Wrapping Up April

Adjusting to the Heat + WOMAD Update

To say it is getting hot in Abu Dhabi is true, yet misleading. Yesterday, I stepped onto the roof of our building at noon, it smelled and felt just like a sauna. I was enfolded by heavy, hot air, thankful for the sandles on my feet. There were only a couple of people by the pool, so it was easy to find a lounge chair to sit and read.

My wife purchased me a book by Tahir Shah, "In Arabian Nights." The book is a tale of Moroccan story tellers, and the author’s quest to define his life by finding a story of his own. This book is a good read, one you enjoy slowly, savoring the colors, and flavors of Morocco and the stories within stories.

As I read, the heat gradually melted the glue binding the cover to the book. It was distracting as the book cover kept sliding around while I cooked in the sun. Even with sunscreen, I barely lasted an hour before I had to get out of the April Abu Dhabi sun. It's getting hot in Abu Dhabi. What will May be like? Much hotter I'm told.

Amazon.com link to the book "In Arabian Nights" by Tahir Shah

Busy April

April has been a month of activity for us. April marks the month I officially received my UAE resident visa. This means I can stay in the country with my working wife and our son who is attending school here. Now that I have a resident visa, I can even work in Abu Dhabi, if anyone is hiring. There was some question about having my resident visa approved. With that issue in mind, and my temporary visa about to expire last week, we made a quick round-trip flight to Doha, Qatar to extend my visa an extra 30 days.

Doha, Qatar

The flight from Abu Dhabi International Airport to Doha is quick, maybe an hour. We flew out of Abu Dhabi on Etihad Airways. Etihad Airways is very professional, and the seating is roomy and comfortable. The flight is so quick, we hardly had time to drink our juice and gobble down our sandwich before landing. The Doha airport is surrounded by construction. Don't even think of trying to walk away form the airport, you won't get anywhere. We stayed at the Marriot, which is quite nice on the inside, so don't go by how the exterior looks. We had dinner and breakfast at the hotel. Both were first rate and satisfying. I recommend the breakfast buffet, good selection of food and friendly service (I think the waitress liked me - possibly just my ego thinks so).

The city of Doha is spread out along the bay. It is not a huge city with a population of less than 350,000. Did you know that Qatar has a third of the world's natural gas reserves and the highest GDP per capita in the world? Even with all of this wealth, Qatar is taking its time developing itself; avoiding the rapid rise growth of cities like Dubai. I just read that the New York Times called Doha the 'cultural destination of the year', praising its urban developments. One of the strategic developments in Qatar is the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha. The museum houses the largest collection of Islamic Art in the world.

Museum of Islamic Art

Just a few of the many pictures I took at the museum (click for larger image).

It was only an over-night stay in Doha, but we did manage to spend four hours at the Museum of Islamic Art. The museum was designed by the Architect I.M. Pei. This is a new facility; it only opened to the public five months ago. I found the building quite striking. The exterior deserves to be appreciated over a full day, sunrise, afternoon sun, and sunset - worth another visit or two. The interior of the building really wowed me; the use of materials, light from the noon sun, shadows and the scale of the structure. There are five levels to this building; unfortunately, the top two levels were closed while we were there.

November Tribeca Film Festival

Also of note, the first Tribeca Film Festival outside of New York will be held in Doha this November. The daughter of Qatar's ruler Shaikh Al Thani attended Robert De Niro's summer-long intensive film course at Tribeca Productions in New York. She persuaded Tribeca to hold the Festival at Doha this year. Cool, I want to go.

I was impressed by how friendly and helpful hotel staff, taxi drivers, guards and airport personnel were in Qatar. We flew out of Doha on Qatar Airways. Qatar Airways was also very professional and their plane was quite comfortable and roomy. I'll take either Etihad or Qatar Airways for our next flight out of Abu Dhabi.

On a semi-related note, we visited the Duty Free stores in Qatar and Abu Dhabi. No complaints there. At the Abu Dhabi Duty Free, I managed to find some Jacobs Creek, Sparkling Chardonnay - Pinot Noir. This is a wine I've looked for back home in the States, without success. Five years ago I found a bottle by chance in a Washington Liquor store; I've never found another bottle since. Jacobs Creek has found another market for their tasty sparkling wine. I bought the last two bottles.

Abu Dhabi WOMAD Update

We returned to Abu Dhabi just in time for the first ever WOMAD in the UAE. WOMAD is a celebration of Music, Art and Dance. WOMAD events are held all over the world every year. This was the first time WOMAD visited the UAE - they were invited by Abu Dhabi. The venue was held on the Corniche, just minutes from our building. The entire venue was clearly visible from the roof of our building. And you could hear the music from inside our apartment building. You don't get much closer to a venue than that. Here are some images I took at WOMAD.

Some WOMAD photos: Sa Dingding, Mohammed Mounir, Robert Plant.

Red Bull Air Race

Going back yet another week, the Red Bull Air Race was also held on the Corniche. We had an excellent view of the races - it was my first air race and a blast to watch. Once again, access was easy for us. Living next to the Corniche, life is interesting and convenient.

Smoke and Perfume

I'm writing this post on my laptop at the Idioms cafe, smoking strawberry shisha and drinking a mango smoothie, of course. Idioms is located across from Tche Tche cafe, which is across from La Brioche. These cafes are at the base of Corniche Towers just around the corner from our apartment building. Abu Dhabi has certainly grown on me the two months I've lived here. On the return flight from Qatar, it felt good to be home. I've never described the smells here, all the scents of perfumed Emirati, shisha wafting along the tall buildings and the spicy foods. I've worn the Jasmine perfume the merchant at Heritage Village sold me (image below); I've also purchased some Oud and Mukhalat Malalki. I'm wearing the Oud, which I prefer; I like the woody, exotic scent, which lingers on.

On the first of the month we visited Heritage Village located near Marina Mall. I admit I was reluctant to go there, thinking it was only for tourists. Happily, I was wrong, and enjoyed myself. There truly are working artisans you can visit with. The friendly Artisans, interesting exhibits and crafts for purchase made the visit worth the time. The restaurant was closed while we were there. We'll go back for another visit when the restaurant is open. Recommended.

My April Restaurant Picks

Delivery from Al Sawarmi was fast and right to our door, what a feast for the price, recommended. Beirut take-out restaurant at Khalidiyah Mall has excellent food, cooked while you wait, expect to wait, recommended. The Iranian restaurant upstairs at Marina Mall, the food was fantastic, the appetizer was a meal in itself, recommended. Tche Tche cafe, my other favorite shisha cafe and the second cafe in Abu Dhabi to offer shisha, best hamburger in Abu Dhabi I've had so far, recommended.

Yogurt Results Soon

My son and I had a private yogurt tasting at home. We purchased three local brands of yogurt to find out which one we liked best. There was one we liked best, but all three are quite good, especially with a little honey. I'll post the results once I have some photos of the products.

I've come to realize that I'll miss Abu Dhabi when our time here is over. If you have the opportunity to visit Abu Dhabi, and the UAE, then come visit.

"M'a sa-laama-a" (go with peace).