After breakfast we left the TIME Hotel in Dubai and set off for Abu Dhabi to the Sheikh Zayed Mosque.
Palm Jumeirah
We drove past the Burj Al Arab again and then came directly onto the elevated road to Palm Jumeirah. It's hard to imagine that it's all reclaimed land! Driving past apartment blocks, you head straight for the... Atlantis Hotel Except for the apartments, the holiday homes on the palm fronds, and the Atlantis hotel, not everything here is finished yet. There are construction sites and building work everywhere! The Atlantis was the first large hotel to be completed. We drove a bit along the outer ring road by the water, collected a few geocaches, and then headed to Dubai Marina.
Dubai Marina
I don't know what most people imagine a port to be like (mind you, there's a container port here too), but this is a port of superlatives. Chic skyscrapers on both sides. Beautifully designed waterways and bays. Magnificent! We drove to the Marina Mall to park (it was free) and strolled along the waterfront. There's still construction going on everywhere, but most of it is already finished. Road construction, however, isn't exactly Dubai's strong suit. We ended up getting a little lost trying to find our way back to the highway.
The Palm, Jebel Ali
Afterwards, we drove to the second palm tree, "The Palm, Jebel Ali." It's still under construction, and all you can see is the reclaimed land and a few concrete pillars that will eventually support the highway. But there's absolutely nothing else here! Even less than nothing! It's hard to imagine that Dubai is supposed to expand all the way to here someday! All around is just industry... and, well, a luxury resort on the Gulf Coast. Otherwise, it's just desert and closed-off roads leading nowhere. But given how fast Dubai has grown so far, they'll manage to have this whole area developed in just a few years.
Then we continued towards Abu Dhabi. The highway there is free and stretches endlessly straight through the desert!
Sheikh Zayid Mosque
Today's itinerary for Abu Dhabi included only the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. First, women not wearing long trousers, a long-sleeved top, and a headscarf had to get a full-body suit. This is a black hooded robe, and you look a bit like you're about to go to Hogwarts. Everything must be covered except the face. For men, long trousers and a T-shirt are sufficient. Then we went inside the mosque. WOW… everything is made of white marble. A huge courtyard with beautiful floral designs on the floor. The interior is so magnificent, it would make many a cathedral in Europe green with envy. Shoes off, of course, and onto the carpet that covers everything. It's great that you can go right in here without feeling strange because you don't belong to the religion, apart from the "Hogwarts robe." As we came back out, the sun was slowly setting, and the mosque was bathed in the romantic sunset light. A dream!
After sunset we drove to our hotel, which Novotel Abu Dhabi Gate. The rooms here were a bit smaller than in our last hotel in Dubai, but everything was clean and in good condition. For dinner, we went to Dalma Mall and ate at Shake Shack.
