Before you watch, you need a little info. This 2,600 foot mega-tower is located behind Dubai Mall, about 6 miles from our apt. We go there once a week for dinner and always watch the dancing fountain show. But because I worked too late to get a spot at the tower, we had to view it from our neighborhood. It was impressive from 6 miles, so to be up as close as these videographers were must have been breathtaking. The video is not embellished. This was the music that played, the fountains that danced, and the fireworks that lit up all of Dubai. There are actually 2 sets of fireworks, so be sure to watch the entire 12 minutes. The observation deck on the 125th floor is open at the cost of $30 a person. The elevators travel at 40mph! As soon as we get some time, we will go up and report back. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRxxv6AZ_xg&feature=channel
After driving a TINY Toyota Yaris for more than 5 months, paying 2300 dhs plus tolls EACH month, and having students make fun of my "Lexus", we finally found a vehicle. It was owned for a few months by an expat who only drive it 1500 miles then fled the country. It has a sunroof (hey, it's really cool here now, 75 day, 60 night), cruise control, 6 CD player, and 2 or 4 wheel drive for those desert adventures in the sand or days when it floods. Did I mention there is plenty of room for suitcases??? We had 24 visitors in Madrid, but only 2 here so far. I mean really, if I knew someone as cool as us living in Dubai, I'D come to visit! I also threw in a photo of our neighborhood. Our bldg is the blue glass one on the far right with the phone # on top.
Our last day was spent in this interesting coastal town with an old fort, beautiful cathedral, and a miles long seaside promenade. The only problem was the wind, which blowing over 40 mph.
This was the one town where we really felt like we were in Greece. It was practically deserted, though we were told summer is too crowded to enjoy. We took a boat ride along the coast and got sunburned!
We spent a day wandering the streets of the capital. Half the time was in Greece and the other half in Turkey. We visited churches, cathedrals and mosques, Turkish baths, a fort, shops and bought some cool, unique ceramique plates (pics to follow).