Hiiiii.
Somewhere along the line I lost track of time and haven't been here in about 6 months. Long story short I finished NYSC in one piece and took a trip back to a country I love.
I've been thinking of what to post for a while and I'm happy that I'm coming back with a little knowledge to share with you all. Whenever you hear about UAE, you think of the skyscrapers, fast cars and luxurious living. On Sunday the 17th, I got to see a different side of the UAE. Sure I've been to the desert and I've seen camels and gotten a taste of their culture but this trip felt a bit different.
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| Etihad towers, Abu Dhabi. Image taken with an iPhone and edited with vsco. |
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| Somewhere in Abu Dhabi. Image taken with an iPhone and edited with vsco. |
At the start of the tour, we had the opportunity to visit Shams 1 solar power station. Shams 1 power station is located in western Abu Dhabi and is 6km from the town Madinat Zayed. The power plant produces about 100 megawatts daily and can power about 200000 homes. Energy produced from this power plant is transferred to the national grid and distributed for consumption. It was a beautiful site I must say. Here's a link to their website if you'd like to know more about the project.
The next stop was the Al Dhafra festival. Al Dhafra festival is inspired by the Emirati culture and heritage. The festival is held under the patronage of His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Court Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.
The Al Dhafra festival is an annual festival that aims to bring together generations and is dedicated to protecting environmental and historical heritage and the culture of the Emirati citizens. I've seen camels roam around northern Nigeria but I've never really paid attention to the importance of camels. The festival sheds light on the roles of camels in the culture and heritage of the UAE.  |
| Camels that made the first round of the beauty competition. Image shot with an iPhone and edited with vsco. |
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| Image shot with my camera (50mm) and edited with vsco. |
There is a wide range of activities and events to attend while at the festival. One of the main events is Camel Mazayna (camel beauty contest). People travel from the GCC countries to participate in this competition and camels are judged based on how long their necks are, size of their eyes, length of their legs and so on. Competition is open to pure breeds only and this year there are about 1500 competitors with 15000 camels competing for 38 million dirhams in prizes.
We got the opportunity to see the camels up close and pet them. Our guide mentioned that a particular camel was worth about 2 million dirhams while her father was worth about 15 million dirhams. It was unbelievable and I might go adopt a stray camel lol.
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| Image shot with my camera (50mm) and edited with vsco. |
Fun fact, the street that leads to the festival which BTW is located in the middle of the desert is called "millions street". Why? Cause a lot of millions are exchanged.
Other activities include camel auctions, the traditional market, dates competition, poetry, photography (shoutout to all the amazing photographers), folk music, Faclon competition, Arabian Saluki beauty and traditional race championship and many more traditional activities.
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Image shot with my camera (50mm) and edited with vsco.
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| Image shot with my camera and edited with vsco. |
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| Qasr AlSarab hotel. Image shot with my camera (50mm). |
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| View from Qasr AlSarab hotel. Image shot with iPhone and edited with vsco. |
Next on our list was a visit to Qasr Alsarab hotel (inserts heart eyes). Now if you know me, you'll know I enjoy peace and quiet so naturally I fell immediately in love with this location. It is situated in the middle of the desert and it is about an hour and half to 2 hours drive from the city of Abu Dhabi.
We did a variety of activities. Sand bashing was first on the list and that was super fun. I love views so when we stopped for pictures I was in awe. Next was archery and I thought point and shoot, right? WRONG! However, I managed to hit the target once so yay! Did some bike riding before heading to the falcon show and the saluki show. One of the falcons flew away, apparently falcons are not loyal.
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| In the middle of the desert about 25km from Saudi Arabia. Image shot with my camera (50mm). |
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| Also middle of the desert about 25km from Saudi Arabia. Image shot with my camera (50mm). |
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| Taking a break from the activities to capture camels at rest. Image shot with my camera (50mm). |
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| Image shot with iPhone and edited with vsco. |
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| Image shot with my camera (50mm). |
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| A cup of Arabian coffee while watching the falcon show. Image shot with my camera (50mm). |
We had dinner and ended the night star gazing.
Qasr Alsarab is a place I'm definitely heading back to in shaa Allah. Also just realized I didn't take enough pictures of the resort. I was too busy feeding my eyes and storing it in my memory
Thank you for reading and I'm off to enjoy the rest of the year. Hopefully I'll be back before the year runs out.
Happy Holidays!!
With love
Aisha
xx
