Where Am I? A Glimpse of Abu Dhabi
I have been mentioning that we are currently based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in the capital City called Abu Dhabi.
Twelve years ago, with my poor geography knowledge, I knew nothing about Abu Dhabi. It was 2005 when I, along with 2 college friends, decided to try our luck in this great City and have since then called it home.
When they said Middle East back then, I only knew about countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq and Dubai.
Correction, self! Dubai is not a country. It is a city and it is definitely not the capital of UAE...
Abu Dhabi
FAST FACTS
● It is the second most populous city in the UAE, next to Dubai
● It has the largest land area among all 7 Emirates - 6x more bigger than the rest of the 6 Emirates combined.
Famous Landmarks:
☆ Emirates Palace Hotel
a luxury hotel which has 394 luxurious rooms and suites lined with gold and marble!
Above is coffee from the famous Palace Cappuccino, sprinkled in real 24 carat gold flakes! ($20)
☆ Ferrari World , world's largest indoor themepark - home of the world's fastest roller coaster!
☆ Yas Waterworld is a water park with 45 rides, slides and attractions for the whole family.
☆ Yas Marina Circuit is considered as one of the most technologically advanced Formula 1 race circuits in the world. It hosts the annual Abu Dhabi Grand Prix every November.
☆ Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is considered as the key worship site and the largest mosque in the country. It was founded by the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, founder and first president of the UAE. The mosque took 21 years to complete - 11 years of planning, 10 years to build. This is also where the late President's remains were buried. The mosque is open to public where there are also scheduled guided tours for a more fun, enjoyable and worthwhile visit. Check out their website here.
Photos from our visit:
My son was sitting on the largest hand woven carpet in the world!!
Jaw- dropping chandelliers.
Intricate marble designs.
Prayer yard.
Women are obliged to wear the Abaya, a traditional Muslim clothing designed to cover most parts of the body. If you don't have one, they can lend one to you during your visit.
I can go on and on... there is definitely a lot of other places to explore when in Abu Dhabi...
I will keep you hanging there with a promise of more to come next time. 😉
May the force of the STEEM be always in our favor!
The attention to detail in the architecture is stunning! What a beautiful place. That first picture is so beautiful. Hard to imagine seeing it with my own eyes. Thanks for giving me a glimpse into your world and learning about a city that I knew nothing about!
Thanks @thesimplelife
They really take pride in their architecture. There's a lot more interesting facts about Abu Dhabi that I would like to share. Soon, definitely. 😉
I look forward to reading it!
Lovely photographs! Thanks for taking me on a trip through your narration and your photos. Your son's photo is very nice. Upvoted and following you for more. Cheers! - @sandzat
Thanks @sandzat. Will definitely put up more soon. See you around!
Thanks for sharing this-- very cool photos! This is part of the world I am not familiar with, at all... spent a little time in Cairo, Egypt when I was a kid, but that's about as close as I've gotten.
Glad you liked it @denmarkguy. Back then I tought that I would come to a place which is a desert. Because that is what it is (or was)?! To my surprise what I saw was a lush of greens and high rise towers!
And though it is an Islamic country, we are not banned to practice our religion. We have several Catholic churches here along with some other Christian churches. It isnreally interesting that I can make another couple of blog posts about it. Hehe
Thanks for stopping by!
WOW, the sheer size and elegance of Abu Dhabi is way beyond this country bumpkin's comfort zone. LOL I'd be afraid of breaking something. Gorgeous photos and you have a beautiful family! Thank you for sharing your adventure. What was your favorite part of the trip?
Thank you @merej99!
True.. especially their law. 😉
Oh, those photos were taken in 2014 when I toured my dad around. He was here to help me out when I had my 2nd baby. I loved everything about that tour because we came to visit the "guided" one so there were lots of information that we really learned.
Wow... hehehe... i like it... i am beside of her... 😇😊😇
free promotion for you @kennyroy
Ahahaha... i always promote you in my blog.... hehehe
thank you, thank you! :p
THEY EAT THE GOLD??? :O *sorry, that was the only thing that really, really stuck. Cappuccino -- topped with 24 carat gold flakes.
yeah, yeah, luxury in any way imaginable/unimaginable! haha
I totally want some 20 dollar gold coffee. Nice pictures
amazing, eh?! haha
Woah woah! What an amazing city that you get to call home! I'd love to see a post on Ferrari world! Also that giant woven carpet is something else! So much beauty in one place!
Yes. We are UAE's adopted children. Abu Dhabi especially is very a family-centered city. A lot of family parks here and there, open beaches and plagrounds. I would have to dig up our photos of our ferrari world visit and hopefully I will be able to make a ful-length post about it.
That sounds like paradise! Yes please dig up those photos or better yet, make another visit!