We were awake at 7.30, and down to breakfast by about 8.15. It made a huge difference to the queue - breakfast was just a much more enjoyable experience without the hundreds of people. We also got a table inside the actual restaurant instead of out in the foyer.
We were due to be picked up at 8.45 for the city tour we'd booked the previous day, and Ajeeb, in his Desert Rose 4WD, was right on time. We took our seats behind Ajeeb, and continued on to Etihad Towers to pick up the other guests on our tour - a man and his mother from Colombia. It was nice to get a glimpse of the hotel. It looked awfully shiny.
We got underway, heading along the Corniche, and turning right down the middle of the city. I saw a water truck on the way, and asked Ajeeb about where the city's water comes from. He misunderstood my question, and told me about the bottled water, which was interesting anyway. That's trucked from Al Ain, and purified, and bottled. (Turns out that tap water is all desalinated.) Ajeeb also pointed out the World Trade Center towers as we went past.
It was a long drive out to the Mosque, and once there, we had to wait for another vehicle with the other half of the Desert Rose tour entrants. They eventually arrived, and we drove past the security gate and parked up near the entrance. Ajeeb and the other guide had a robe for me to wear - they were concerned about the length of my sleeves, and whether they properly covered my wrists. They finally decided my top was OK, and with my scarf around my head, we headed for the entrance.
There were people checking dress at this point, and my clothing passed muster. The security was quite tight. They x-rayed our bags, and we had to walk through metal detectors. There were separate entrances and screening for men and women, and so I went through with the Colombian woman. She was hard of hearing, and I don't think her English was good, but she was very sweet, and made sure that we stuck together through the process.
Once through, the mosque rose in front of us, brilliant in the sun. We took some photos, and Ajeeb offered to take some of us. In the large outdoor courtyard, the other guide gave us some information about the project and the structure. Essentially, it was commissioned by Sheikh Zayed before he died, and was constructed between 1996 and 2007. Materials were sourced from all around the world - this was a deliberate attempt to bring 'the world' together.
We moved on around the 'cloisters'. At this point, I felt extremely hot and a bit unwell. We stopped to take our shoes off, and were soon inside and under cover, and the delicious cold of the marble floor seeped up to cool me down. I don't think I'd make a very good Muslim.
The first Swarovski chandelier in the entry was beautiful. I'd moved past it with the crowds before I realised that shooting from directly below would make a good photo. I went back to stand under it, and a woman tutted at me because I was ruining her photo of the floor. Taken with a fecking iPhone. Grr.
The main hall was absolutely massive (fits 7,000 people in it apparently), and the carpet within (a rather unsightly green thing) is the largest handmade carpet in the world. The chandeliers in here were pretty garish - bright green, red, and orange beads. The exit of the main hall was like the entrance, with the same chandelier. And then we were outside again.
We found our shoes, and stopped for a rest outside the gift shop. Christian bought me an ice cream, and I took my scarf off my head. Bliss! I draped it loosely back on to get to the car, and then threw it off completely. We took our seats, and were again on our way (Christian took a seat in the back this time).
We took the road on the north east of the city this time (i.e. the opposite sides of the rectangle), which took us past the Eastern Mangroves and the pineapple buildings, before taking us into a tunnel. This brought us out more or less at the port. Ajeeb took us in and we stopped at the row of the markets where the dates and vegetables were. The vegetables weren't interesting, so we just looked at the dates.
We went inside the first shop, and Christian bought some gift boxes of chocolate and almond dates. We wanted some for ourselves as well, so we tasted a few different kinds from the stalls outside, and bought a small container of some very tasty ones indeed, for not very much money.
Back in the car, we tried to get back on the road, but found it suddenly jammed with trucks. We needed to turn right, which meant going around a two-lane roundabout to go in the direction we needed. It took about ten minutes to get around, with much horn honking involved. At the next traffic lights, we discovered why. There'd been a car accident, and there was a smashed up car sitting in the median strip against the traffic lights.
We were soon back on the Corniche, and heading back towards the marina. Ajeeb told us a little about himself. He is from India, and his work permit was fairly easy to get. Seems he earns enough over winter to be able to go back to India over summer for a holiday.
Our final stop was at Heritage Village. Ajeeb took us past Marina Mall, and did a loopy right turn to get onto the right road. We parked, and walked past an impossibly tall flagpole, to the entrance to Heritage Village - a reconstructed piece of Arab culture in its various forms.
We saw animals, and wood, leather, and metal working. Christian and I went into a carpet weaving workshop, and watched the man for a while - he seemed to be the only one doing anything. He was weaving about five small carpets at once on a large loom. He saw that I was watching him closely and invited me to have a go with the comb that he was pushing the wool down with. I had a go, and then he invited me to sit, which was a bit weird. I had a go moving the pedals, but couldn't do more than that. When I got up, he took us to show us the completed carpets, saying that they were made of wool woven from camel hair. There were small ones for 100 AED, and so I felt like we should buy one. The design was of a camel with a sunset backdrop - it was nice enough, and it was nice to support this guy.
We also looked at a sample dwelling, and a small museum (which showed a fascinating black and white photo from the 1960s of traditional life), but passed on the bit of 'desert' as I didn't want to get sand in my shoes. There were market stalls with nice clothing and shoes, but I didn't buy anything. Christian bought some postcards.
Then it was time to go back to the car. Ajeeb dropped us off first, and we said goodbye to him, and to the nice Colombians (the man, Mark/Marc, worked in gold mining, and they certainly were not short of money).
It was 1pm, and definitely time for lunch. Back in the room, we chose some items from the room service menu - I chose penne pasta alfredo, and Christian chose a club sandwich. It was delivered on a tray, which opened out into a round table, complete with crisp white tablecloth. Brilliant! The pasta was disappointing and flavourless, but the club sandwich was pretty impressive.
The morning's exertions had taken it out of Christian, and he decided to have a sleep (he wasn't feeling very well). I decided to go to the pool. I got ready, and headed out. The cleaning staff accosted me on the way, asking if they could clean. I told them no, as Christian was asleep, and that around 7pm would be best. I got my towel on the way. I got a sun lounge on the beach side this time, but didn't go into the beach. The pool didn't feel as warm today - I enjoyed a brief dip, and then lay in the sun for about an hour. It was nice. I hadn't put suncream on this time, and didn't expect to burn. I didn't, but I did get a little bit of colour.
I went back upstairs, and found Christian still in bed. He decided he wanted a swim at this point, and so we set the room to 'please make me up' and headed out. On the way, Christian bought a pair of thongs from the beach shop. I didn't want to swim again, but I waited while Christian did. We didn't stay long, returning to the room soon after. The room service trolley was gone, but the room hadn't been made up. We watched a bit of TV and relaxed, munching on baklava and dates.
We decided on dinner in Horizon downstairs, as they were having a Chinese theme night. The cost was 170 AED (before various taxes). I put on a dress, and didn't bother to cover my shoulders. I felt self-conscious, but others had done the same. The buffet was OK - they had duck and some nice Chinese dishes, and the desserts were very nice. But it was vastly overpriced. It was worth trying once.
We had some more TV after dinner, and probably some chocolates, then went to bed.
We were due to be picked up at 8.45 for the city tour we'd booked the previous day, and Ajeeb, in his Desert Rose 4WD, was right on time. We took our seats behind Ajeeb, and continued on to Etihad Towers to pick up the other guests on our tour - a man and his mother from Colombia. It was nice to get a glimpse of the hotel. It looked awfully shiny.
We got underway, heading along the Corniche, and turning right down the middle of the city. I saw a water truck on the way, and asked Ajeeb about where the city's water comes from. He misunderstood my question, and told me about the bottled water, which was interesting anyway. That's trucked from Al Ain, and purified, and bottled. (Turns out that tap water is all desalinated.) Ajeeb also pointed out the World Trade Center towers as we went past.
It was a long drive out to the Mosque, and once there, we had to wait for another vehicle with the other half of the Desert Rose tour entrants. They eventually arrived, and we drove past the security gate and parked up near the entrance. Ajeeb and the other guide had a robe for me to wear - they were concerned about the length of my sleeves, and whether they properly covered my wrists. They finally decided my top was OK, and with my scarf around my head, we headed for the entrance.
There were people checking dress at this point, and my clothing passed muster. The security was quite tight. They x-rayed our bags, and we had to walk through metal detectors. There were separate entrances and screening for men and women, and so I went through with the Colombian woman. She was hard of hearing, and I don't think her English was good, but she was very sweet, and made sure that we stuck together through the process.
Once through, the mosque rose in front of us, brilliant in the sun. We took some photos, and Ajeeb offered to take some of us. In the large outdoor courtyard, the other guide gave us some information about the project and the structure. Essentially, it was commissioned by Sheikh Zayed before he died, and was constructed between 1996 and 2007. Materials were sourced from all around the world - this was a deliberate attempt to bring 'the world' together.
We moved on around the 'cloisters'. At this point, I felt extremely hot and a bit unwell. We stopped to take our shoes off, and were soon inside and under cover, and the delicious cold of the marble floor seeped up to cool me down. I don't think I'd make a very good Muslim.
The first Swarovski chandelier in the entry was beautiful. I'd moved past it with the crowds before I realised that shooting from directly below would make a good photo. I went back to stand under it, and a woman tutted at me because I was ruining her photo of the floor. Taken with a fecking iPhone. Grr.
The main hall was absolutely massive (fits 7,000 people in it apparently), and the carpet within (a rather unsightly green thing) is the largest handmade carpet in the world. The chandeliers in here were pretty garish - bright green, red, and orange beads. The exit of the main hall was like the entrance, with the same chandelier. And then we were outside again.
We found our shoes, and stopped for a rest outside the gift shop. Christian bought me an ice cream, and I took my scarf off my head. Bliss! I draped it loosely back on to get to the car, and then threw it off completely. We took our seats, and were again on our way (Christian took a seat in the back this time).
We took the road on the north east of the city this time (i.e. the opposite sides of the rectangle), which took us past the Eastern Mangroves and the pineapple buildings, before taking us into a tunnel. This brought us out more or less at the port. Ajeeb took us in and we stopped at the row of the markets where the dates and vegetables were. The vegetables weren't interesting, so we just looked at the dates.
We went inside the first shop, and Christian bought some gift boxes of chocolate and almond dates. We wanted some for ourselves as well, so we tasted a few different kinds from the stalls outside, and bought a small container of some very tasty ones indeed, for not very much money.
Back in the car, we tried to get back on the road, but found it suddenly jammed with trucks. We needed to turn right, which meant going around a two-lane roundabout to go in the direction we needed. It took about ten minutes to get around, with much horn honking involved. At the next traffic lights, we discovered why. There'd been a car accident, and there was a smashed up car sitting in the median strip against the traffic lights.
We were soon back on the Corniche, and heading back towards the marina. Ajeeb told us a little about himself. He is from India, and his work permit was fairly easy to get. Seems he earns enough over winter to be able to go back to India over summer for a holiday.
Our final stop was at Heritage Village. Ajeeb took us past Marina Mall, and did a loopy right turn to get onto the right road. We parked, and walked past an impossibly tall flagpole, to the entrance to Heritage Village - a reconstructed piece of Arab culture in its various forms.
We saw animals, and wood, leather, and metal working. Christian and I went into a carpet weaving workshop, and watched the man for a while - he seemed to be the only one doing anything. He was weaving about five small carpets at once on a large loom. He saw that I was watching him closely and invited me to have a go with the comb that he was pushing the wool down with. I had a go, and then he invited me to sit, which was a bit weird. I had a go moving the pedals, but couldn't do more than that. When I got up, he took us to show us the completed carpets, saying that they were made of wool woven from camel hair. There were small ones for 100 AED, and so I felt like we should buy one. The design was of a camel with a sunset backdrop - it was nice enough, and it was nice to support this guy.
We also looked at a sample dwelling, and a small museum (which showed a fascinating black and white photo from the 1960s of traditional life), but passed on the bit of 'desert' as I didn't want to get sand in my shoes. There were market stalls with nice clothing and shoes, but I didn't buy anything. Christian bought some postcards.
Then it was time to go back to the car. Ajeeb dropped us off first, and we said goodbye to him, and to the nice Colombians (the man, Mark/Marc, worked in gold mining, and they certainly were not short of money).
It was 1pm, and definitely time for lunch. Back in the room, we chose some items from the room service menu - I chose penne pasta alfredo, and Christian chose a club sandwich. It was delivered on a tray, which opened out into a round table, complete with crisp white tablecloth. Brilliant! The pasta was disappointing and flavourless, but the club sandwich was pretty impressive.
The morning's exertions had taken it out of Christian, and he decided to have a sleep (he wasn't feeling very well). I decided to go to the pool. I got ready, and headed out. The cleaning staff accosted me on the way, asking if they could clean. I told them no, as Christian was asleep, and that around 7pm would be best. I got my towel on the way. I got a sun lounge on the beach side this time, but didn't go into the beach. The pool didn't feel as warm today - I enjoyed a brief dip, and then lay in the sun for about an hour. It was nice. I hadn't put suncream on this time, and didn't expect to burn. I didn't, but I did get a little bit of colour.
I went back upstairs, and found Christian still in bed. He decided he wanted a swim at this point, and so we set the room to 'please make me up' and headed out. On the way, Christian bought a pair of thongs from the beach shop. I didn't want to swim again, but I waited while Christian did. We didn't stay long, returning to the room soon after. The room service trolley was gone, but the room hadn't been made up. We watched a bit of TV and relaxed, munching on baklava and dates.
We decided on dinner in Horizon downstairs, as they were having a Chinese theme night. The cost was 170 AED (before various taxes). I put on a dress, and didn't bother to cover my shoulders. I felt self-conscious, but others had done the same. The buffet was OK - they had duck and some nice Chinese dishes, and the desserts were very nice. But it was vastly overpriced. It was worth trying once.
We had some more TV after dinner, and probably some chocolates, then went to bed.
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