Hello all!
The Red Bull X Fighters Motorcross was spectacular! We had some friends over and had a lovely dinner on The Walk at El Chico- shout out to Ramil my fave waiter and all around great guy- and enjoyed the event from our balcony. The stunts were amazing and the lighting and sound made the event all the more exciting. Sorry I missed a catch up day posting yesterday but we had margaritas while we watched the event and stayed up really late partying! I had another friend who is relocating here and wanted to check out Dubai and The Walk before he signed a lease in Abu Dhabi. He came early Saturday morning and I showed him around and he saw our apartment and we had a great lunch at Fudruckers on The Walk. He was here for 10 minutes and he was sold on Dubai and The Walk. He called his relocation contact person and has stopped the lease process in Abu Dhabi and will looking at apartments here later this week. We are looking forward to our new friend moving close by! After all of that I was exhausted and spent the rest of the day recovering!
On day three of the family visit we went to the Grand Mosque. If you want details you can Google it- I'll just share our experience. The Grand Mosque is in Abu Dhabi so we had to drive for about an hour to get there. Fortunately, Jimmy rented an SUV for the week so we could all travel together rather me try to follow him everywhere. That was so thoughtful and considerate of my sweetie! The women are required to wear an abaya and headscarf at the Grand Mosque; visitors are given a plain black abaya and headscarf that are adaquate but I have several of my own. I wear an abaya for work but not the headscarf. I have some very, very nice abaya's (Jimmy spoils me!)! I went a little crazy but I have 8 silk abaya's I am very proud of. The girls and mom got to choose their own and off we went-
The Red Bull X Fighters Motorcross was spectacular! We had some friends over and had a lovely dinner on The Walk at El Chico- shout out to Ramil my fave waiter and all around great guy- and enjoyed the event from our balcony. The stunts were amazing and the lighting and sound made the event all the more exciting. Sorry I missed a catch up day posting yesterday but we had margaritas while we watched the event and stayed up really late partying! I had another friend who is relocating here and wanted to check out Dubai and The Walk before he signed a lease in Abu Dhabi. He came early Saturday morning and I showed him around and he saw our apartment and we had a great lunch at Fudruckers on The Walk. He was here for 10 minutes and he was sold on Dubai and The Walk. He called his relocation contact person and has stopped the lease process in Abu Dhabi and will looking at apartments here later this week. We are looking forward to our new friend moving close by! After all of that I was exhausted and spent the rest of the day recovering!
On day three of the family visit we went to the Grand Mosque. If you want details you can Google it- I'll just share our experience. The Grand Mosque is in Abu Dhabi so we had to drive for about an hour to get there. Fortunately, Jimmy rented an SUV for the week so we could all travel together rather me try to follow him everywhere. That was so thoughtful and considerate of my sweetie! The women are required to wear an abaya and headscarf at the Grand Mosque; visitors are given a plain black abaya and headscarf that are adaquate but I have several of my own. I wear an abaya for work but not the headscarf. I have some very, very nice abaya's (Jimmy spoils me!)! I went a little crazy but I have 8 silk abaya's I am very proud of. The girls and mom got to choose their own and off we went-
Great pic!
Ashley, Tara, me, Mom and Dara all decked out!
The reflecting pool outside the main entrance.
What a great background for a picture!
Sweet Tara Belle!
Ashley blending in!
Dara being ever so stylish!
Mom making a new friend!
The walls and floors are granite and marble and all had very ornate designs made of local and imported semi precious stones.
From the main entrance and waiting area you cross the open area into the main mosque. The center open area can hold up to 20,000 worshipers and is packed during Ramadan.You can wander around yourself in the mosque or take a tour. We opted for the tour and were broken onto small groups of 10-12 people. A local Emirati takes the group around and explains the meaning behind the designs and various inscriptions and is very open and friendly. They invite you stop anytime to ask questions about the culture of Muslim faith or about the mosque itself. Our guide was a sweet young lady who was most gracious and very informative.
Closer pic of the many columns that line the center open area. The same design is repeated here as well.
The main entrance to the mosque. You are given a plastic sack to carry your shoes as it is forbidden to wear shoes in any mosque.
Inside the Grand Mosque! It was so beautiful!
One of three identical chandeliars. The center is largest with two smaller ones on each side.
Close up of the chandelier.
Prayer clock! Muslims pray 5 times each day- the other time represents something else but I don't remeber what it is. The center times are the local time and the time at Mecca I think.
Each prayer time has a name that represents the meaning of the prayer. Our guide told us if you miss the exact prayer time you are still ok as long as you make it up before the next prayer time. Men and women are not allowed to pray or worship together in the mosque. The reason is that everyone stands very close- shoulder to shoulder. Men and women are not allowed to be that close together, especially with strangers. Also, our guide said that if she were standing that close to Brad Pitt she would not be concentrating on her prayers! Her exact words! Arabs really do have a sense of humor!
Exiting the interior of the Grand Mosque.
It was very windy that day and we had a heck of a time keeping our headscarfs from blowing off. Our lovely guide demonstrated how to secure the headscarf properly on Tara.
Last phot op! You can see the intricate stitching on the back od Tara's abaya. It is symbolic of one of the Emirates. As we exited we passed the area where the ladies are given abaya's and return them when they done. I was standing near that area and a women approached me and asked if I was done with my abaya; she wanted to wear it. I told her it was my own and she walked away disapointed. So proud of my pretty abaya's!
We had a wondeful day enjoying and learning about the culture and the beautiful Grand Mosque. So far in our trip the weather hadn't been cooperating much at all. It was much cooler than usual and the winds caused a pretty nasty sand storm. My girls were not the least bit detered and pressed on in the adventure and exploring Dubai! Tomorrow- dune buggy in the desert! So many cool pics!
Time to make dinner for my hard working man! Much love to all!
M&J
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