Trip to India and Surrounding Areas - Dubai - April 16, 2017

Happy Easter!  And Happy 94th Birthday to my dad!  Wish I could have called him to tell him happy birthday in person!  After breakfast, we went to the Celebrity Theater and saw a partial collection of pictures turned in to Mickey Live of the cruise so far.  It was lots of fun, but seriously, I think our group has as many good ones and more!  

 A very interesting fact that we learned from Mickey Live is that adding up all the miles that we have gone--by the time we get to Abu Dhabi after starting in Singapore, we will have gone a total of 4,558 miles on the ship!

 Today, we arrived at the port of Dubai, known as the "Pearl of the Persian Gulf."  It is the second largest of the seven emirates (territories) who comprise the United Arab Emirates, each administered by a hereditary emir (ruler).  The seven emirs make up the electoral college presided over by the President, who is elected every five years.  Usually the ruler is from Abu Dhabi, and the current President is Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. 

 Upon entering the doors into the terminal, we were greeted by music and dancing from the region.  It was very enjoyable to watch!

 As we exited the terminal at 12:30 p.m., we looked for our guide for the next two days.  We had a good chuckle when we saw our guide holding a sign that said, "Palm Newbold," instead of "Pam Newbold."

Our guide had been in the U.S. several times and had excellent English.  It was a pleasure to be able to understand what he was talking about.  We learned that Dubai's population is estimated at approximately 1.5 million and is one of the most multicultural cities in the world with the population consisting mainly in an expatriate community, with less than 10 percent of the total being national Emirates. 

We first traveled to Old Dubai and went to the museum there at the old Dubai Fort which was built back in 1787, about 200 years ago as a fort of defense.

 

   Later on, this fort turned into an arsenal for artillery and weapons. It was also used as a prison for the outlaws. 

This fort was renovated and opened in 1971 (the year the federation was formed), to be an official museum that displays the history of Dubai and its original heritage. 

 The halls surround a central courtyard. Here you will find a bronze cannon with cannonballs, a well, and various types of boats.

 

In 1995, another underground museum was established and added to the old fort. It was so interesting, telling the history and traditions of the area.  It had real life-like people in life-settings, and was so good!

 

 

 Inside are many displays showing the traditional way of life in the Emirate of Dubai. This was so interesting about how falconry has been a traditional sport that is still so important in the region today. 

Water is so rare in a desert country like this.  In fact, because oil is so plentiful, as we were each holding our bottled water given to us by our tour guide, he told us our water bottle cost nearly the same as the identical amount of oil!  Water is expensive--oil is cheap here!  Most of the drinking water is from the ocean and has to be desalinized, which is expensive. 

 

 This was interesting and something that no too many people think of when they think of a desert country, but pearl diving has been an important part of their existence for the past thousand years.  It was definitely a way to make a living.  It is sad to think that the divers who had to do all the work only earned between 200 and 300 rupees a year, while the pearl traders averaged 1,500 rupees.

 Sea fishing was the second most important industry after pearl fishing in the emirates in the past.  The fishermen learned where to catch them and made cages from palm leaves and nets to trap the fish and used boats of many kinds.  Dried fish were exported.  The fishing knowledge was passed from father to son through the generations.  The women helped sell the catch in the fish market in Dubai. 

 Another interesting fact was that archaeological excavations have revealed that Dubai was a vital link in the old trade routes between Oman and Iraq during the early days of Islam in the 5th and 6th centuries AD.  There have been finds dating back over 5,000 years.

 This is one of the burial graves discovered which dates back to the 1st millennium B.C.

 Another burial grave dating back to the second half of the 2nd millennium B.C.  It contains two human skeletons lying on their sides facing each other in a crouched position.  Their legs and hands are intertwined indicating that they were probably husband and wife, buried according to special religion rituals and social habits.

After we spent time in the Dubai Museum, we took a water taxi across the river to go to the Spice Souk (market). 

 Walking to the Spice Souk, we passed some beautiful items for sale, such as these items for women.

 I, also, had to take this picture of this little stand which sold "Camel Milk Gelato--the first ever!"  Sorry, but none of us tried it, but how interesting!  I wonder how it will catch on!

 Arriving at the Spice Souk, we came into a wonderland of colorful sites and fantastic smells!

 Stores in the Spice Souk sell a variety of fragrances and spices.  The spice sellers will combine or pound up any spices you desire.  The price is always decided on through haggling.   

 Several household, textiles, incense, rugs, and artifacts are, also, sold in the Spice Souk.

 After seeing the Spice Souk, we went to the Gold Souk.  There was so much jewelry, plus other items for sale.  

 

 While we were here at the Gold Souk, we were able to see the world's largest ring.  It is a 21-carat ring that weighs 141 pounds and is studded with 11 pounds of precious stone.  It took 55 workers 45 days to finish the ring which also has 615 Swarovski stones.  The ring has a certificate from the Guinness Book of World Records.  

We are not big spenders when we travel, and had already bought a magnet, (which I collect from every country we visit), and two sand bottles at the Spice Souk, so I hadn't planned on buying anything else, but as Jessie and I walked through the market, a sand maker stopped me and started showing me how he made his bottles of sand.  

 

He had 15 years of experience and was very good.  He asked me what I wanted in it.  I told him and he started even letting me help him.  Then we had to negotiate a price, but we finally decided on $10.  He told me I brought him good luck because other people stopped and were interested when I had stopped.

 This is the finished product, and I had so much fun doing it!

We then were driven to the Mall of Emirates which is the biggest mall in the world where we ate, then watched the dancing water, which was phenomenal! 

 This is not a backdrop.  This is the huge water fountain in front of the mall where we watched the dancing water.  It was mesmerizing!

 This mall was just amazing!  It features more than 630 retail outlets, over 100 restaurants and cafes, 80 luxury stores and 250 flagship stores.  It, also, has family leisure activities including Ski Dubai (the Middle East's first indoor ski resort and snow park), a 500-seat capacity Dubai Community Theater and Arts Center, and Magic planet, one of the largest indoor family entertainment centers in Dubai. 

 You couldn't help notice how enormous the acquarium was inside where for a price, you could actually scuba drive with instructors.

 Everything was the biggest and the best--here is the biggest candy store in the world.  I should have turned the other way and showed how it went on and on.

 I loved seeing all the traditional clothing for sale in the mall.

 Connected to this phenomenal mall, is the world's tallest building--the Burj Khalifa.  

 Although it was very pricey, most of us in our group decided we wanted to take the trip to the top of this building.  When would be get this opportunity again?  After we experienced this whole thing, we were thrilled that we had spent the extra money.  We were happy that we  had purchased the tickets before we left home because it was sold out practically every hour when we got there and we didn't have to wait in the giant lines.  We just showed up at the time we purchased our tickets for.

 Going up to the top of the 154 usable floors was more than just riding an elevator to the top, it was an unforgettable experience.

 

 You are made to feel like royalty by beautifully groomed and dressed people who serve delicious fruit drinks and rolled figs the minute you enter the waiting area.  Even the ride in the elevator includes dimming of the lights with displays, music, and talking surrounding you that makes it feel like a Disney ride!  We even got to see the Dancing Waters again from the top! The look over the city at night was breath-taking, to say the least--your heart was beating and knees were shaking--seriously something I will never forget! 

 Very dim lighting, but we had to snap this cute pic of a father and son that was being taken.

 Isn't he adorable?!

The traveling exhibition of James Bond was going to be there until 30th of April.  I wish we could have seen that, too.  Always so much to see and so little time!

Afterwards, we went down to Floor 124 and saw what it looked like from there . . .

 

and then had to wait to go down the rest of the way.  

 

 

 George and I were playing with this darling little girl while we stood in line waiting for the elevator to go down. 

We got a taxi and Dan and Pam, Jessi and Sam, George and I went back to the ship in a taxi van.  (Hah!  That all just rhymed!)  After having our ice cream, we went to bed.  Amazing experiences again today!