South Asia Diaries - Abu Dhabi

Dubai | Abu Dhabi | Kolkata | Delhi | Agra | Jaipur | Rongpur | Dhaka

We had one free morning - before we had to leave for Kolkata - and I had enough of the malls of Dubai. So we decided to rent a car and leave early for Abu Dhabi, spend the day there and return in the evening. Our flight was much later that night. And we had everything packed, so it sounded like a good plan.

Except for a couple of things.

1) Right as we approached Abu Dhabi, the Wife became really sick. At first we decided to just head back to Dubai, but after visiting a pharmacy, she became well enough so we could just do a very, very quick tour and then return. We decided to visit Sheikh Zayed mosque (which is right before Abu Dhabi starts) and Emirates Palace Hotel.

We were also meeting the world famous blogger Suroor at the Emirates Palace Hotel, where she was treating us to (a very expensive :-D ) lunch.

Unfortunately the Wife became sick again right after lunch, so we could not even tour the hotel properly, and returned to Dubai.

2) I hadn't thought of the ridiculous driving standards of UAE! But more on that later.

So, without much ado, here's the magnificent Sheikh Zayed mosque - the world's 8th largest mosque.


Each pillar of the mosque has stone mosaics following a beautiful "nature" theme. This was evident all over - the courtyard of the mosque, the beautiful carpet in the praying areas and the pillars throughout the mosque.


A view of the mosque from the courtyard. The mosque is built in the traditional Andalusian style, with a courtyard surrounded by a "fence" of elaborately designed pillars, and the main praying halls.

The men's praying area is to the left, the women's area was to the right.


Yet another view of the court yard. Every women visitor had to obtain an 'abaya' from the mosque's visitor's office.


The abayas were designed very well and looked expensive. Many of the women visitors were keeping theirs.

Sadly, I also saw some women clearly being disrespectful, and I had noticed the same attitude when visiting the Vatican.

Not only did they wear short dresses or shorts (they were visiting a place of worship in a MUSLIM country for God's sake) but when asked to cover up with the FREE designer abaya, they were rolling it up to leave their ankles exposed or throwing down the scarf to expose their hair - leaving the female guards chasing after them all the time. Why visit a place of worship if you can't respect it? When I visited the Vatican, or any churches on our Europe trip, I took care to respect their wishes, even if other Christian visitors didn't - such as no photography at some places, no talking, etc. Even the Vatican had modesty requirements for womens' dresses!

After 10-15 shots, I finally got one picture with the sky the proper amount of blue that I wanted. I hate having to process any pictures at a later time via Photoshop!


Each alcove at the mosque had a really opulently beautiful design. When I did wudu, there was a cleaner on standby to immediate wipe the area dry.

Here's a final shot of the mosque before we had to leave for the pharmacy to get some medicines for the Wife.


For more pictures of this mosque, visit Nadia's blog for some fabulous shots of this place during night time.

And then off we went to the Emirates Palace Hotel to meet Suroor. She is as lovely a person in real life as she is on her blog. I have been fortunate to have some really gem of human beings as my blogger friends, and who I have met during my travels. Suroor is one such kind hearted and smart human being. She treated us to a delicious lunch at the hotel, after which we explored a bit before heading back to Dubai.

Here is the world's most expensive Christmas tree - and that too in a Muslim country! Valued at over $11 million, standing over 13 metres tall and decorated with over 180 diamonds, pearls, emeralds, sapphires and other precious stones - this was one imposing tree.


This was in the lobby of the hotel reception. The following picture is the main rotunda of the Emirates Palace Hotel (above the tree).


Heading back to Dubai, I have to recount the wild driving incidents we saw on the road. On the way to Abu Dhabi in the morning, I stayed in the second lane, as I was doing around 145 km/hr. At that speed, I was routinely overtaken by zooming cars that were going easily at 180 km/hr. We saw a couple of deadly accidents too - but I guess the local Arab kids don't let that deter them. Driving is a crazy business here. I read somewhere UAE has the highest death numbers per capita from road accidents - and I can believe it.

I used to drive a lot in UAE. Here's a picture of Jabel Hafeet, a mountain you can drive up in the city of Al Ain, in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. These were my pictures on our last visit.



Now, I get scared when I think of driving in UAE, especially Dubai. As I entered Dubai, on the way back, we came upon a traffic jam. The car stopped as everyone was slowing down.

Apparently, not the car behind me. He saw he couldn't stop in time, roared on to the shoulder, clipped my mirror and damaged the side door before stopping.

For a second.

And then the driver sped off - a classic case of hit and run.

Thankfully, I had complete insurance and it was a rental car. If it was my car I would be seriously pissed off. Waiting for the police to come on their own sweet time, obtaining a report, heading to the car rental place to exchange the car (and driving in Dubai without a left side mirror - a death wish), returning home late - we managed to reach the airport just one hour before our flight was to depart.

Somehow, we made it. We were the last to board the flight to Kolkata!

Updated: Here are some more pictures from our last visit to beautiful Abu Dhabi.

The Etisatal Building - close to our old school

The beautiful Abu Dhabi Corniche - a great place for walks, bicycle rides, runs, relaxing or having a picnic in the beautiful parks

The shops inside Marina Mall - built on reclaimed land they call here "the Breakwater"

More Marina Mall pictures, probably Abu Dhabi's best mall (besides the self-titled Abu Dhabi Mall) - and unlike some of the malls in Dubai, here the malls are actually full of shoppers

The turquoise blue waters of the beach along the Corniche

On to Kolkata. To be continued ...

South Asia Diaries - Dubai

Dubai | Abu Dhabi | Kolkata | Delhi | Agra | Jaipur | Rongpur | Dhaka

It's been a while since I had visited Dubai, and the city has changed so much in those years. They built a whole slew of new stuff while I was away! Of course, the big thing for me was to compare how much the place I was brought up in has changed and if I would still recognize my old haunts.

We also met a very charming couple here - a blogger whose blog I have been following for quite some time, and her husband. I am of course talking about Nadia and Masood. It was a pleasure meeting two such lovely people who could squeeze some time to meet us very late at night! And thanks for that lovely treat!

Before all of that happened though ... here's the Emirates A380!


14 hours later, Dubai! This was just before they changed the rules for Canadian visitors to the country, but for now, I got a free 30-day visa for the UAE. I would, of course, be staying for just 3 days.


A big difference now is parking. Dubai is a mess (and Abu Dhabi an even bigger mess). Parking used to be free when I was growing up, now it's a cash making machine. Besides, when they were building all those buildings in the 80s and 90s, parking was an afterthought, and it now shows.


But Dubai has a shiny new Metro. We took that to Mall of the Emirates. I put some pictures of the Metro on my Facebook album; I found it to be very clean and efficient (and MUCH better than Toronto's creaky old system). Here's a picture of the Burj Al Arab as taken from the Metro:


The Mall of the Emirates is a HUGE mall ...


... but people only come here for one reason ...


... to see Ski Dubai!




It's pretty amazing when you think about it. It may be 40 degrees C outside and here you are, skiing, inside a mall! Whoever thought of this for the first time ... as they say, there's a fine line between genius and crazy. Sure, it's nothing when you compare it to the real ski hills in Canada or Europe, but think about it. SKIING INSIDE A MALL IN THE DESERT. Now that's something.

Of course, sadly, that was the only thing worth seeing in the mall. Most people in the UAE seem to go to malls just to hang out or to go to the food court. No one shops here. We walked by shops with no one inside.

I guess it's because the locals shop in Karama or Sharjah, where it's much cheaper. And the visitors, well, I could buy the same thing here for the same price, so why would I buy it in Dubai?

On the way back home, on the Metro, we entered the front compartment, so I could take some pictures as the Metro sped ahead.


The view does look like something of a futuristic city in a sci-fi movie!

The next day, we visited the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest tower.


For all the hype about this tower, and it's a marvellous and beautifully designed tower, the biggest disappointment for me was that they don't take you all the way to the top. In fact, you only go about half way up. So if you have visited Toronto's CN tower and you went all the way up to Skypod, you actually have gone higher than you would from visiting the Burj Khalifa, which is the world's tallest tower.

Here's a snapshop of Sheikh Zayed road and the buildings around that road, which is Dubai's main business hub now. It's amazing to think that these buildings would be skyscrapers in their own right, but they are now so dwarfed by the Burj Khalifa.


Again, for someone who hasn't been to this place, it's really, really, really tall. You realize how big the Burj Khalifa is until you come up close.

After that, it was time to visit Dubai Mall, the world's largest shopping mall (and possibly the world's most emptiest mall too). It's a shame that they built such a HUGE mall, such a BEAUTIFUL mall, and their business plan is so flawed that not many people visit the mall, and even fewer make any purchases here. Or so it seemed to me. We were there on a weekend and it was dull.

Is this, er, the world's gayest Christmas Tree?


We were outside Hamley's (the toy store) and the mall was eerily silent. Look at the escalators, hardly a soul there. It was quite a different experience.


It's a beautiful mall, very well made. We walked through the Gold Souk, a section of the mall filled with bling, and the place really looked dead. Not only were the shops empty, many were boarded up. At others, the guys stood outside looking hopefully at us, or were playing with their cellphones, bored.



It was then time to visit the Atlantis. This is quite some drive away from the city, but it was cool driving up what was the "trunk" of the palm. And this is where we encountered a security guy who would not let us in! No visitors, he said.

Well I just drove away, parked, and then came at another gate, and told this guy I was going to the restaurant. Which was true, I was going there, but er, not to eat, but to sight see! :-)



On the way home it was time for Isha and we stopped somewhere to pray, only to realize later it was the famous Jumeirah Mosque, one of old Dubai's original attractions.



So what was my over all experience of Dubai? The more things change ...

Let me tell you about an incident while I was waiting for my wife to pick up her visa at the Dubai airport. We were in a line, and in front of us was a white couple (they looked British). And in front of them were two guys, brown, who looked Indian, and were most likely here in the UAE as labourers.

Everyone was going by the queue. When it was their turn, those two Indian guys walked to the official. "Wait!" He told them, "Move here." He motioned for them to move aside.

He told them to move out so he could serve the British couple who were AFTER them. When the guys, in broken English, asked: "Why? We are in line before them!" - this is what the Arab immigration officer said, no SHOUTED, at them, in equally broken English:

"Are you telling me HOW TO DO MY JOB?! I CAN MAKE YOUR LIFE HELL! Now stand here until I call you."

So, for all the stories you hear, when something like this happens in front of you ... I was just shocked. When it was our turn, we felt guilty walking past those guys, who were equally dumbfounded. And the rest of the officers were laughing at them.

And everyone we met in Dubai kept repeating one word - "artificial". As in life here is very "artificial". So, what can I say? I love Dubai, and it's a nice place to visit. The rest is your call.

As for me, I was headed to Abu Dhabi after 2 days.

To be continued ...

South Asia Diaries - Prologue

Dubai | Abu Dhabi | Kolkata | Delhi | Agra | Jaipur | Rongpur | Dhaka

I am back!

I was off for a month, mostly to visit relatives, but was also able to squeeze in some sightseeing in a very hectic but fun filled vacation.

I visited the beautiful city of Abu Dhabi and the tourist hub that is Dubai ...


I was off to exotic India, where we stayed in Kolkata, Delhi, Agra and Jaipur ...


... and finally home to Shonar Bangladesh, where we visited Dhaka and Rangpur.


I just got back, it's 4 am and for some reason I am wide awake. My relatives and my fun times, I will miss you. Jet lag, I won't!

Now off to sort from over 2000 pictures ...

On Hiatus

This blog is on hiatus till January 15, 2011 - when I hope to be back after visiting some exotic locales, meeting some interesting people and spending some quality time with loved ones.

Season's greetings to everyone, and a Merry Christmas to all my Christian friends (and those who celebrate).

And to all a Happy New Year.

ps. If you want to check out the Islamic story of Christmas (yes, there is one!) visit this link.

Packing and Ashes

Wife: "So, you know we have to buy gifts for ALL your cousins and ALL of MY cousins ..."

Me: "Don't worry, I have the Excel spread sheet ready."

Wife [shocked]: "Excel .... spreadsheet?"

Me: "Yes, everyone's name is entered, along with number of kids, number of gifts required, with currency rate and value of gift in taka and dollars."

Wife: "You know, at some point you have to go and actually buy the gifts, right?"

[Silence]

Me: "I hate shopping."

Man, I hate shopping. Every Christmas, I tell myself I am so glad I am not a Christian so I don't have to go out into the malls and brave the crowds to buy something. And EVERY Christmas I have to go and buy some thing.

I would rather be doing this... which actually I was last week.


Yup, watching the Ashes, with Cricinfo running commentary on one screen and the video on the other. And yes, my comments (feedback) was actually printed by the Cricinfo people.


Yes, there was no point to this post ... except to remind me that I am YET to start packing, YET to confirm the hotels... YET to print the flight details ...

Quran for Kids (with Lego bricks) - A Reminder

If you haven't already, do subscribe to my website Teaching Kids The Holy Quran. It uses toys such as Lego bricks and others to depict scenes from the verses of the Quran. There's also an RSS feed for the site.

Also, do subscribe to the Facebook page for the blog (you have to "Like" it and become a fan). I added a link to the blog on the right links bar on this site as well (under "I Also Blog At").

The new blog is visited by 50-100 people daily, and is showing a steady growth in readership stats alhamdulillah. I hope to have more fans on the Facebook page for further development of the blog.

Christmas At the Mall

With December here already, the festive season is upon us and the malls are all abound with Christmas (or as they say in secular terms here, Holiday) decorations.

Holidays are a time to exchange gifts.

Gifts that come in a hot air balloon!

Balloons that drop into a busy mall! But who brought the gifts?

Why, it's Santa!

Santa is busy taking pictures with delighted kids ...

... right next to the giant Christmas tree ...

... which is right beside Santa's Toy Workshop! I wonder where the elves are hiding.

And how did Santa know to come to this mall? Why, he was invited via a letter, didn't you know!

All photos taken by iPhone 4.

In Defence of Arranged Marriage (Re: Natasha Fatah's CBC Article)

Natasha Fatah recently posted an article on CBC titled "The Problem with Arranged Marriage".

For those who don't know, Natasha is the daughter of Tarek Fatah. Tarek Fatah is a resident of Toronto and someone who claims to be Muslim, yet seems to find Muslims to be the root cause of many of our ills and Muslim extremism a fatal threat to the West. In a recent debate with Naheed Nenshi (Mayor of Calgary - first Muslim mayor in Canada) on Al Jazeerah, Nenshi schools Fatah and totally destroys his arguments. The debate is a must watch, with most of the fun beginning at the 8 minute mark, and Tarek Fatah being so easily outclassed. My favourite quote:

"Mr Fatah has made a career out of making this (Muslim extremism) frankly a bigger deal than it is."

In recent times, Tarek Fatah has opposed the New York mosque, been quoted by Sarah Palin, has supported the Oklahoma vote against "Shariah law" and ridiculed a man trying to prepare his will according to his religious laws. In his recent Facebook post, he recommended Asra Nomani, another "Muslim" journalist who publicly supports racial profiling of Muslims.

Natasha Fatah, his daughter (and likewise, of Indo-Pakistani descent), recently married a Caucasian man, and the pictures were posted on Mr Fatah's publicly available Facebook profile.

In one of the pictures Tarek Fatah captioned "Usually the bride is supposed to be coy and shy and quiet, but this is Canada and Natasha shows no 'haya'".

His daughter replies with "I say Bye-byea to haya!".

All of this therefore proves that not only is the Fatah household not your average Muslim household in terms of their relgious views, but also is far removed from your average Pakistani/South Asian household when it comes to customs and rituals. So given all of this, it is not surprising that Natasha Fatah should now turn her guns to another of her own customs, criticizing it (just like her father who has yet to find a single mainstream mosque or Muslim organization he likes).

In her article, Natasha Fatah goes all over the place. First, she associates South Asian culture with arranged marriages.

Arranged marriage has had roots in every corner of this planet but still holds on strongly in South Asia and even among the South Asian diaspora living in the West.

It is a fact that arranged marriages are quite common in all of Asia and Africa. My real estate agent (who is Korean) got married via arranged marriage. Many of my Arab friends found their wives via families using this custom. My Chinese team partner during my MBA studies was a product of an arranged marriage. It's not just a South Asian thing.

Ms. Fatah continues: "But that doesn't mean we still have to accept a tradition that is still not right for its times."

So, I am waiting for her to say WHY it is not right. After all, the title of her column was "The Problem with Arranged Marriage"!

She uses her cousin as an example.

He and his-now-wife had only met a handful of times before they were to marry. In many ways, they were strangers.

But I have to admit that once they did marry I could see them falling in love before my eyes.

Confused? I am too. It sounds like any marriage. There can be love. Or there can't be. You take your chances.

She then goes on to describe problems, general problems of South Asia (such as poverty and fathers saving their whole lives for their daughters' marriages) and equates them to problems with arranged marriages (which are yet to be defined).

The primary reason for arranged marriage still remains that many families want to secure wealth, property and social status for their children.

I don't know about Ms. Fatah's neck of the woods but most people I know who got married via arranged marriages did so because they felt comfortable with someone their parents and families selected. In many ways our families not only know what's best for us, but also knows what type of spouse can go with the family, their culture and their habits etc. Most children are not treated as "objects", counter to Ms. Fatah's claim. She also curiously says it's a "14^th century custom". Arranged Marriages came long before the 14^th century (which coincidentally is the century when Islam came forth!).

An arranged marriage avoids many pitfalls of traditional courtships. The parents have already approved the match. The family status and religion etc. already match, reducing the chances of conflict and tension. And everyone feels a part of the process, hence they try to make things amicable when there is a fight between the couple.

This is not to put down "love" marriage or other routes of marriages - all have their pluses and minuses and everyone can choose which one works for them and their life style. But I am yet to read on what exactly is the PROBLEM with arranged marriage that Ms Fatah thinks we in the West should completely abolish it!

Non-Arab Arabs

So while Katrina Kaif looks much better saying it, I also have to say it.

"What's my name?"

It's not Misbah, Misba, or *horror* Al Misbah.

It's MEZBA.

I hate it when people come to me and say "Why do you spell your name as Mezba, it should be pronounced as Misbah."

"Why," I will ask, knowing the reply.

"Well, it's really 'mis' in Arabic, not 'mez', so you name should be-"

IN CASE YOU ARE TOO DUMB TO NOTICE OR SEE BEYOND YOUR BEARD this is the English language and I am spelling my name in English and I will spell it the Way I Want It.

Imagine a guy name Paul having this conversation.

"Sorry, it's actually 'Ball' in Arabic and not 'Paul' as we don't have a 'P' sound so you should spell your name as 'Ball' really."

Last time I checked, you spell people's names the way they want it to be spelt and pronounce it the way they want it to be pronounced.

Muslims from the subcontinent (India-Pakistan-Bangladesh) all suffer from an inferiority complex where they want to be very Arab. I don't know why, an Arab isn't much better than a non-Arab (I didn't say it, the Prophet did). Yet, in their zeal to be "more Muslim" they will give every kid an Arabic name. This 'zeal' is most evident in Pakistan.

In Bangladesh, surprisingly, we still have few stalwarts who will give their children Bengali names. They are not Hindu, nor Muslim, but Bengali names. Names that have some good meaning, or is cultural.

And then the problem starts when they meet these non-Arab Arabs.

"Why is your name Mala? That's such a Hindu name."

"Why is your name Moushumee? OMG that is SUCH a Hindu name."

The last from a guy called Sameer who puts "Sam" on his resume.

No, it's not a Hindu name. Broaden your horizons a bit. Sheesh.

One should carry a placard.

"Hi, My name is Moushumee and I am NOT a Hindu."

NTTIAWTT.

Careful what you say ...!

So I am there at the office with my brother to pick up some papers and a package. it was 4.30 pm. At exactly 6 pm I had the badminton court booked.

I stared at my ticket stub. It said 560.

I looked up at the LCD display above. It said "now serving applicant 540".

Twenty people more, I thought, how bad could it be?

It was bad. It was so slow.

"What's the time?" My brother, and badminton partner, asked me.

"4:45 pm." I glanced at my watch and replied.

"Uh oh." He quickly calculated. "It will take us 40 minutes to go home in rush hour. We will be cutting it close."

"If by 5 we are ready to pick it up ..." I left the sentence unfinished. We would just reach home in time. Perhaps.

"Now serving customer 559." The LCD said.

"It's 5 o'clock." My brother announced, quite loudly.

"Yeah," I replied. And then I added, not realizing, in a VERY loud voice, "The countdown has begun."

Quite the wrong choice of words when you are at an embassy to pick up your visa ...

Superstitions

I recently read of the plight of a house owner in Markham who cannot sell his house because it is no. 4, which is "death" in Cantonese [source].

“Tetraphobia,” fear of 4, entered their vocabulary.

Having a 4 in the address can lower a home's value — "Agents estimate anywhere between $25,000 and $35,000," Graham Canning says.

The article mentions that the area was predominantly Anglo when the owners first moved in, but now is mostly Chinese (Hong Kong immigrants) - many of whom won't buy if there is the number 4 in the house address.

Now to me, this is quite silly. It's like the old joke where "so-and-so heard that 80% of accidents happen near one's home, so he moved". I then read some of the comments left by readers. Here's one:

Canada has been accommodating immigrants so long, that accommodating Canadians somehow fell off the map.

So says someone poking fun of an immigrant superstition, when you will not find a floor number 13 on most Canadian buildings! In fact, there is one condo in Scarborough where there are no floors that are numbered 4, 13 or 23!

In Bangladesh, most superstitions I grew up with tended to be fears of the dark. So for example you don't cut your nails after evening, you don't look at your shadows at night or if someone is lying on the floor, don't step over them. Some are pretty common sense but others are quite ridiculous - for example if your right hand itches you will have some money coming in!

So perhaps one should give the house owner some itching powder and get him to sell the house to a non-Chinese person.

Why Muslims Should (Not) Vote (Democrat)

Today, all the Facebook statuses of my politically active American friends are encouraging everyone to go out and vote. "Make your voice count!" They say. And most of them are recommending the Democrats.

It's not hard to see why someone would prefer the Democrats. The alternate (Republican/Tea Party) are vehemently anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant, anti-racist by their acts, views and opinions. America today is a sad country, and a terrible place to be a Muslim. But, and this is a strong reason, are you really making your voice count if you are voting a Democrat, just to stop the Republicans?

In Nevada, for example, you have to vote for Harry Reid, the Democrat leader, who said publicly he does not want the mosque in New York to be built. And I ask, what is the difference between him and a Republican?

In fact, the very pathetic condition of the US political system is that you really have only two choices, Democrat and Republican, who are not really very different. And for Muslims, the outlook is worse. The Republicans hate you and will never benefit you, while the Democrats know you will vote for them regardless, and therefore doesn't court you for support.

So, if you really want to make your voice count, make an honest vote. If your Democrat candidate has truly spoken out supporting Muslims and supporting issues you care about, then vote for him (or her). However, if your Democrat has also joined the Republicans in opposing Muslim interests, or not taken any action on issues you care about, don't vote for that candidate. Make the candidate feel (write a letter or email) as to why you did not vote for that person. The candidates should know that your vote has to be earned. There's a bunch of other candidates running (who may not have a chance of winning) but would appreciate your support (and if there's no one, don't vote).

You as a Muslim are not responsible for changing the world for the better, you as a Muslim are only responsible for making an effort to do so. Success (and failure) comes from Allah.

Don't fear the Republicans. They can do what they want, they can plan what they will, Allah is the Best of planners. Muslims have been there long before them and Muslims will be there long after they are burning in Hell.

And, in case they really take America down the drain, you can always move to Canada. We have a real political system. And health care.

Read With Meaning

This year three of my close friends depart for Hajj, inshAllah. I hope Allah accepts their Hajj and grants them (and all the Hajjis) a safe return home and a Hajj Mabroor (a pilgrimage free from vice). Two years ago, another close friend had also performed the pilgrimage. I plan to go on the pilgrimage in 2012 inshAllah, and I invite you all to join me if you can.



I would also like to announce the launch of a new blog.

Teaching Kids the Holy Quran

Why kids? Well, it will be self-evident when you visit the site!

What I have noticed is a lot of kids (and even adults) read the Quran without understanding a single word of the text. Allah Himself has agreed to protect the Quran - so the Book does not need the efforts of people like me, but I hope the interesting visual representation of the translated words will help in raising the interest of some kids (and even adults who may not normally have the inclination) to read (and understand) the Quran. In other words - I hope they read with meaning.

That blog will be updated about twice a month - so I encourage you to subscribe to the RSS feed. I am also playing around with the size of the images - so the first set is probably too large but the next posts should have smaller sized images.