wear a veil. In the UAE, women wear them for their own individual reasons.)
And this is what is called a burqa (burka) in the UAE. It is a leather face guard designed to shade the eyes and face from the desert sun. It is usually worn by the older generation.
The volunteer staff were very open and answered any question frankly. It was a very pleasant evening. If anyone ever comes to visit us (hint) we will make a point of taking them to the centre.
Then we all had camel shaped chocolates (yum) and went home.
Posted by Kanga.
Here they are, two studs. Their manes blowing in the wind.
This is DaddyBird with one of the public art Arabian Horses. This one is called Open Doors, Open Minds and stands in front of the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding. Thursday evening we joined some of our Twitter friends to experience an Iftar dinner presentation at the centre. I took plenty of pictures and will post them soon.
Posted by Kanga.
Synthetic motor oil in an OPEC country. Really? REALLY?
Posted by Kanga.
How do we spend our time when we have an hour to kill? Why, driving around looking for interesting signs, of course.
Here’s the President Hot L (okay, it’s really a hotel).
I’m fairly certain that there are no rich Californians living in this Melrose Place.
Nor are there likely to be any dancers at the Boom Boom Restaurant.
This is the first and only time we’ve seen the word “barber.” It is usually “gents saloon.”
If you are looking for a royal touch to your laundry…
Whose ambition? I’m not sure.
The Cow Boys nightclub at the President Hot L. I’m not a nightclub type, but this might bear further investigation.
This one was on the side of a meat company van. We don’t read Arabic, so don’t know what it says. If you do, please leave a comment to let us know what it says.
So, there you have it. One evening’s entertainment.
Posted by Kanga.
The geography of Oregon includes many different ecosystems – coastal, mountain, valley, semi-arid desert, rain forrest, dry forrest, grassland, and more. It is a beautiful slice of the Earth. Here are a couple of sites from the wet, green mountain range.
I thought these were white flowers until I got up close. They are white berries instead.
Posted by Kanga.
This is one of my favorite Central Oregon sights. It is a hill near the city of Warm Springs in the Warm Springs Indian Reservation. I never cease to be amazed by the multiple layers of volcanic rock. Central Oregon used to be the hot and happenin’ place. This bluff is where I would build my castle if I wanted it to be defensible. Only an army of crazy people would try to attack from this side. Almost as good as a mote full of alligators.
Maybe it’s all those cowboy movies I watched as a kid, but I love this terrain. It has it’s own beauty. It may be hot and mostly brown, but I find it just as pleasing as a cool, green forrest.
Posted by Kanga.
My sister’s green thumb is not limited to pretty flowers. Here are some edibles.
Zucchini squash
Green apples in the tree, which is heavily loaded this year. Plenty to eat and give away.
Raspberries just beginning to ripen. Yummy! These are my favorite kind berries. Food of the gods!
Posted by Kanga.
Here is my nephew’s idea of birthday cake lighting appropriate for his 86 year old grandmother.
It’s a Christmas taper candle with a lightbulb attached to the top. I can’t explain the logic of it, but it IS funny.
Here are the newest additions to the family, Katie and Anna, four months old. (Oh, and their parents, too.)
Posted by Kanga.
My apologies for having so many pictures in this post, but I had great difficulty choosing just a few. These are the beautiful flowers growing in the garden around my mother’s & sister’s house.
DaddyBird
kangayayaroo
Living the Travel Channel 