June 30, 2007

Floating Bridges - #302


Dubai is suddenly becoming a city of bridges, expanding from 2 to 4 in a few months, with another one coming up fast...

This is the floating bridge, opening soon - it looks "interesting"!

June 29, 2007

110 degrees F - #301


Just a snap of a thermometer today - 110 in the shade...

June 28, 2007

Aurora Dubailis - #300


A rare sighting of the Aurora Dubailis (The Arabian Lights).

A nice abstract to get back on track and celebrate my 300th post.

June 27, 2007

A Modern Day Oasis In The Desert - #299


Bab Al Shams resort is a great get away 45 mins outside of Dubai city. It's pretty unusual in that it is literally in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the desert...

Pretty nice. This has been the location for the last few shots...

June 26, 2007

The Obidient Equus Caballus - #298


Part 2 of the 2 part series.

I have to make this very clear - the stick was only ever tapped and I am sure that it was never used in any aggressive way. Truly - I wouldn't feature a pic if I had any doubt of this fact.

June 25, 2007

The Proud Equus Caballus - #297


Part 1 of a 2 part equine series...

June 24, 2007

June 23, 2007

A Small Study Of Light And Shade - #295


Some alluring Arabian arch architecture (plus some alliteration to boot).

June 21, 2007

Ol' Bluey's Eyes a/k/a It Ain't Half Hot Mum - #294


A self-portrait. Dubai. June 2007

A slice of Bluey in the heat...

Minarets - #293


Minarets in detail.

I'm curious - I thought that the details on the apex of each minaret should always be crescents. These are full circles. Why?

June 20, 2007

Daytripper - #292


A day at the seaside...

June 19, 2007

Manakish - #291


A typical oven set up - open to the street. The breads to the right of the oven are simply fantastic.

These are manakish - the lower ones are zaatar - this is a thyme based topping - and the others are cheese manakish.

Basically this is a bread base loosely similar to a pizza idea, although different taste and texture. They are fantastic (and a bit of a diet buster!)...

June 18, 2007

A Different Arabian Gulf - #290


This Gulf is the one between the opulence and populace, the worker and the product, one lunch and one month's salary, retaining your passport and using it as colateral...

June 17, 2007

A Pair Of Snappers - #289


A low shot of some fellow snappers at Jumeriah Mosque.

June 16, 2007

Umm Sequim Mosque - #288


A beautiful mosque only 50 yards from a secluded beach. Umm Sequim. Dubai.

June 15, 2007

The Look Out - #287


Taken on the public beach in Jumeriah today.

There are a surprising amount of people still using the beach even though it was about 42 degrees today. A breeze was trying to help, but it was still very hot.

You can see the Burj Dubai in the background here. It is now the tallest building in the world as far as I know. You can also from this just how close Sheikh Zayed Road (the Burj Dubai is on the SZR) is to the beach.

June 14, 2007

Noodle House - a/k/a Bluey From Above - #286


The Noodle House in Burjuman Centre. A nice place to have a tasty lunch. You'll find me here sometimes at the weekend...

Just don't look up...

June 13, 2007

The Mouth Of The Creek - #285


A vital part of Dubai's history and earlt success is the Creek. The original wooden dwellings lined the Creek and the main economy was based on trade and pearl fishing.

This was only to change signifiantly in the 1950s with the discovery of oil in the region. The population of Dubai then was 20,000. Today it is well over 1 million.

June 12, 2007

Sun Crazed Lens Man a/k/a You Can Run, But You Can't Hide - #284


Bluey hit the burning tarmac running hard.

The soles of his sneakers sizzled with the friction of pursuit, his quarry barrelling through the dock area, desperate for a bolt hole, a tarpaulin, anything to get away from the sun crazed lens man hot on his tail.

Yet somehow, even with his deep knowledge of his environs, the Bilge Rat was being reeled in, like so many pounds of struggling snapper. Bluey sensed blood in the water, flashing strobotically and viciously grabbing the image...

... Bluey slumped over. Rivers of dank musty dust blown sweat boiled off his forehead as he muttered "One more shot, one more poor sap to be taken by me. When will it end? So many shots, one more shot for those photographic vampires that come and suck at my blog... I hope the b*stards like it"...

June 11, 2007

Ali B And The Forty Winks - #283


This heat does this to you... it actually looked really comfotable and peaceful - but too hot for me.

June 10, 2007

June 09, 2007

Dhow Wharfage - #281


Some traditional dhows at the wharfage on the Creek, just near Maktoum Bridge.

June 08, 2007

Little Happy Chef - #280


A small street side cafe in Satwa. They all have open windows from the kitchen so customers can be served directlt and for ventilation. Not sure of the hygene factors with this!

But if you can look so happy at work as this guy did, then I think you achieved something...

June 07, 2007

The Remnants Of Gonu - #279


Cyclone Gonu has just grazed the UAE - it was a serious category 5 hurricane (the maximum). Oman was hit hard with a lot of flooding and Iran has suffered losses of life.

Dubai was quite far from the effected areas, however I am sure the clouds tonight in this shot were somehow related to the great depression of Gonu.

With the shot - I gotta say, even though it's "mine" - I particularly like it...

June 06, 2007

Are You Sitting Comfortably? - #278



Taking it outdoors. DXB style.

June 05, 2007

June 04, 2007

The $10billion Man - #276


Here are the front gates to Sheikh Maktoum's palace in Dubai.

I've mentioned this before, however I really do believe that the leaders / rulers of the UAE get it right to a higher degree than western leaders, with more respect and greater success.

I do respect them quite a lot. One example - one of the largest charity donations in the world. Ever. US$10billion towards education.Sheikh Mohammed I really do salute you.

June 03, 2007

Maher Coffee Shop - #275


Two cool guys chilling in the 40+ heat. Satwa, Dubai. June 2007

June 02, 2007

Water, Water Everywhere And Not A Drop To Drink - #274


Seems harsh... not allowed to drink the water in 40+ deg. heat.

Well, it's actually for your own good - the water used for a lot of the public horticulture is "grey water" as far as I know. And that means it's been recycled from other uses and isn't that clean anymore...

June 01, 2007

Satwa Family Room - #273


Satwa is an interesting area of Dubai.

It's very central and is one of the older parts of town. It's also one of the less affluent areas, yet has the most vibrant street scenes and definitely the most useful shops...

By the way - it's getting hot, too hot. 2 hours out in 40+ degree heat today for the blog... getting concerned for the summer ahead!

The painted wall behind these guys reads Family Room. I have no idea what that would be...