EMAAR AND OMAAR NO MORE!!

Here's a great story for you!  A momma cat was killed in a car accident.  (Don't worry, it gets better!)  A day or two later (?) her two kittens were found weak and suffering from dehydration.     They were less than two weeks old.  A lady with the American Women's Association (AWA) stepped up to the plate and agreed to foster them.  She became their new Momma!


Several AWA members that live in the Dubai Marina area met for coffee one morning.  We heard about these kittens.  Several of us promptly left to help her feed her new babies.

She feeds them every four hours.  They are adorable.  Their names are Omaar and Emaar.

I recently heard that Omaar and Emaar were now actually playing and had developed quite the shoe fetish!  Their names were quickly changed to Sugar and Spice!!  They just have to be girls!!

They are gaining weight and thriving!  However, she has decided to not be their foster Mom any longer.  But don't worry -- she has adopted Emaar and Omaar No More!!  Yea!!!!

ABRAS and DHOWS and SOUKS.....OH MY!!

Recently I spent the day with some ladies from the AWA (American Women's Association).  We boarded the Big Red Bus for a Big Red Bus Tour through Diera and Bur Dubai.  These areas are affectionately known here as "Old Dubai".   The contrast was simply startling!  So much of Dubai is bright and shiny and glitzy and amazingly NEW.  What we saw that day was something totally at the other end of the spectrum...something not so bright and shiny and glitzy but amazing none the less!!

At times it is hard to remember that we are living right smack dab in the middle of a desert!!  Dubai does an awesome job at keeping things green and colorful!!

The bus tour gave us a great overview of the older sections of Dubai.  After the bus ride we gathered outside the Dubai Museum to begin our walking tour of the Meena Bazaar (Textile Souk), the Gold Souk, and the Spice Souk.

Diwali, a holiday for Hindus in India, was being celebrated so the decorations were especially colorful!!

Then came our first-hand look at the contrasting "new" versus "old" in Dubai.  Here are some of the buildings we saw that, to me, represent some of the "new".... they make for a perfect backdrop for the "old" in Dubai, don't you think?

And here are the boats.....up close and personal!  Nothing short of spectacular to see!

Everywhere I looked I saw a picture of something I wanted to remember forever!

We boarded an Abra at the Abra Station....

and crossed the Creek to have lunch at a highly recommended restaurant (Thanks Sharon!!).....

We enjoyed not only the food (which was quite yummy!) but also the Abras and the Dhows sailing up and down the Creek....

Then off we went on our own Dhow Cruise down the Dubai Creek!  It was a wonderful ending to a beautiful day!

It was fascinating to see the ships and the cargo that was offloaded onto the docks!  The boats transport everything from television sets to refrigerators to mattresses to cars to crate after crate after crate of who knows what! 

But before the cruise ended I saw something I hadn't seen since arriving in Dubai over three months ago.....would you believe there was stormy weather heading our way?

Yes, we had dark skies, lots of wind, and then....a little sprinkle.....

And as fast as it came it was over!  Our day ended perfectly with a gorgeous sunset!!

Abras and Dhows and Souks.....OH MY!!