Dubai Day Three
With a little Advil at 8am, we managed to wake up and be ready for our day trip to Sharjah after our boozy night before.
So how did I meet a Sheikha from Sharjah? My friend Faris from BOFFO told me he had a friend who was not only a Princess but a major player in the art world in the Middle East.
Her Biennial is coming up on the 14th (the day I head back to the States!) and loads of A list art world people are heading over to check it out.
Clearly, this was someone I had to meet. Hoor emailed me right back with an invitation to visit her in Sharjah and included a full itinerary for the day.
At 9:30am her driver Aslam met us at the hotel and took us to her Emirate. It was so different from Dubai. Not nearly as glitzy there was a real feeling of history here. Their corniche was so elegant with French inspired light posts and a pinkish stone balustrade curving around it reminded mother and I of the Riviera. There is a much more cozy atmosphere in Sharjah which isn't exactly an adjective people relate to the Emirates.
(an elephant clock!)
Next stop was the Heritage Museum where we learned about local crafts, culture and food. Everyone was so sweet and even wanted a picture with us. It was a nice change from malls and skyscrapers and a reminder that there was actually life here before oil.
(The guide is putting incense under mothers shirt. This is how they used to clean their clothes when there wasn't much water around)
We finally met Hoor (that is not her above!) at the art museum and she took us around the permanent exhibits as well as the installations for the Biennial. It's going to be an amazing event and I'm sorry I'm missing it. In two years I'll come back!
(An artists instillation at the museum. Lets hope it doesn't rain before the show!)
Wel left Hoor to her work and headed to the big Souq. We were so very excited to check it out and to get some gifts (the soul here isn't as touristy as the ones in Dubai) but alas, we got there at 3 while everyone is closed for prayers! Out of 200 shops maybe four were open. Sad face.
Aslam took us back to Dubai where we changed clothes and headed back out for an evening in the desert. This was one of those touristy events that everyone does while here. We were a bit afraid. We were put into a van with another family and kids from America and whisked out to the desert outside of Dubai, about an hour drive. We all got out, our driver, Babylon let the air out of the tires and we took off on the dunes.
This could of been amusing except he put in a CD of his favorite techno hits and turned it on full blast AND sang along. Let me tell you, a Kenyan screeching Katy Perry's Fireworks, is not something you want to hear in your lifetime.
Once he was done with that he dropped mother and I off with a Pakistani man and some camels and said he would see us for dinner. OK! Mother and I stumbled onto these beasts, nearly fell off when they stood up and then clambered around the sand dunes watching ths sun set and listening to the wind, a great relief after the techno tragic van ride.
Our guide finally led us to our camp, a lovely curtained affair with rugs strewn about, a shisha and loads of pillows. We asked where everyone else went and our cook told us they were all taken to a camp that seats 200. PTL we didn't end up there!
Wine was poured, food was served in abundance and mother and I watched the sunset, listened to the night and watched the desert mice as they rand between our feet for crumbs. Babylon came back to help cook and he was good fun when he wasn't singing.
They turned off all the lanterns and we just stared into the sky for a long time, mother drinking, while I hit the hookah. The perfect evening.
We got back to the hotel around 11pm and mother was in bed before her clothes were off. I packed and passed out fairly fast. Shisha and wine can do that to you.
Tomorrow the boat!
So how did I meet a Sheikha from Sharjah? My friend Faris from BOFFO told me he had a friend who was not only a Princess but a major player in the art world in the Middle East.
Her Biennial is coming up on the 14th (the day I head back to the States!) and loads of A list art world people are heading over to check it out.
Clearly, this was someone I had to meet. Hoor emailed me right back with an invitation to visit her in Sharjah and included a full itinerary for the day.
At 9:30am her driver Aslam met us at the hotel and took us to her Emirate. It was so different from Dubai. Not nearly as glitzy there was a real feeling of history here. Their corniche was so elegant with French inspired light posts and a pinkish stone balustrade curving around it reminded mother and I of the Riviera. There is a much more cozy atmosphere in Sharjah which isn't exactly an adjective people relate to the Emirates.
Next stop was the Heritage Museum where we learned about local crafts, culture and food. Everyone was so sweet and even wanted a picture with us. It was a nice change from malls and skyscrapers and a reminder that there was actually life here before oil.
We finally met Hoor (that is not her above!) at the art museum and she took us around the permanent exhibits as well as the installations for the Biennial. It's going to be an amazing event and I'm sorry I'm missing it. In two years I'll come back!
Wel left Hoor to her work and headed to the big Souq. We were so very excited to check it out and to get some gifts (the soul here isn't as touristy as the ones in Dubai) but alas, we got there at 3 while everyone is closed for prayers! Out of 200 shops maybe four were open. Sad face.
Aslam took us back to Dubai where we changed clothes and headed back out for an evening in the desert. This was one of those touristy events that everyone does while here. We were a bit afraid. We were put into a van with another family and kids from America and whisked out to the desert outside of Dubai, about an hour drive. We all got out, our driver, Babylon let the air out of the tires and we took off on the dunes.
This could of been amusing except he put in a CD of his favorite techno hits and turned it on full blast AND sang along. Let me tell you, a Kenyan screeching Katy Perry's Fireworks, is not something you want to hear in your lifetime.
Once he was done with that he dropped mother and I off with a Pakistani man and some camels and said he would see us for dinner. OK! Mother and I stumbled onto these beasts, nearly fell off when they stood up and then clambered around the sand dunes watching ths sun set and listening to the wind, a great relief after the techno tragic van ride.
Our guide finally led us to our camp, a lovely curtained affair with rugs strewn about, a shisha and loads of pillows. We asked where everyone else went and our cook told us they were all taken to a camp that seats 200. PTL we didn't end up there!
Wine was poured, food was served in abundance and mother and I watched the sunset, listened to the night and watched the desert mice as they rand between our feet for crumbs. Babylon came back to help cook and he was good fun when he wasn't singing.
They turned off all the lanterns and we just stared into the sky for a long time, mother drinking, while I hit the hookah. The perfect evening.
We got back to the hotel around 11pm and mother was in bed before her clothes were off. I packed and passed out fairly fast. Shisha and wine can do that to you.
Tomorrow the boat!