Eid Mubarak!

Eid Mubarak - meaning "blessed festival" or is used as a greeting to tell someone "may you enjoy the blessed festival."  Eid here means several things to us.  Nothing gets accomplished that deals with gov't type services, shopping malls are out of control (like our shopping season of Christmas), but most importantly we can eat out in public regardless of the time of day!  EID MUBARAK!  Even hours are reduced at certain places.  What was even more crazy is that if you got some hours of operation on Monday - they probably changed come Tuesday because of when Eid was "declared" based on the moon! 

But...

More things have finally been accomplished!  The kids are registered for school!  Now getting to this part of the “game” was not exactly easy.

Three families pitched in and rented a Toyota Hiace – which is a 15 passenger van.  It’s not like a nice new rental we’re used to renting.  This vehicle is standard, and the air conditioning was terrible for the people who sat in the back part.  Since Yolanda was the driver and I was the “navigator” we were given the royal treatment with working ac vents. 

We set out to find the rental place at 8 am from our hotel.  We get in the taxi and of course he has no idea what we’re talking about.  But luckily (which turned out to nothing) I asked the rental place for directions.  They said 4^th street between 11^th and 9^th.  Easy Enough.  Or so we though.  We ride around in the taxi for 30 minutes and 25 dirhams later we finally decide to get out and walk or something else.  After walking around with no idea of where to go, we stopped and I called Jennifer.  She looked online and attempted to give me directions from a map that used names and letters for streets we couldn’t see.  After walking around for 30 minutes and sweating was out of control, I then found another rental place – Dollar.  One would think they’d know where their competitor is.  NOPE!  But at least we were able to cool off a little in their office while we waited to figure something out.  I had attempted to call UCR to find better directions but no answer. 

FINALLY after 9 – they answer.  They didn’t even open until 9 – which they told me to come at 8 to pick up the van.  So we get directions and go straight to some building that someone said they were near. Still can’t find it.  So finally the guy at UCR says wait there and I’ll come pick you up.  Where did he take us?  RIGHT WHERE WE GOT OUT OF THE TAXI!  There was no name on the store front because there is construction and they’re about to move to a new office.  Wish they would have told me that on the phone! 

But finally around 10:30 we get to the hotel and pick up everyone and we’re on our way!  Driving to Al Ain wasn’t bad since we’re on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi.  About 30 minutes into the drive the speed limit goes to 120 km/hr which is roughly 75 miles per hour.  But the van starts beeping when you hit the 120 km/hr.  We started getting nervous when we heard the beeping but called and got it sorted.  Whew….

So we get o Al Ain and no one had any good directions to the school.  NOT EVEN THOSE WHO WORK THERE!  They couldn’t tell me how to get there from the main road into Al Ain.  It was nuts.  So we drove around and around and asked 4 or 5 people for directions – no one really knew.  Finally we find a cab driver in this remote type area.  We did see lots of schools but not Manor Hall.  This cab driver gave us awesome directions except we were behind the school which was not labeled.  And at this point we had no idea what we were able to take care of when we got there since the registration folks were “gone for the day – it’s EID you know”.  EID…yes we know….INSHALLAH, right?!?!?!

We pull up at Manor Hall and the gate was open.  We just walk in like we knew what we were doing.  They give us a brief tour – we just wanted to see the classrooms.  But since it’s still summer here they’re doing cleaning and the rooms are not set up.  The other two families with us check out their area and we start the paperwork.  I was smart and brought all our documents and stuff with us.  We had to give 3 passport photos, shot records, birth certificates, and passport info page copies.  By this time there were probably 4 or 5 more parents that showed up to check out the school and register.  So now the lady helping us called the director to come. 

So we had to pay our registration fees and of course – cash only.  Do we have 1000 dirhams cash – no of course not.  1000 dhs is about $367 usd.  But Khalil, the director of research and development, takes us to the atm machine.  He is like the GM.  It’s a family school.  His sister is the HR person and does the hiring.  They have two other schools that are Arabic schools and they run a few other businesses.  Khalil’s wife also comes in and was super nice.  She chats with us about all kinds of school related thing, and so does Khalil. They were making us totally comfortable which made an awesome impression.  Come to find out – his wife – Sahar – is from Tennessee! 

So we’re registered!  The kids will go back on Saturday and take some sort of assessment to see where they are at.  Khalil assured me that Americans never have a problem “qualifying” there.  Hopefully the kids aren’t shy and really show what they know!  

Manor Hall follows an American curriculum – Harcourt. They have about 22 teachers (not sure if my numbers are accurate) 14 or so from America and the rest from Canada.  There have been lots of discussions on facebook on the schools and there are lots of LT’s who are moving their kids to Manor Hall this year.  So we feel good about the school.  Cole and Caralyn will have different teachers too which is exciting!  They will also have Arabic class!  They have a swimming pool which I think is for the swim team and they do sports but I think all the extra curricular stuff is for grade 2 and higher. 

After dealing with the hours at Manor Hall we ventured around Al Ain.  We dropped all of the home stuff we purchased at our villa and good thing we did because we had to turn in a maintenance request to have several things fixed. Hope this is not a sign of things to come!  Then we explored the Al Ain Mall which has some nice stores and a MegaMart where we found some backpacks that are reasonably priced.  We even signed up for our phone and internet too!  Now when it gets installed might be a different story – again – inshallah! 

Finally we made it back to Abu Dhabi.  We were so exhausted.  We ate dinner, let the kids swim for a little while and off to bed! 

This afternoon we’re renting a Honda Civic (4 door) for a month.  Then we’ll decide if we’ll buy a used vehicle or what.  We’re thinking we can live with one car because our schools don’t see too far from each other.  My school is actually 3 round-abouts from the kids school.  Can you see we’re adapting to the directions here!!!  While it does make us laugh now – when you’re in the middle of trying to get somewhere it’s not funny at all!

Stay Tuned…

Here are some photos:

Manor Hall - The Kids' School!  It's grades K through 9. 

KG 1 kids can be as young as 3 which KG1 in the US would be like Pre-Kish? 

If you're bored or curious - check out their website - http://manorhallschool.com/

The kids' table at Al Ain Mall.  It was nice to acutally be able to eat somewhere during the day! 



Yolanda - our driver!  She was great. 




Tawam Hospital near our Villa.
They have some partnership with Johns Hopkins.



Our Al Ain Bus Group! 
Yolanda and her kids are from Houston (Humble/Kingwood area). 
Kris and her kids are from Clear Lake area. 
Cole & Caralyn love these kids!

After Kris and I were talking about Webster - come to find out - she lives in Pipers Meadow - where I lived in the early 80's before we moved to Alief.  Small world!  She asked me where in Pipers Meadow, and I said, "15927 Eastcape Drive".  I was surpsrised I still remember the address!

It's hilarious we travel 8,200 miles across the world and meet someone who lives where I used to live. 



Cole was so sweaty on the "bus" he had to take his shirt off! 




It was crazy - all along the road we saw people standing like they were hitch hiking.
I think they thought we'd transport them because of the vehicle we were in.



120 km/hr which is about 75 mph.

I'm sure we saw some going close to 90 or 100 mph! 

It's crazy seeing all the luxury vehicles here.  We did see a Ferrari too today!

Loved this picture...Almost sunset in Al Ain!

Did I already post this?  These are dates - from two different countries.  Not sure which are from which. 
I liked them - the others wern't real crazy about them.

Only 2 Weeks?

Hard to believe we’ve only been here two weeks…feels like it’s been a month at least!  But we’re adapting to the weather and the crazy cab drivers.  We sort of know our way around.  It’s hard to learn your way around here because there are no addresses.  Directions are so vague with buildings along the way it’s hard to visualize where it is.  Our address in Al Ain goes something like this:  Near Tawam Hospital, to the right of Twam (spelled different than the hospital…not sure why) R/A (round-about) off of Road 7 – The Village – Unit #.  So you get roughly close and keep driving until you find it, I guess! 

We’ve purchased all our furniture and appliances.  Now if we can just time the deliveries right – we’ll be in great shape.  We are still living in Abu Dhabi.  Not sure when we’ll be moved but once we have appliances and furniture then we can move when we want.  So inshallah we’ll get there by this Sunday – September 4^th – which is also our first day at work.  Supposedly our first day at work consists of picking up a letter at the regional office and that’s it.  No clear answer yet if we are expected to actually go to our schools.  It appears that our school are not as close as we’d like but Jennifer’s is on the way to mine so that might work out if we car pool.  There seem to be quite a few people at Jennifer’s school so she might even find her own ride home so if our hours are different we won’t be stuck waiting.  Jennier’s school is a “model” school. It’s our understanding that model schools are the place to be!  The parents pay for their child to attend there and they are like a more “advanced” group.  Jennifer’s used to being at a “model” school –right Rees folks?  All I know about my school is that it’s a high school and it’s location.  Inshallah I’ll know more sometime…

We’ve just been hanging out .  We went to see Mr. Popper’s Penguins today. Cute movie.  The kids really liked it.  Tomorrow we’re bringing lots of stuff to our villa.  We bought all the bedding and bathroom stuff when we purchased our furniture.  So we’re meeting up with two other families in the morning and renting a Toyota Hiace, which is a 15 passenger van!  Should be interesting!  Then on Thursday we are actually picking up our rental car.  We’re renting a Honda Civic for a month to start with and then we’ll go from there.  There has been so many issues finding out if we can or can’t rent.  So today we’re told yes you can but as soon as we get our residency visa we have 7 days to get our UAE license.

Hopefully in the next few days we’ll get our OSN satellite installed and we’ll be able to watch lots of American television shows and they have lots of US tv stations like MTV, VHI, BET, E, and several others.  It’ll be like home away from home! 

We have expanded our Arabic schema too!  Not sure on spelling but we’re going to spell it phonetically here! 

                                U-Turn:  ur-jay

                                Straight: cita

                                Right: ya-mean

                               

                You can see we get this practice via our cab driver!!!!

Hopefully the next time I update our blog – it’ll be from the living room at our Villa!!!  Inshallah…

Here are some pics…

Close up of the dates in the mesh bag that hangs from the date palms

Some Emirati folks with ADEC (the school district)

Can you translate?  It just says "next stop - Abu Dhabi".  This is the sign on the bus.

Haven't tasted....but thought it was interesting!

Henna tattoo on a friend's hand

We do have our own "school sessions" with the kids.  Cole doesn't like it!

Caralyn and our new friends/neighbors - Tamiyah and Tamia! 

Sand dunes on the way to Al Ain

So a Mercedes Benz for a police car.  And the phrase "lost in translation" is true

but we are pretty sure we understood this cab driver to say that if you are

a police office you can choose your vehicle. If you want a BMW, or whatever car - you get it. 

Yeild / Give Way
Which really just means go slow and hope you don't get hit from
those who have the right-of-way!

Caralyn loves to collect dirham (the UAE money). She earned these from folding clothes

Interesting folding Caralyn did - but we didn't even ask her to do it!

I know I should have rotated the photo - get over it
This is Jamila - the new barbie Caralyn got.
She's wearing an abaya and a sheyla!

Check out Jamila's henna!

Lebanese beer....it's awesome!

I was hoping this would be legible - but it was a fascinatin article in Abu Dhabi Weekly
It was just an article where an Emirati male talks about what they do for Eid
Eid began tonight.  The exact time Eid started depended on the moon - and so I guess

at the last minute (I guess the Imam)tells officially when it starts. 

***I think if you click on the picture it'll enlarge it - and you can read it***

Our movie tickets...of course no popcorn or drinks since it was Ramadan.
We did the American thing - sneak in your own food!

Roomy...

Finally - we have more room!  Luckily some of the families from Group 1 have moved out and left some of the two bedrooms hotel apartments available for us who have been in a one bedroom!  Last night when we got home after taking our kids to play with some new friends - we checked and our new place was cleaned and ready.  So we rushed up and within 15 minutes had packed all of our stuff and it was in the hall ready to move!  So finally around 10:30 p.m. we finished putting things away and headed off to bed.

Pics taken at breakfast this morning:

The new hotel apartment has two bedrooms with full bathrooms, a half bathroom in the living room, and a full kitchen area with an almost full size fridge. It'll be nice to have a stove and oven to cook with.  And plenty of room or groceries! 

This morning we went to church.  We do enjoy going there but it's nothing like Grandparkway.  We're curious to explore a few others in Al Ain - assuming there are a few to choose from!  Getting to the church was hilarious. There were 5 families that al walked out to get a taxi at the same time.  This 12 passenger van pulls up and I asked him "how much to church". He said it was 10 AED.  So we piled in.  ALL 5 FAMILIES!  There were 21 people (includin kids too) piled in.  We were like the clowns at the circus getting out. I'm sure people were laughing when we just kept getting out! 

Once we made it back home and starting thinking about grocery shopping for the week since we'll be here hanging out and we heard the "call" today. I jumped up to grab my video camera so you could see/hear it all.  It was funny to hear Cole say, "oh - that's the Imam talking".  He obviously had paid more attention than I relalized.  

We deided to explore a little more today with groceries.  We went to Spinney's.  You can go to the "back room" there and gets lots of pork items!  Jennifer picked up some bacon, pop tarts (not sure why they were back there", and some ham.  It was interesting to see the doors which said "Non-Muslims".  There were plenty of people back there too.  Spinney's had quite a selection of various things.  The store was packed.  Then we headed to LuLu at Mushriff Mall.  This mall is new.  LuLu has a huge store with quite a selection.  It was like the Rice Epicurean of LuLu's. So we spent $612 AED which is about $164 USD.  So considering we got food for 5 days, it's not really that bad!  And we got quite a few "western" brands too!  Since today is the holy day the store was packed!  Lines, lines, and more lines.  We even bought more Nutella.  Caralyn and I love nutella!  Especially on crackers!   

Spinneys in Arabic

I love it - I love it - I love it!

Tomorrow we're heading out to Al Ain to get all of the water and electricity turned on at our villa.  There are quite a few folks heading out there with us.  We're taking the city bus from Abu Dhabi to Al Ain.  Should be an event.  Good thing the buses are like the luxury charter buses.  The kids are excited to see camels on the way and the sand dunes! 

As it stands now we're just hanging out here until September 4th.  We haven't received any of our furniture allowance yet and the holiday, Eid, is starting I think on Monday.  So the governement offices are closed.  Our "school district" is closed until September 4th.  Inshallah - we'll end up at the villa sometime.

So we'll sit back and enjoy the city and maybe even actually go to the beach if we can stand the heat!

Stay Tuned...

August 24th.....

Well we’ve had the month of birthdays. The kids on the 10^th.  Mine on the 21^st.  And Jennifer’s today!  I chose Chili’s for my dinner. Jennifer wanted Mexican – no surprise there!  We saw Cantina Laredo the other night at Kalidaiyah Mall.  We met up with several other LT’s. There were probably 20 teachers there. And it was another LT’s birthday too!  It’s neat to meet up and chat about life and things with these LT’s we’ve become friends with.  It’s like they are our family now!  We feel like we’ve known them forever and are just at some usual dinner gathering when we haven’t known then for that long. Makes you feel like you’re at home when you’re actually 8200 miles away! 

The food was actually good.  Salsa was awesome.  Of course it wasn’t Pappasitos or La Finca but close enough!  Can’t ask for the best Mexican food when we’re in the Middle East! 

After dinner we stopped my Krispy Kreme for some doughnuts!  Here in Abu Dhabi this is more of a dessert place than a breakfast place.  So it was some yummy dessert!  Jennifer and the kids decided to save theirs for tomorrow morning. 

Day two of orientation for us.  Today’s orientation was curriculum.  Well mine was at least. We were provided with all of the high school curriculum documents.  It’s interesting here that everything centers around one theme.  The whole trimester (13 weeks) is based on a theme.  The students are expected to do a research project that somehow ties into the themes.  This project is ½ of their trimester grade.  We also had about 5 current LT’s and they did lots of Q&A which was priceless!  It was awesome to hear from them. 

Before we left I asked one of the male LT’s what he could tell me about the high school boy’s behavior.  He said, “get ready!”  I knew he was going to give me this answer but I was hoping it was going to be better.  He said it’s crazy in the beginning – or rather until December/January.  So guess now I need to be mentally prepared!  Although I did have a very rough group my 2^nd year teaching and I survived that year just fine.  So who knows.  Inshallah, right?!?

Jennifer’s curriculum day was not really curriculum.  It was more on bi-literacy.  When they discuss vocabulary they need to do the English and Arabic form.  Basically it’s a little bit of relief that what they’re expected to do is what Alief has already expected.  Small groups, differentiation, lots of kid observations, assessing performance, etc.  Guess that’s why they hired us, right?

Today was a day of new things and irritating things.  As for our rental – not happening – at least not yet.  So we’ve been hearing others say, “it’s illegal to rent a car in the UAE without your residency visa”, if you’re not a tourist.  We’ll we also heard others say no, not true.  So come to find out – you can get a rental if you have an international driver’s license.  Well we didn’t get one stateside because we were told so many times that you don’t need it which is partly true.  So now we just hope the embassy can do it (supposedly they can!).  I attempted to get in touch with the embassy but because of Ramadan things shut down around 2ish.  So I’ll see what happens tomorrow.  And then Ramadan is just about over and then it’s Eid (the festival) and things shut down.  And government offices are closed.  So our school district is closed until September 4^th.  So who really knows what’s going to happen when.  Again – Inshallah!  Either way – we can move now since we have keys but with no furniture allowance yet, why bother! 

Our taxi driver today on the way home taught us some Arabic.  Not sure about spelling but I now remember one word – cita – which means straight.

By the way – Caralyn loves to wear a sheila (the head covering).  She’ll probably come back to the states wearing one all the time!    

Stay Tuned…



Insha’Allah…Inshallah…

Well we actually went to work today.  Sort of.  Day 1 of the 3 day orientation.   And it didn’t even feel like a full day of work since we got back to the hotel apartment around 2 pm.  That is something to get used to!  We were briefed on the ADEC code of conduct, the electronic systems, and an awesome cultural talk from an Emiratee (how do we even spell that?).  She was hilarious.  She went over the does and don’t in this culture.

-          Don’t sit with your foot crossed and the sole facing to someone.  It’s disrespectful.  If you’re going to cross your leg, cross it where the sole faces downward. 

-          Don’t ever shake hands, pass something, or receive it using the left hand.  It’s unclean! 

-     Personal space.  Don't crowd in on the opposite sex. (not evident at stores where folks from anywhere around the world just jump in line to get helped or whatever.  I'm learning to be more forceful and keep my place in line.  It's crazy!   

One thing that was particularly interesting is that when His Excellency Dr. Mugheer Al Khaili who is head of ADEC (I guess like the Superintendent) walks in the room or goes to speak or even leaves the room you stand up.  The respect factor is huge here.  They even reiterated how society puts teachers in a more respectable position then we’re used to. 

Lately we’ve been trying to occupy our time with various things like grocery shopping – since we have limited space we go quite often.  And now that we know our time is almost up at the hotel apartment we’ve picked out all of our furniture to furnish our villa.  There are items that are quite expensive but since we know our time here is temporary we went on the cheap side.  We are given $20,000 AED (dirham’s) which is about $5600 USD. So we are able to furnish the living room, all bedrooms, dining room table, and appliances and still have a little left over for kitchen items.  Not bad! 

Now our only real worry or concern is logistically how to get the furniture ordered, paid for, and delivered in a timely fashion.  And while we don’t have our money yet – it’s all on hold.  But Insha’Allah it’ll all happen somehow. 

We are starting to learn how things just don’t happen as quick and as punctual and timely as we’re used to in the U.S.  Today Jennifer went to get something copied at a photocopy shop and someone told her it’ll open at 5. So she waited around she then come 5:15 the shop person shows up.  But the other issue is its Ramadan and things don’t get hoppin’ until the evening.  Go to the mall at 10PM and it’s packed.  Still bizarre to us! 

Jennifer’s birthday is tomorrow and we’re thinking of attempting Mexican food.  Not sure what it’ll be like.  For my birthday we went to Chili’s.  Food was 100% like home!  Except the margarita.  I just assumed you order a margarita and it’ll be the same. NO!  It was so tart!  But Caralyn loved it.  I think she felt cool drinking what appeared to be an adult drink.  But no alcohol.  And when you sit down you get some dates as an appetizer.  We stuck with our chips and salsa.  I can still taste it!  Reminded us of home!!!! 

And Caralyn.  Everyone just stares at her and smiles.  I think they think she’s like a china doll in real life!  We never leave the cab or the mall without someone just grinning when they see her!  Even the other LT’s think she’s adorable.  Not that she isn’t!  It’s just something we never really got in the U.S.  They just dote over her!

Looks like Thursday we’ll get our vehicle. We’re trying to get some clarification on the whole visa thing and renting a car.  Rumor (or rumour) has it we need our residency visa.  Insh’Allah we’ll have a vehicle – a Chevrolet Cruze.  Better than a two door!!! 

Stay Tuned…

YUM!  Just like at home!  Couldn't get enough salsa!

Dates - a freebie at Chili's.  I actually liked them.  We bought several the other day - from two different places in the Middle East.  I really liked the UAE ones.  Jennifer's not a fan of them!

 Cute Pic...Caralyn likes some margaritas. Of course no tequila in it! 

Ties....not my friend.  But they have to be here. 

Say goodbye to capri's and hello to wrist, neck, and ankle.  (to be covered!)

That was the "hint" to remember if clothing is appropriate for females here. 

Edible Arrangements - even in the UAE!

The Grand Mosque of Abu Dhabi: Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

 

This picture was taken from the street.  Amazing site. 



 Fascinating!  This mosque is huge. And it's even more amazing to see at night with all the lighting.  The lighting color changes according to the phases of the moon.  I believe that since we're near a full moon it's a nice bright white color.  We'll have to check it out at night and have some awesome photos taken!

We arrived at the mosque around 10:30.  There is a guided tour at 11. We had no idea what to expect but were up for the adventure to see something that most people never see in person! Here are lots of photos. I'm going to attempt to remember all the interesting facts and information of the mosque.  If any of it is incorrect - sorry. 

Construction was started on the mosque in 1994. Sheikh Zayed (who is like the king/president/founder of the UAE) wanted a mosque that was unique and a place for all Muslims to gather together in one place to pray and worship.  Unfortunately he did not live long enough to see the mosque completed.  Technically it's still "under construction".  Sheikh Zayed is buried next to the mosque. 



There are several large pools of water surrounding the two sides of the mosque we were on.

Not sure about the other two. One side has fountains of some sort but they were being cleaned so we never did see them in action.

  

First thing - as soon as we arrived we were told (which we knew already) that Jennifer had to put on an abaya. We were prepared. I knew I had to wear pants.  I liked her in the abaya - and even suggested she take that up but she wanted nothing to do with it!  The kids didn't have to wear anything specific.  I should have worn shorts so I could wear some traditional dress too! 





Ahmed - our tour guide - and humorous (or humourous as we might see spelled over here!) at times!





This is the huge courtyard.  This area can hold something like 20,000 worshippers here.  There are flowers made up of marble from all over the world. There are flowers all over the place because Sheikh Zayed loved gardens so he wanted the mosque to have resemblances of gardens so there are flowers everywhere. 

This minaret is where the prayer call is sent out. Traditionally the imam would go to the top and call the Muslims to prayer.  Now with technology they just use speakers so everyone can hear.  What is unique in Abu Dhabi is that the "call" always comes from this mosque.  It is broadcast through satellite all over Abu Dhabi city.  In Dubai and Al Ain you'll hear calls from all the mosques not just one call.  The gold you see here is actually gold - covered in some sort of Italian glass to protect the gold.  I am pretty sure that Ahmed (our tour guide) said that all the gold you see is actual real gold. 

If you look at  the three domes to the right of the three door like structures - and above the first and third domes you'll see a small column coming up. Those are Islamic designs - and it's hollow inside and it allows cool (is there such a thing here in the desert?) to flow down and create a breeze.

 

The domes I think there was 20+ of them - are of India inspiration - like the Taj Mahal.

They are made of limestone from various places around the world. 

A rotunda - one of many

 Each part of the flower is a different piece of marble. It's like stained glass style but with marble.

No shoes!  We were allowed to wear shoes in the outside area but once you go into the prayer areas you have to take your shoes off.  When Cole and I went to the restroom we even had to take our shoes off.  Luckily once we walked around the corner we actually found some sandals we could wear.  It was a little nasty knowing so many people wear the same shoes to the restroom.  Cole just kept saying, "this is soooo disgusting!" 

He was even more perplexed when he saw the style of restrooms....see photo below:

This photo is inside the area before you go to the various prayer areas.  The walls have all these flowers on them (again for the garden type theme) and the floors as well.  The walls must be around 50 feet high. The window looking section to the right of the flower wall is actually a door.  It also has like colored glass flowers on it.  The glass is 3 layers thick.  Luckily once we got to this section it was air conditioned.  We were quite hot by this point! 

Now inside the minor prayer hall - the carpet is very thick and has flowers all over.  What is even more interesting is the carpet flowers are identical to the flowers on the ceiling (see photo below).  There are probably 5 or 6 of them.  They did the ceiling once they had the carpet installed to get it exact. 

One of the many chandeliers that are all over the mosque.  This one is nothing compared to the one in the main prayer area.

See the line in the middle of his picture?  They are in the carpet so that the worshippers know where to line up.  They start the lines behind the Imam - shoulder to shoulder, foot to foot. This is so they can show Allah that they are all created  equal.  Which made me think (soap box moment) this was a little deceptive because seeing the way nannies are treated definitely shows there is a class system here. The lines of worshippers would stand in line with the same sex.  Our tour guide gave us an example of why they wouldn't be mixed gender - he said imagine if I'm here to worship/pray and a girl is shoulder to shoulder and foot to foot and she's very beautiful and young I would be way too distracted. I was surprised that he used that example because you NEVER see anyone showing affection to their mate/spouse here.  In fact in the mall - it was one of their "rules" in the mall guide - no showing public displays of affection. 

When you walk into the main prayer hall - you see this huge chandelier. 

Another rotunda - with Arabic writing - from the Qaran/Quran

Again - in the main prayer area of the mosque - the gold column looking thing in the back - is where the Imam stands to say the prayers.  It's also lined with gold.  And the semi-circle shape was designed so that when the Imam prays his voice is reflected so the worshippers can hear him.  They even have stations where there are video cameras - you can catch it broadcasted on TV.  Just like home...

Next to this area was a podium like structure.  This is where a sermon is delivered. 

By this point - Cole had had enough.  He was tired of listening to Ahmed and was rolling around on the carpet.  He was up under Jennifer's abaya and Caralyn was attempting to hide too!  The carpet Cole is laying on was hand women by some Iranian women. This carpet is said to be the largest carpet that is one single piece. It's something like 50,000 square meters.  They had the carpet brought to the mosque along with the Iranian women who hand tied it and then they were able to get it around the columns. 

Along the center back wall of the main prayer area there are these flower/star like designs.  The largest one says Allah in Arabic. It is a pentagon. The flowers around the center one are five sided flowers.  Each flower has another "name" or characteristic of Allah.  One might be merciful, greatest, etc. 

The flowers have five sides - representing the five pillars of Islam

1) Allah is God - the only God

2) 5 daily prayers

3) Fasting

4) Giving to charity

5) Hajj - going to Mecca - the holy city

 

The clocks above were very interesting too.  The only difference between them is one is in Arabic and one is in English.  They are actually the same clock.  It just switches from the language to the prayers and times.  This basically guides the Muslims to what prayer occurs at what time.  There are 5 prayers and I can't remember what the extra part would be.  And the clock is in the middle. 

  

The mosque is open to be public (obviously) to tour when it is not a praying time.  If you are not Muslim - you do not attend any of their prayers/worship.  On an average Friday (Friday is the holy day for Muslims) they have 9,000 - 10,000 worshippers. 

It was neat to see this mosque and hear all the important details about the building and the religion itself.  Having taught lessons on the 3 major world religions it was neat to see and hear some real parts of it!  Definitely a must see when you travel to Abu Dhabi! 

A question I still have.....What (in US dollars) did it cost to build the Grand Mosque???