Camels In The Road

In search of inexpensive accommodation (Dubai’s rent is out of control), Barry and I drove out of Dubai and discovered small towns by the names Al Hayer and Al Faqqa. The traffic in these towns is much slower. P.S. Killing or injuring a camel has serious consequences.

Dubai Marina Flood

These are pictures of Dubai Marina. The marina wall gave away and a construction site was flooded. Note the drowned crane in the second shot. Luckily everybody was evacuated minutes before the wall collapsed. For larger photos click on the photo AND for the news article click the link:

http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/07/02/08/10102709.html

Police Armed Wtih Mobile Phones

02/24/2007 01:19 AM By Alia Al Theeb, Staff Reporter Dubai: Police will issue traffic fines electronically by using mobile phones for the first time in the region.... Traffic policemen and officers will be able to issue traffic fines by taking a still picture or a video of the offending vehicles. The system includes issuing on-the-spot fines and abscentia fines. ... traffic fines will henceforth be issued by mobile phones as well as manually. The ...Traffic Department, said the new system sends information that includes the time of the offence, the kind of offence and the fine amount to the traffic department's system. The system then adds the fine to the personal traffic file of the offender after checking the accuracy of the information. It also sends information to the offender on the offence they have committed via an SMS to their mobile phone or an e-mail.
"The new system provides easy usage for traffic police, as it saves the time and effort of police as well as the offender, as the chance of a traffic fine put on a car's windshield flying away or getting lost is avoided," Brigadier Aman said.
Dubai Police's Electronic Services Department developed the programme over the last five months to make it usable on mobile phones that have cameras.
The traffic policeman or the officer may send the fine in two ways, by sending the offending vehicle's picture directly or by taking the picture and also filling in the vehicle's information such as its plate number, its code, its category and source.
"Dubai Police is keen on keeping up with the developments in the technology field and mobile phones today are widely available. This system will make it easy for police to issue fines and record the offence. It also provides evidence in case a motorist objects to an offence," he said.
The move comes under the directions of Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim, Chief of Dubai Police to use the latest technology in the security field.

Mobiles to record traffic offences http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/07/02/22/10106176.html

Honey, need anything from the store?

Small town Dubai:

"Honey, I'm taking the bobcat to the grocer you want any camel milk?"

I told Barry that if we move to this little town, we would get a quad for him to scoot around town.

Update on the Burj Dubai

The above is a very recent picture of the Burj Dubai. Note the "History Rising" billboard. Burj Dubai is now the tallest structure in the Middle East and Europe. It is 110 stories and 380 meters high. The Burj Dubai currently has more floors than any building in the world and at its current hight it is the world's ninth tallest building AND growing. The intended height has yet to be announced – top secret apparently. . .. : http://www.immo-news.net/At-110-levels,-Burj-Dubai-is-now-the-tallest-structure-in-the-Middle-East-and-Europe_a1749.html

Dubai Metro

I have decided that I should take more pictures of the construction in Dubai as they would make very interesting pictures in years to come. Things change here SO quickly!
This is a picture of Dubai's Metro being pieced together. I am waiting impatiently for the Metro and as you can tell by the traffic, Dubai desperately needs it! All these cars are at a standstill. This picture was taken on Sheikh Zayed Road near the Mall of the Emirates.

Traffic stats:

• Car insurers rough estimates say the number of accidents went up by at least 10,000 last year.
• In 2004, Sharjah alone witnessed a total of 85,000 accidents which is equivalent to 230 smashes per day.
• The number of vehicles in Dubai has increased over 25% in one year.
• The monthly average figure of accident fatalities increased from 17 deaths a month last year to 19 deaths a month this year.
• The UAE has the highest per capita accident rate in the world.

Are you surprised? Especially after seeing how fast the cars above are moving? You should see the speeders in the shoulder . . .

Zam Zam Water

As part of his celebration of completing his recent journey to the hajj (the annual pilgrimage to Mecca), Barry’s co-worker invited him and other colleagues into his office to share dates, chocolate and some Zam zam water. All Muslims with the means and health are required to undertake the hajj, the fifth pillar of Islam, at least once in their lives. The short story of this water is that it is the spring from which Allah quenched the thirst of Ismaa’eel the son of Ibraaheem when he was an infant. Allah sent Gabriel, and he struck the earth, and water appeared. Zam zam water has scientifically been proven to contain healing qualities due to its higher content of Calcium and Magnesium Salts and also natural fluorides that encompass a germicidal action. I usually ONLY blog my own photographs but in this case Getty Images provided a good shot.

Dubai Jazz Fest

The Dubai Jazz Festival was fab, fab, fab! Barry and I were lucky enough to get tickets for a hospitality suite which meant that we enjoyed free drinks, snacks and a prime seat. Note the design for the Jazz Fest this year . . . I love the keys on the trumpet :-) (palm trees!). The picture above is Jamie Cullum – the headliner of the evening.

Welcome to Doha, Qatar

My new job is in the BurJuman Business Tower, this location is kinda like my old job and Bloor Street mixed into one: the high-end shopping of Bloor Street and the underground accessibility of downtown. Saks, Paris Gallery, Louis Vuitton and the like are only an elevator ride away from my desk. My work Visa is being processed and because my visit Visa has expired work flew me to Doha, Qatar on Saturday for renewal. There are actually “visa run” flights and although everyone was telling me it was going to be a bore, I saw it as an opportunity. Deals are aplenty at the airport so I shopped for the necessary beauty products, sunglasses and of course dropped into duty free on my way home. Diana, also from Toronto, was due for a Visa run as well so we went together.

First Time

You probably recall my post regarding a license to buy alcohol (1 December 2006). We were recently informed that there is a place called Barracuda in Umm Al Quwain (a town about 30 minutes from Dubai) and this place, Al Hamra where you can buy *lcohol at a budget price without a license. Yes people use the carts, we saw someone using two. As you can tell by the sign you must be a non-Muslim to enter and by "enter" I mean this building is surrounded by walls and you have to get past a gatekeeper to get near the building.

Man Marries 3 Women In One Go

Man Marries Three Women in One Go — Who says all women abhor polygamous marriages? According to a report yesterday in Al-Madinah newspaper, a woman placed a condition on the man who asked for her hand in marriage: That he also marries her two colleagues at the school where she teaches. The man actually had to think about this very carefully: Marrying three women in one go is much harder than it sounds, if one thinks about it. The man accepted the proposal, but said only after he was encouraged by his friends and colleagues, some of whom considered it a golden opportunity. The three women have rented apartments in the same building, and have said that the man must share his time and resources equally with all of them. Good luck. The Middle East's Leading English Language Daily.