LDS temples are so beautiful all lit up, and Dubai has its share of mosques that are also quite impressive - day or night. There is a law that within a city, one shouldn't have to walk more than 800 meters to get to a mosque. I am probably taking some liberties with the wording of that, but there really are mosques everywhere you look. Only one in Dubai does tours, the Jumeirah Mosque, so we took advantage of that, and took Heather and Ron to see it, and hear some information about Islam. We all learned a lot, and Heather and I got to experience the rule of covering our heads while in the mosque.
Muslims pray 5 times a day - before sunrise, around noon, mid-afternoon around 3, at dusk, and then around 7, and go through a ritual washing procedure before each prayer. There are separate prayer rooms for men and women, but most women just do their prayers at home, so the rooms for women are much smaller. The only dress code for men is to be covered from above the waist down, and no one wears shoes inside the mosque. They pray facing Mecca (in Saudi Arabia) and have some set prayers they say to themselves, as well as some time to put in their own thoughts, thanks and desires.
This is Taj, demonstrating one of the prayer positions - they put their forehead and nose to the ground as a way to show humility to Allah. Muslims believe Jesus was a prophet and each time they say His, or Allah's name, the follow it with "Peace be upon him". I can't remember our guide's name, but she is a Brit who is married to a local, and has converted to Islam. It was really interesting to hear about wearing the abaya, and how because the material is so thin, it is actually very cool. The women wear "regular" clothes around the house, and underneath the abaya's when they go out, and as I had heard somewhere before that a woman's hair is one of her most attractive features, that is why they cover their heads. How much they cover is completely up to them (supposedly, with a little help from their husbands.)
I didn't include the picture of Heather and I with our head scarves - it was just not a good look for me at this stage of my life - well probably ever, but especially now. We learned a lot more about Islam, but I will save that for individual questions if you have them:)
Another monumental day - it actually rained while we had visitors! I went to wake them up to see it - I know it wasn't a big deal for them to see rain, but to see it in Dubai is not something that happens a lot! The timing was great - it was the day after we went to the water park, and it cooled it off for our outdoor adventures of the day. We went down to Old Dubai, and visited the Dubai Museum, but I guess Heather got all the pictures of that. We rode an abra across the creek, and did some shopping at the souqs that are similar to flea markets.
Another must see in Dubai are the malls, so we chose a couple of our favorites. One was the Ibn Battuta Mall, named after an explorer from I think the 13th century. He traveled to China, Northern Africa, Egypt and a bunch of other places, and each section of the mall is designed around those areas. The architecture and tile work is awesome, but again, I guess Heather has all those pictures. The only ones I ended up with are Nate showing what a great dad he is - Will wanted to ride the little train, but once he actually got on, it scared him, so they let Nate ride with him, but that was too much too. Poor Will and Nate - I don't know if you can tell from their expressions how thrilled they are to be on the ride...
And finally, sometimes it is still unbelieveable to us that we live so close to such beautiful beaches. We took Ron and Heather to a couple of different ones - Kite Beach where you can rent sea kayaks and paddle boards, and the water is calm and shallow, so great for Will to play. Also, if you wade in a bit, and hold still, little fish come and swim around you, and he loves that too. (They don't bite, Amanda so don't let that be your excuse not to visit:).)
This is Umm Sequim Beach, where you get the best surf - well probably the only surf since the Palm was finished. We got word that there would be good waves the first day Heather and Ron were here, so we went down for a quick visit the first night. Ron and Nate had fun body surfing and Will ran from the waves - I like that he is a bit scared of them, while Heather and I took pictures. All in all, we loved having visitors, and we found out that our apartment is big enough to house us all. There was much more to do, but hopefully they got a good taste of life here, and we appreciate them taking the time and money to find us on the other side of the world.
LDS temples are so beautiful all lit up, and Dubai has its share of mosques that are also quite impressive - day or night. There is a law that within a city, one shouldn't have to walk more than 800 meters to get to a mosque. I am probably taking some liberties with the wording of that, but there really are mosques everywhere you look. Only one in Dubai does tours, the Jumeirah Mosque, so we took advantage of that, and took Heather and Ron to see it, and hear some information about Islam. We all learned a lot, and Heather and I got to experience the rule of covering our heads while in the mosque. 
Muslims pray 5 times a day - before sunrise, around noon, mid-afternoon around 3, at dusk, and then around 7, and go through a ritual washing procedure before each prayer. There are separate prayer rooms for men and women, but most women just do their prayers at home, so the rooms for women are much smaller. The only dress code for men is to be covered from above the waist down, and no one wears shoes inside the mosque. They pray facing Mecca (in Saudi Arabia) and have some set prayers they say to themselves, as well as some time to put in their own thoughts, thanks and desires.
This is Taj, demonstrating one of the prayer positions - they put their forehead and nose to the ground as a way to show humility to Allah. Muslims believe Jesus was a prophet and each time they say His, or Allah's name, the follow it with "Peace be upon him". I can't remember our guide's name, but she is a Brit who is married to a local, and has converted to Islam. It was really interesting to hear about wearing the abaya, and how because the material is so thin, it is actually very cool. The women wear "regular" clothes around the house, and underneath the abaya's when they go out, and as I had heard somewhere before that a woman's hair is one of her most attractive features, that is why they cover their heads. How much they cover is completely up to them (supposedly, with a little help from their husbands.)
I didn't include the picture of Heather and I with our head scarves - it was just not a good look for me at this stage of my life - well probably ever, but especially now. We learned a lot more about Islam, but I will save that for individual questions if you have them:)
Another monumental day - it actually rained while we had visitors! I went to wake them up to see it - I know it wasn't a big deal for them to see rain, but to see it in Dubai is not something that happens a lot! The timing was great - it was the day after we went to the water park, and it cooled it off for our outdoor adventures of the day. We went down to Old Dubai, and visited the Dubai Museum, but I guess Heather got all the pictures of that. We rode an abra across the creek, and did some shopping at the souqs that are similar to flea markets.
Another must see in Dubai are the malls, so we chose a couple of our favorites. One was the Ibn Battuta Mall, named after an explorer from I think the 13th century. He traveled to China, Northern Africa, Egypt and a bunch of other places, and each section of the mall is designed around those areas. The architecture and tile work is awesome, but again, I guess Heather has all those pictures. The only ones I ended up with are Nate showing what a great dad he is - Will wanted to ride the little train, but once he actually got on, it scared him, so they let Nate ride with him, but that was too much too. Poor Will and Nate - I don't know if you can tell from their expressions how thrilled they are to be on the ride... 
And finally, sometimes it is still unbelieveable to us that we live so close to such beautiful beaches. We took Ron and Heather to a couple of different ones - Kite Beach where you can rent sea kayaks and paddle boards, and the water is calm and shallow, so great for Will to play. Also, if you wade in a bit, and hold still, little fish come and swim around you, and he loves that too. (They don't bite, Amanda so don't let that be your excuse not to visit:).)
This is Umm Sequim Beach, where you get the best surf - well probably the only surf since the Palm was finished. We got word that there would be good waves the first day Heather and Ron were here, so we went down for a quick visit the first night. Ron and Nate had fun body surfing and Will ran from the waves - I like that he is a bit scared of them, while Heather and I took pictures. All in all, we loved having visitors, and we found out that our apartment is big enough to house us all. There was much more to do, but hopefully they got a good taste of life here, and we appreciate them taking the time and money to find us on the other side of the world. 
1 comment:
i wish i had tagged along! (or maybe i should just be planning a trip of my own! :))
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