The Islamic Future

Friday morning I left for spring break along with my friend Amanda. We were flying Gulf Air from Amman to Dubai, with a layover in Bahrain. Amanda had slept over the night before (because my host mom is awesome) so we could carpool to the airport together. On our way to the new terminal that had just opened two days prior, I spotted a USA flag, which I thought was incredibly strange. Our taxi driver explained they were flying the US flag because President Obama was flying into Jordan that day.

Our plane left Amman about an hour late so we missed our connection to Dubai in Bahrain. Fortunately, there were 25 passengers on our flight that also missed their connecting flights so they rebooked all of us with little issue. We touched down in Dubai around 8PM and made our way to the hotel. We fell asleep pretty quickly then we checked out in the morning to start our adventure.

We first dropped our bags off at the house we were staying at in Dubai. The parents of one of my classmates from High School live in Dubai and they graciously let us stay in their home. It was absolutely beautiful and we greatly appreciated their hospitality. They were coming back from the US that day so we were even more grateful. After we dropped our bags off, we headed to Mall of the Emirates, which boasts an indoor ski slope. It was also where we were getting picked up for our desert safari later in the afternoon. We walked around the mall, completely in awe of all the stores we had not seen in months. In addition to all the stores and the ski slope, there was an entire arcade/kiddie ride section, where we found a Johnny Rockets. We ate there and finally had real ketchup! It was marvelous. We got real napkins too. It’s funny all the things I didn’t realize I missed as much as I do.

After we finished at the mall, we headed across the road to where we were getting picked up for our desert safari. We had purchased the tour through Groupon and saved a good bit of money. As we were waiting, we met a Turkish man and a German woman who were also waiting. We started talking and explained our plans for the week and the Turkish man said he had been given free bus tickets to Oman that he wasn’t going to use and we could use them. We were a little skeptical, but met up with him the next day, got the tickets, and we used them successfully, which was great. Now back to the safari.

He gave us free bus tickets to Oman!

We were picked up in a bus, drove about an hour out of Dubai and were dropped off in the desert. We were divided into groups of 5-7, got into 4-wheelers and began dune bashing, which was a lot of fun. You ride up and down the dunes, sometimes sliding down hills and feeling like you might die. It was awesome. After a while, we were dropped off at the camp, where we could try sand surfing, camel riding, henna and trying on traditional dress. There was also a belly dancing show and buffet dinner. The first thing we did was sand surfing because that had been the main reason we purchased the Groupon. It’s a lot easier than you might think. The sand really slows you down and it’s not too hard to balance. The night was very enjoyable and we left the desert around 8:30, getting back to Dubai around 9:30.

Since that day had been very eventful, we wanted to take it easy on Sunday so we went to the beach and to the mall. The mom in the house dropped us off at the beach, which was great because it saved us significant time on the metro. Since the sun is so strong, we were only at the beach for a couple hours and both of us were sunburned quite badly. We had Subway for lunch, because we hadn’t eaten it since being in the US, and then we walked past the Dubai Marina area to get to the metro. We got off at Dubai Mall/Burj Khalifa stop. Dubai Mall is the largest mall in the world, with a total area of 1,124,000 square meters, and Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world at 2,722 feet. It was quite exhilarating just seeing both.

Dubai Mall was incredible. The first thing I saw walking in was Coldstone Creamery and it only got better from there. The mall has an aquarium, which is three stories tall and holds a Guinness World Record (I’m not sure for what, but there was a sign on the side of the aquarium tank). There is also a movie theater, ice skating rink, fashion district, Arabian Souq (market), a waterfall, several food courts, and electronics section in addition to the normal stores. We visited the mall twice and even the second time we were walking and saw things we hadn’t seen the first time. The mall is immaculately clean, boasts Wifi throughout the entire building, and is organized very well. If you are lost, they have touch screens that direct you from where you are to the store you want (I tried it and it’s amazing technology). I want to give serious props to the marketers who work for stores in that mall because I was very impressed.

Behind me is a waterfall inside the mall!

Right outside the mall is the Khalifa Lake and Burj Khalifa. From 1-2PM and from 6-8PM, the fountains in the lake go off, perfectly timed with music every half hour. We were outside from 6-8 and every show was different. In my opinion, it was much better than the fountains in front of the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Burj Khalifa was spectacular. You can pay 125 dirhams, or $34, to go up to the 142^nd floor of the building. When we looked, the rest of the night and the following day were already sold-out so we decided not to go up. We sat down on a grassy area as the sun set just reading. It was very relaxing. Finally, we decided we were hungry so we went back inside the mall for food. I found Thai food, which I had wanted to eat at least once while we were in Dubai, and Amanda had some pizza. We headed back home to get ready for Monday.

The bottom of the Burj Khalifa to the left and the fountains

Monday we went to Ferrari World, an amusement park in Abu Dhabi. We left extremely early, walked the 45 minutes to the metro and then took a bus from the Ibn Battuta metro station to Abu Dhabi. It cost us 25Dh ($6.75) each way for the hour and a half drive. We finally got to Ferrari World and it was practically empty. It was great. The only ride that we had to wait for was Formula Rosso, the world’s fastest roller coaster. It takes you from 0-150mph in seconds and you have to wear protective eyewear because if anything gets in your eyes, it can cause serious damage. They even had special hijabs for Muslim women to wear over their hijabs so their hair wouldn’t become exposed during the ride. What was especially interesting about Ferrari World was that it was entirely indoors. Only the two roller coasters and one other ride were outside. We surmised that since it gets so hot here, it’s better for everything to be indoors so they can gain more business. After our long day, we finally made it back to Dubai and stopped at the Ibn Battuta Mall for a late dinner. The Ibn Battuta Mall was huge, with a Chinese Hall, India Hall, Egypt Hall, Persian Hall, and two food courts. Overall it was a tiring but fulfilling day.

At Ferrari World

Chinese Hall at the Ibn Battuta Mall

Tuesday, our last day in Dubai, we decided to a. sleep in and b. check out Old Dubai and some of the more historical aspects. We attempted to find the mosque that was supposedly the third largest in the world, but were unsuccessful. However we did find the Gold Souq, Spice Souq, rode across the Dubai creek in a wooden boat, and made it to the Dubai Museum, which was really interesting. The museum had everything from 5000 B.C. when the area was first settled to the 2000s. The Dubai we know today is relatively new. In the 1950s, the population was only 59,000 but by the 70s and 80s it had increased to 207,000. They didn’t discover oil until 1968 and that was when they were able to really start building and expanding the city.

I titled this post “The Islamic Future” because that’s what the city feels like. The future aspect: It is entirely man-made and the perfect blend of city and nature. The metro is impeccable, with trains coming consistently every 4 to 5 minutes. We never had to wait more than 2 minutes for a train, no matter where we were or the hour of the day. The entire city is tax-free, which means everyone is richer because there’s no income tax (except, of course, for US citizens). Emiratis (the natives of UAE) only make up 17% of the population, although they control the government. Dubai is a city where an Emirati drives his million-dollar car to school and it is common to have a Porsche. English is widely spoken, but you will also hear Arabic and Hindi. Dubai has a very large Indian population because it has a close proximity to India and a better standard of living (at least according to the mother in the home we stayed at). There is very little crime and everyone is very friendly. We weren’t stared at or cat-called and I felt perfectly at ease wearing shorts or a bikini on a public beach.

Their Metro.

The Islamic part: Dubai is a very Islamic city. The moment we left the airport and walked outside, we saw a “Women’s standing area” and a “Men’s standing area.” All of the malls had prayer rooms, separate for women and men. The metro had a separate car for women and children, if you wished to sit there. The metro buses even had separate areas. The vast majority of Muslim women there wore the full Muslim garment, not just the hijab. Overall, Dubai was a wonderful experience and I would definitely go there again, although probably not during the summer.