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“Pic of the Week”, March 23, 2018: Forrey and Galland Chocolatier, Dubai
Like many people, I enjoy chocolate. Especially goooood chocolate! Not only is it delicious, when done right it’s beautiful.
An example of what I mean, I encountered this chocolatier while wandering around the Dubai Mall, the world’s largest mall. The window displays were absolutely lovely — the chocolates were beautifully packaged and wonderfully displayed, as was an Easter-egg styled display of macaroons. I picked up a few pieces which I enjoyed while exploring this vast Mall — an affordable luxury.
Forrey & Galland is a Parisian company, founded in 1912. While the Parisian shops have disappeared, this shop in the Dubai Mall opened in 2008. All chocolate is crafted right here by a staff of 50 artisans.
(Click on thumbnails to enlarge, …
.All Trips / Asia / Dubai
The Dubai Marina
Just like most of greater Dubai, by all rights the Dubai Marina should not exist. As such, it seems surreal when you first see it. Built in the desert along what was once a vacant 2 mile stretch of sandy beach, it’s now a towering artificial canal city with a beautiful jumble of skyscrapers juxtaposed against the water.
The construction project was complex and involved years of dredging and building, the construction still continuing. When the building phase is finally completed, it will be the largest marina in the world (currently that title belongs to Marina del Rey in California). The city of Dubai Marina can accommodate over 120,000 residents, many of them expats who enjoy the warm climate and …
“Pic of the Week”, November 24, 2017: Dubai’s Perfume Souk
Dubai has a number of market districts, including a perfume souk. It’s located in the Deira neighborhood, not far from the gold and spice souks. Arab perfumes are not the light flowery affairs you find in European shops — here the scents are spicy and quite strong, and tend to linger. Arabian perfumes are oil based so they may leave a stain when sprayed on clothes, so be careful when using them.
Of course perfumes from around the world are also sold in Dubai’s perfume souk and many shops will even custom craft a scent if you ask, but the local fragrances are a specialty. As are the decorative jars the perfumes can be stored in. The perfumes are reasonably …
Nov 23, 2017
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.All Trips / Asia / Dubai
A visit to the Al Fahidi Fort (the Dubai Museum)
When you visit Dubai today you’ll see a landscape of shiny skyscrapers piercing the hazy desert air. There’s a lot of history to the region, although little lingering evidence of man’s habituating it because until a few decades ago, this was the home of nomadic tribesmen. In the mid-twentieth century the influx of petrodollars changed all that and fueled the construction boom leading to the city we see today. If like me you like to study the history of a place, then a visit to the Dubai Museum is a must when visiting the U.A.E.
The Al Fahidi Fort, built of coral stone and mortar in 1787, is the oldest building in Dubai. The Fort is situated on the south side of Dubai Creek in …
Tagged Al Fahidi Fort, Dubai, Fort, history, museum
.All Trips / Asia / Dubai
A Visit to Dubai’s famous Gold Souk
While the image most travelers have of Dubai is of shiny new skyscrapers piercing the desert air (a fair impression to be sure), you can still find places in the city which date to the time before the construction boom that transformed the region. Most of these sites of older Dubai are in the Deira and Bur Dubai neighborhoods which straddle Dubai Creek, the region of the city first settled in the 19th century. A variety of markets can be found here the most famous of which is the gold market (aka souk).
You’ll be welcomed by it’s wood lattice arcade proudly proclaiming, “Dubai: City of Gold”! While it is not enclosed or air-conditioned, the market’s roof provides welcome shade and …
“Pic of the Week”, May 19, 2017: Grand Mosque, Dubai
Dubai’s Grand Mosque is situated in the Bur Dubai neighborhood of the old city, close to Dubai Creek, the Dubai Museum and the textile souk. The original mosque at the site was built in 1900, rebuilt in 1960, with further remodeling in 1998 to produce the building you see today. It can accommodate over a thousand worshipers. Non-Muslims are not allowed to enter, except to its minaret.
There two interesting architectural features of the mosque. One of these is the 70-metre (230 ft) minaret, the tallest in Dubai. The other are the 54 domes of the roof (45 small, 9 larger domes).
(Click thumbnails to enlarge, right arrow to advance slideshow)
May 19, 2017
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