Awestruck in Abu Dhabi
From Maldives we took a late flight to Abu Dhabi. Like really late. We landed at 2am and were at our hotel by 3am. We knew Ramadan would be a factor for our trip with either businesses being closed or opening late so we were ok with getting a decent amount of sleep before heading out. We ended up getting almost a full eight hours because of how tired we were. After being refreshed we decided to go to the Louvre Abu Dhabi. Like most museums, they are closed one day a week and since we only had two days there, today was the day. We jumped in an Uber and twenty minutes later, we were there. It was impressive from the outside. A series of white buildings connected (58ish?) under one large, circular, interlaced metal roof. The museum was a little confusing at first, but it seems that it was because we had gone past the main galleries first and on to the exhibition and children’s museum, and oh yeah, the turtle sanctuary. So, after learning all about Bollywood in the exhibition and the emotions to look for in the art, we headed to the main gallery. It was like they understood me when they made this gallery. It had been organized by time period, not the typical way of dividing museums by location. It was so great because you could see the different art styles and tool usage of each civilization around the globe that was happening in the same century/centuries. I’ve always wanted to connect the dots in history across the globe and this was one of the best ways I’ve experienced it starting from the dawn of civilizations to the eighties. I couldn’t recommend it enough.
We got a rideshare back to the hotel for some water and food (in UAE you cannot eat or drink in public from sunup to sundown during Ramadan). We ended up taking a nap and afterwards realized that our next plan was also dependent on Ramadan, the grand mosque. Normally it’s open to visitors until 10 pm but during Ramadan it’s open till 6pm. So, we popped out of bed and headed down to get another rideshare over to the Grand Mosque. We hurried to get the free tickets from their website with the last slot for entry being 5:30pm. We arrived just in time and made our way through the underground maze, having passed the appropriate clothing tests and emerged from underground just outside the mosque walls. It was splendid. The walls are adorned with beautiful archways and above them peaked towers and domes galore. It is really awe inspiring. There is a path you follow through the mosque if you are just visiting and there were still tons of tourists who came to marvel at the white walls and floors and the intricate patters of mosaic flowers on the walls, ground and ceiling. In the large prayer room, spectacular chandeliers hung from high ceilings and the carpets were ornate and pieced together as if one single carpet was woven for this massive room that at it’s fullest can fit thousands. We weaved in and out and at first we felt rushed, but as we passed from room to room, we began to feel calm and we were able to appreciate the beauty. We had heard that there were lights at night and wanted to wait around to see it all lit up, so we dipped in a few shops in the underground mall leading to the mosque on our way out. After a while we reemerged outside the mall entrance (which itself was a beautiful glass dome) and sat to watch the mosque as the sun was setting. Locals were sitting patiently waiting for the sunset with their dates and water to break their fast. The lights began illuminating the mosque and we were glad we had waited.
That night we went to an Iftar buffet. This is a nightly buffet that restaurants do all over the city for people after a full day of fasting. We went to one at the most magnificent hotel on the waterfront set between two palaces. It was set outside in a “tent” the size of a football field and inside were lights strung all over, traditional Ramadan décor and in the center a massive buffet. It was 4 rows of 100 feet of tables filled with salads, local dishes, breads, and more desserts than I could count. On either end were live stations with chefs slinging local dishes on one end and Italian and Chinese food on the other. We filled our plates and enjoyed ourselves while we participated in a tradition we had just learned about. It was an extremely memorable day. We wandered an hour and a half slowly back to town after stuffing our bellies to one of our traditions, the new country Irish pub stop. After one drink, we headed back to the hotel to get some rest and prep for the next day which included a souk visit, shipping some items back home (which took roughly 2.5 hours) and heading to the airport for our next adventure.
We did not see Nermal.
