The United Arab Emirates (UAE) occupies an area of 83,600 sq km along the south-eastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. Qatar lies to the west, Saudi Arabia to the south and west, and Oman to the north and east. The capital and the largest city of the federation, Abu Dhabi, is located in the emirate of the same name. Four-fifths of the UAE is desert.
One of the days we were there, we took a bus tour of the city.
Scenes from the bus - beautiful flowers.
This is downtown and a contrast to the high rising buildings that everyone is familar with when they see pictures of Dubai. Our bus did go down this street & many like it. Sometimes they had to back up to negotiate some of the corners. Notice the Mosque straight down the street.
This was our first stop - the Wafi shopping mall. We just took pictures of the outside of the building & the beautiful landscaping.
A very old tombstone inside the Museum. There are no visible cemeteries over here. I've heard that the dead are buried in the desert outside of the towns and a stone may be erected but seldom is there any information on them.
We got off the bus about halfway to catch a taxi to find the Central Perk coffee house. If any of you have watched the TV program "Friends" you will know that their favorite meeting spot was at the Central Perk. Jenn heard about it being in Dubai & was determined to find it. With the help of a friendly cab driver, we were able to have a cup of coffee here.
Deb wanted to buy one of these cups & was told they didn't sell these particular style to the public but had another that not as tall for the tourists to buy. Of course, Deb wanted this one! So with her "southern charm" & saying she would even buy an old and cracked or chipped one, the young man soon came out with this & gave it to her! And, indeed, it was chipped all along the top! She loves it!!!
We got back on the bus and this was our last stop but it was getting so late that unfortunately we didn't have time to get off to see more of "Atlantis". So what we got are pictures from the bus. Atlantis is the majestic focal point of Palm Jumeirah, a man-made island that has captured the world’s imagination with its magnificent scale and ingenuity. It has a huge waterpark, vast lagoons with Dolphins, an aquamarine park.
Then, of course, The Palms. Because of its unique shape, the palm fronds are visible from the sky with the naked eye. But we drove right down the middle of the frond and looking from side to side, all we could see were the houses on the edge. It was impossible to tell that it was on one of the fronds.
Construction is still going on and there were cranes & workers all over.
The ride from the top of the bus was sometimes like a roller coaster!!
I got off the bus at Atlantis & caught a taxi to take me to the Hard Rock Cafe so I could pick up a souvineir for daughter, Barb, who collects H.R. glasses. Then I took a taxi back to the hotel & met up again with Jenn & Deb who took the bus back. I beat them back by about 10 minutes.
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