A great thing about living in Al Ain is that we can easily have date nights in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. During our first week in the UAE, after some meetings with the school, we decided to do just that.
We made the easy drive to Abu Dhabi in about an hour and a half to have dinner at an adorable Bollywood themed Indian restaurant. The weather was so hot and humid that the moment we got out of the car, Jordan’s glasses fogged up enough that he could not see. We checked the weather to see it was around 100F with a 84 dew point!
The restaurant was empty when we arrived, but began to fill up shortly after. We have been learning that the UAE is a late night country, so not a lot of people want dinner at 5 or 6 PM like we do. The decor was vibrant and colorful, with pop art of famous Western figures such as Marilyn Monroe made Bollywood. We ordered some masala and curry and extra naan.
After dinner we walked around the neighboring mall for a bit before getting in the car for our next destination. Tonight we would see the Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque!
Before leaving our hotel I changed into a long maxi dress and a cardigan and brought a scarf to fashion into a hijab, figuring that that would be sufficiently modest enough for the mosque. I figured wrong as Jordan and I were each instructed to put on a kandura and abaya (respectively). The mosque had changing rooms with racks of clothes for visitors. I ended up wishing I wore less clothes because layers were the last thing I needed in that weather!
The sheer size of the Grand Mosque was impressive. It is the second largest mosque in the world. We took off our shoes at the entrance and walked the perimeter, admiring the beautiful tiles and details throughout. We were glad when we reached the indoor section of the mosque and could enjoy the respite of air conditioning.
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- It’s in the details
Inside we were treated to the largest rug in the world, as well as the largest chandelier. If you can’t tell yet, the UAE really thrives on having the biggest and the best of everything!
After fully exploring the Grand Mosque, we headed back for Al Ain, hoping that the trip will have worn us out enough to help beat our jet lag.
