A jinx on the Dubai Mall??

Before I begin on the Dubai Mall...I have an update on Sheikh Mubarak and mourning...he was in his late 70's apparently and the first minister of the interior for the UAE. The family has been receiving a long line of visitors just across 15th from us next to Mushrif park. The flags are at half mast and there's a tank out the side door. There's a long line of cars entering and I saw one woman walking out in a short black dress (hmmm that's definitely not kosher). The radio is still on muzak but we were at a big party at one of the clubs last night with alcohol and music. So, I'm not sure of the fine print on the ban on that stuff. I guess it depends on your wasta.

Now ... about the jinx. I'm beginning to wonder if all those trips to the Dubai Mall over Christmas break left the mall with some bad mojo. First, the Burj Khalifa shut down the observation deck (still closed at the moment) and now the aquarium has sprung a leak. What are the chances??

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/582391-aquarium-leak-sparks-dubai-mall-evacuation

Check it out...

Mourning

We just found out that Sheik Mubarak bin Mohammed al Nahyan just passed away. He was one of the older guys in the ruling family and the father of Sheikh Nahayan who is the minister of higher education among other things. I'd never heard of Sheikh Mubarak before and when I went to the internet to find out more, there really isn't any more. All the middle eastern news agencies report his death and an official three days of mourning. No age, no cause of death (not even the 'go to' - natural causes. Nada. We do get three days of mourning. In the old days that would apparently translate into a total shut down of schools, offices, industry and commercial enterprises (ie woo hoo three days of vacation). But Abu Dhabi is more progressive now. So the latest manifestation, so far, means: yes, there is school and yes, there is work. But Radio 1 and their raucous disc jockeys Simon B, Danny and Sheena have been silenced and in their place there is the equivalent of arabic muzac. There's apparently a complete ban on alcohol and we'll see about music and dancing. In two nights time we have the American School's gala---It's a brazilian carnival. Dry and Silent. Hmmm sounds like a blast.

We'll see how this develops...

Just back from the homeland

I'm just back from a quick week's trip to the US (NYC and Rhode Island). It's great to be back in the warm weather and 'home'. It's a little sad I, so far, can't find any winter olympics coverage on the 100 odd TV stations I have here. Also, while I was gone--the closed the Burj Khalifa indefinitely. Seems there's a stuck elevator...no word on the passengers that were in that elevator when it got stuck over a week ago. I guess I was lucky!

A few reflections from my trip...

1. People are much more interested (I mean really interested with actual pertinent questions AND follow up questions that prove they're, in fact, listening) in my experiences in the middle east as opposed to those in France.

2. The train ride from NY to Rhode Island is absolutely beautiful. How some developer hasn't found a way to move the train tracks that go right along the sound is both surprising and reassuring. (the picture on the left was taken from the train).

3. Snow is enormously fun when you're only in it for the pretty part and you have nowhere to get to and no need to shovel.

4. It's a REALLY long trip from Abu Dhabi to NY.

Like no other store in the world...

Bloomingdales opened in the UAE yesterday at the Dubai Mall. I can't help but remember Galleries Lafayette's ill-fated venture in NYC a bunch of years ago...let's hope this ends better. What I do know is --- Emiratis love malls and they have some terrific malls (who would've thunk I'd be waxing poetic on malls...oh how far I've sunk). But hear me out...some of the features of the Dubai Mall:

The Burj Khalifa visitors center. Tallest building in the world. Been to a mall with one of those?

Aquarium and underwater zoo. Also cool.

Candylicious..blatant ripoff of Dylan's Candy Bar. This far from the true land of jelly bellies, we'll take it.

Kinokuniya. Largest bookstore in the Emirates

Dubai Fountain...like watching Niagara Falls set to music. From 6pm every 20 minutes this baby shoots off sprays of water to the tune of anything from Andrea Boccelli to local folk music. Pretty amazing.

Outdoor restaurants surrounding an artificial lake with said fountain. Very pleasant indeed.

And now, drumroll please, Magnolias Bakery (inside Bloomies). The real deal. They ship in their special flour and sprinkles from NYC. Life just got a whole lot sweeter.

In the news...

There was a lot of 'ladies' news today in the local paper. The first was that the transportation department has reserved parking spaces in public garages for use by women only. Like Handicapped parking the spaces will be close to entrances. This was billed as a safety measure as many women complained that they feel uncomfortable in underground garages. I'm curious as to how they're going to police this, but otherwise I find it interesting. I'm getting used to the fact that in clinics, government buildings and even banks there can be separate entrances and waiting areas for men and women. This has seemed more cumbersome than helpful to me. Often the clerk helping you in the women's area is male and once you're brought back to the doctor you are in a unisex area. When visiting a specialist for my daughter, my husband and I couldn't wait together with her but we had to run back and forth to let him know where we were. I've never been bothered before in a waiting room by the fact that the other customers are men. The parking thing, however, does seem like a good idea. There's nothing creepier than a poorly lit parking garage at night. It does make one feel unsafe and in this culture where, it seems, women are more attuned to that it could be liberating.

The other, very entertaining article regarded public indecency. I'm guessing it's in reaction to the emirates trying to get tourists to be more aware that they are in a rather conservative culture while not scaring them about visiting. The gist of the article was that there are no 'instructions' in the UAE that expressly ask police to question two unrelated people holding hands or alone in a car (apparently part and parcel to being 'publicly indecent'). So unless they are otherwise suspicious they will be left alone. More apparent displays such as kissing in public are violations but the officer should show discretion.

And I swear this is the example given...kissing your husband goodbye or at an airport is fine, but they draw the line at a 'hot kiss'. The policeman interviewed (a Colonel) says there's a "clear difference with a hot kiss" but he judge gets the final word. So much for clear.

I wonder what type of rubric is used to make that decision....

141 out of 194!

International Living has recently published its 2010 Quality of Life index. The list presumably gives you the list of the best places to live based on 10 criteria. So apparently I've downgraded... a LOT. France was #1, as it has been for the last 5 years. And the UAE...141...that's below Kenya (with it's election violence and poverty), Kyrgyzsatan and North Korea. North Korea!! I can take being below Kyrgyzstan...but I really draw the line at North Korea!

Apparently 'we' lost points in the freedom and climate categories. Seriously are we lower than North Korea in freedom?? I have to admit that it is disconcerting to live somewhere in which you're unsure of your rights--or actually, sure that you don't have many. I am pretty skeptical though of the idea that I'd feel any better in North Korea or Kyrgyzstan.

Now climate...that's truly a joke. After 11 years in Paris I'd say the number one reason for leaving was climate. Unless of course you're a fan of damp and gray. Whereas the climate here is lovely. Beautiful days with a breeze. Chilly enough for a sweater in the morning and evening. Is it hot in summer? You betcha. I'd be willing to wager though that the days we're kept indoors do to heat are fewer than the days les francais are bemoaning the rain. France received 87/100 for climate while the UAE received 10/100. Wow.

Now one place the UAE can really improve is health. (They received 76/100). Yesterday I had my first experience with a 'specialist' at the Sheikh Khalifa Hospital when I went to see the dermatologist. I have been unlucky enough to have already had 2 melanomas excised in previous years. That coupled with my fair skin leads me to be careful and to get body checks on a regular basis. Yesterday I was severely underwhelmed. The doctor (a local woman) did not even ask me to take off all my clothes. She never looked at my legs. She had a dermatoscope that hadn't been charged so she didn't use it--instead using a small magnifying glass. Her nurse asked me if my melanomas were benign. Really. I explained that by definition they were not. And she nodded. Hmmm. I'm not feeling confident about that. I then had a 20 minute lecture on covering up completely, like say, by wearing an abaya. Again....hmmm.

So does the UAE deserve to be number 1? No, I don't think so, but it could sure move up a few notches. We'll see next year....

The tent at the end of the street

So yesterday morning I went out to walk the dogs and they'd put up a tent at the end of the street. I'm not talking pup tent, I'm talking wedding tent (which is in fact what we think it is). It has at least 6 air conditioning units (although I currently have none on in my house). It has silk curtains, oriental carpets, and lots 'o furniture. (Please see the picture of the interior and note the many tissue boxes on each table--they are seriously tissue happy in the Middle East. I'm not sure what that's about). Now Abu Dhabi is not as large as Paris, but I do live in a city and my street is fairly well-travelled. There's a school with it's daily mob at pick up and drop off AND a restaurant. The tent takes up two and 1/3 lanes of the street leaving just 2/3 of a lane for drivers. Now that, as they say in Panama, takes cojones. But what can you do?? (It must be said that the blocks are so big here that to go the other way is fairly long).

Anyway tonight we're going to sneak down there and check out the action...