Museums, Souks and More Malls.

There just has not been enough time and it has been too hot to see everything that we would like in Dubai.

This morning we set off to explore old Dubai. We visited the museum located in the old sector of Dubai in an old fort, which houses a series of recreations of life as it was. It was not so much the contents of the museum but how it was displayed, that was so impressive.
Later, we visited 2 other interesting museums, the Al-Ahmadiya School, the first school established in 1912. It was particularly interesting to us and we walked through the museum for about 1 hour without seeing another visitor.

From there we walked to the nearby Heritage House where again we spent time looking at the displays. We were greeted with dates and tea but drank about a litre of water each from their refrigerated dispenser. Again we were the only visitors during the hour we spent there. We particularly enjoyed the display on children’s games and delighted in the fact that their games had incredible similarities to the games played by all children.

We also visited the souks but found them somewhat disappointing in comparison with other more traditional ones we have seen. Dubai is just too modern a city and it seems the locals prefer the modern mall so we joined them and visited several more.

We have visited our last sight, eaten our last meal, packed our bags and booked our wakeup call because we fly home tomorrow. We leave after an early breakfast in the morning.

                                         The old fort is now a modern museum.

                                           At the museum, the pearl merchants.

                                                    At the museum,from an archaeological dig, 2 bodies entwined.

                                         At the spice souk.

                                        At the old house museum, the wind tunnel, an early form of aircon

Abba Dabba Abba Dabba Abu Dhabi

If you do not know what the title means, ask us to sing it for you. You must be too young to know.


We set off bright and early in a hired 4 wheel drive, complete with driver. We did not need to engage low gear because there is an 8 lane highway linking Dubai (population 1.8 million) with Abu Dhabi (1.3 million), the capital of the United Arab Emirates. It was a fascinating drive on a super highway where speed cameras monitor your speed…. to check you are not going too slowly! The traffic all rolled along at 140 kph but if you do under 60, you face a big fine. It took just over 1 hour to cover the 140 km.

The skyscrapers of Dubai quickly gave way to desert but the process was soon reversed as we drew closer to Abu Dhabi. Forty years ago there was nothing much here but sand and a few fishermen’s shacks. It is a modern, thriving city that we found far more picturesque than Dubai. The architecture is both extraordinary and outstanding with a huge number of projects currently under construction.

Our favourite place that we visited was the Sheik Zayed Mosque, the 3rd largest in the world (the other 2 are in Saudi Arabia). It is one of those places that are impossible to capture adequately on film. Externally, the architecture is simply stunning and internally, elaborate and spacious. In the main prayer hall is the world’s largest carpet and the largest chandelier. The welcome was genuinely warm and we were able to visit all areas.

We were aware of the dress code but Gail had to don a robe to cover her hair, arms and head. Each robe was freshly laundered, made in a lovely fine fabric and embroidered on the sleeve with a gold motif.

We also enjoyed a visit to the 7 star Emirates Palace Hotel. This former palace was as elaborate as you could possibly imagine and included museum quality works of art.

The king is one of 32 brothers (his father had 5 wives) and he was the eldest but he has nominated his youngest brother as the crown prince.

We also saw the 4 main royal palaces, lunched in a mall, visited the Abu Dhabi Corniche (beach), a heritage village, the F1 race track and the Ferrari “theme park”.

On the way back, we saw 3 islands being built in the sea with architecture that will rival anywhere else in the world. In a few words “Yabba dabba doo Abu Dhabi”. If you do not know what this means, then you are too old!

                                                 External view of the Mosque

                                         A closerlook.

                                           That lady seems familiar.


Interior of the mosque

The hotel cake shop -  we did not have time to stop for morning tea!

The garden of the Emirates Palace Hotel

Part of the foyer of the hotel

Miles of Malls

We arrived in Dubai last night and even though it was after 11 pm, it was extremely hot, like living in a hothouse.


This morning after breakfast, we checked out the rooftop pool – the water was like a warm bath. They actually have to cool it. The sun lounges under the umbrellas did not look inviting so what did we do?

We went shopping. The air conditioned Metro station is 1 minute walk from our hotel. We caught the air conditioned train to Mall of the Emirates which you walk to from the station via a moving footway in an air conditioned covered walkway straight into the shops. There are 472 shops but we did not actually visit them all. We did spend nearly 2 hours in one shop! It is almost the end of the annual Summer Shopping Festival but we were able to help the economy just a little.

Apart from the shops, cinemas and children’s entertainment, Mall of the Emirates has the world’s largest indoor ski slope! We watched a chairlift taking skiers up to the slope to ski down. We saw people throwing snowballs and parents towing kids on toboggans while wearing parkas, gloves and boots – over their traditional dress! Outside the temperature was in the high 40’s but on the snow field, it was cold. To complete the scene, there was a large snowman, Christmas trees with fairy lights and a snow cave for children to play in.

We visited several other malls, did some more shopping and took the air conditioned Metro to the end of the line where the skyscrapers give way to the desert. We also visited the Deira area of Dubai where they were actually cheaper not dearer! A great way to spend a day.

                                        Gail shopping in the Mall of the Emirates.

The city gradually gives way to desert.

On the snow fields inside the mall.  Other malls had sandpits and paddle pools because it is just too hot to play outside.

The architecture in this city is absolutely fascinating.

Mall of the Emirates entry.

Napoleon

During our visit to Corsica, Napoleon was a recurring theme and it is exactly the same here in Elba. At the Treaty of Fontainebleu, when he abdicated, he was granted the kingdom of Elba. He was only here for 9 months before he left Elba and was then captured by the British and sent to St. Helena where he eventually died.


In his 9 months here, he certainly achieved a lot. We visited the theatre that he had constructed as he did not consider his nearby summer residence was large enough for theatrical performances when he entertained guests. We were unable to visit this residence as it was closed for restoration.

We did visit his main residence which was about 8km away. The walls at the entrance had the monogram N on the stone walls, the gate pillars were topped with bronze eagles and the drive sweeping through the extensive grounds looked quite impressive. The house is still furnished and the large Egyptian room, a reminder of his Egyptian campaign, came complete with a pool growing papyrus.

A separate wing contained a large gallery with interesting Napoleon memorabilia, including originals of political cartoons of the day.

                                         The eagle guards the terrace at Napoleon's house.

                                       One of the formal rooms.

Le Tigre Exchange

The Egyptian room

    

 

Enchanting Elba

Our journey from Corsica to Elba was a hard slog given that the islands are so close to each other. We caught a ferry to Livorno, a taxi to the station, a train to Piombino and a ferry back to Elba, but as soon as we came into the harbour at Portoferraio, we were enchanted with the beauty of Elba.


We walked from the port across to the beachside where we found a hotel with a room overlooking a quaint little beach. A swim soon washed away the hassles of our journey.

Exploring the town, we climbed to the citadel where we visited several forts with their spectacular views over the harbour and beaches. The place seems little changed from Napoleon’s days and we visited the theatre that he had constructed, the Duomo, an old Roman villa and the archaeological museum.

We have given Napoleon a blog entry of his own but we think he did not get too bad a deal being exiled to such a beautiful spot. Can’t imagine why he did not want to stay here!

                                           View of the town from the citadel.

                                         View down to our beach from the ramparts.

       What do we have in common with Mick Jagger?  We have all had our photo taken with Nonna Adua. 

Bastia

Bastia is a beautiful city with a great waterfront and marina alongside a very busy port. We explored all the churches and public places and loved the citadel with its spectacular views.


The Genoese governor’s palace is a spectacular building and the adjacent square now contains a large number of outdoor restaurants.

We sail tomorrow to visit Elba but as a number of ferries are not running we have to go via Livorno but this will conclude our Napoleonic saga.

                                          Bastia's colourful harbour.

                                       Bastia's citadel in the noonday sun.

Cap Corse

We spent a full day travelling from St Florent to Bastia even though it is only 25 km directly across the peninsula. We travelled up the west coast with its extremely rugged coastline and very narrow winding road. It is however, one of the most beautiful drives if you get a chance to look at the view. There are many beautiful beaches, mostly gravel, high cliffs overlooking the coastline, Genoese watchtowers and totally spectacular scenery.


Across the very north, you can only access it via a walking track except for Barcaggio where there is a modern marina full of luxury yachts and rich people. We visited the honey and wine villages of Rogliano and Macinaggio but being Sunday afternoon, we missed out on tasting. We did sit and have lunch on the breakwater with the water surging up to our ankles.

The east coast of the cape is still rugged but not as mountainous as the western side. There are lots of wineries, fruit trees and opposed to rocks and cactus on the west coast.
Our favourite village of the day was Erbalunga where the pedestrian only sector on the coast even boasted a Michelin starred restaurant overlooking the very quaint little harbour.

We arrived in Bastia and found another Napoleon mad city. We selected Bonaparte Hotel, just up the road from Napoleon Hotel and look forward to exploring Bastia in detail.

                                          Gail's view.

                                                      Rob's view.

                                        Erbalunga's harbour setting for its Michelin restaurant.