Arabian Delights

This little montage, a fleeting glimpse trying to capture the essence of  some of the wondrous journeys enjoyed  in Abu Dhabi,  Khasab, Oman &   U.A.E . First photographic collaboration is from the car on route to Abu Dhabi. Then some of far too many photographs of the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi.  The amazing chandeliers  which we thought - in structure - looked like a human cell! Amazing engineering & master craft. The marble, mosaic, crystal & gold. Wow .. or I should mean WOW.

doesn't it look cellular :)

SO many wondrous journeys. However just want to make a tiny contribution for a dear lady who won't be travelling to this particular corner of the world. So here is a small helpings worth to lose oneself within, bathe within the indulgent taste of many exotic fragrant flavours. Come visit The Middle East even if only for a moment.  From Abu Dhabi we headed North to Mussandam Peninsula on the edge of The sultanate of Oman. Intentions to snorkel, cruise the Fjords on a Dhow, see the Dolphins in their natural habitat. Sense & see the amazing geology of Oman. The journey was wonderful, the border crossing experience worthy of a whole blog on its own ha ha  :)

Not necessarily in order as I only had a wee mobile camera which wouldn't upload to my laptop easily. But you can see the roads are magnificent. The rock formation fascinating & the whole feel of the place just so powerful yet peaceful.  Eventually we arrived in Khasab.

Once we dropped all our belongings off at our Hotel, it was time for the wonderful cruise we'd all been zoo looking forward to. We were chauffered from the Hotel to the Dhow . What an incredible design, such a beautiful boat. Off with our shoes & off into the Musandam Fjords - Straits of Hormuz - to snorkel & watch for the dolphins. An absolute must experience.

So many fish, such clear waters - amazing.

the crew on the dhow were wonderful, they wanted to show us these wonderful underwater species. Naturally they were returned into the ocean within minutes!

Amazing sunset & I just loved the wonderful sense of opportunity to take a photograph of  the Omani gentleman standing on the bowed front of the Dhow happily watching the world go by bathed in the last rays of sunshine. So many dreams he was thinking about, hopefully none lost at sea :)

Back at our hotel we made friends with the locals :)

After a wonderful time in Oman it was time to head back to the UAE. City lights &  skyscrapers. Amazing feat of engineering but give me Nature anytime.

We whizzed up the Burj Khalifa, the views quite impressive. So here's a few of Dubai from - at the moment - app the tallest building in the world!! 

this is the shadow of the Burj Khalifa

this is the Burj Khalifa 

this is the bottom of the Burj amongst the usual skyscrapers

& this -may as well pop this in -  is the Burj Al Arab

Hope this brings a taste of the United Arab Emirates, Oman & Abu Dhabi into your kitchen :)