It is Dubai (Not Kuwait) (II)

Last week I went again to Dubai, although this time for pure fun and together with my girlfriend, the best person whom I could share this experience with. It was a short trip, just one day and a half, but quiet enjoyable as you will see in this post.

We arrived on Wednesday morning and, after a short rest, we went for lunch to Bastakiya quarter, the oldest part of the city. We found a very recommendable place in a kind of balcony next to the Creek, the restaurant Bayt al Wakeel. From here we could enjoy a view which reminded us, differences aside, the Bosphorus area in Istanbul but on a lesser scale. To reach here you need to go through the old souk, more visually attractive than the one in Kuwait but also with more vendors pursuing the tourists (you will need to be patient enough). For just 1 dirham (20 cents of euro) it is possible taking a ride by a small boat to the opposite shore of the canal, where you can continue the walk around the wharf.

Back in the shore of the souk, we continued walking towards the Al Fahidi cultural district, probably one of the best place to know more about the history and the culture of the Emirates. First, we visited a ancient fort of the 18th century which hosts the Dubai museum, with several chambers reviewing the historical tour of this city. There are archeologist remains of the first civilizations here, around 5000 years ago, however, we can’t talk of Dubai as a city until the 19th century, when a tribe, Bu Flasa, settled around the Creek area. At that time no one knew nothing yet about the oil fields and few people could imagine that Dubai could become such a metropolis.

Inside the museum

In the evening we planned to find a good spot to watch the sunset near the iconic hotel Burj al Arab, but we didn’t have time to get there, so we went to Barasti beach, no far from our accommodation. What we saw there had nothing do with a typical Arabic country. That place looked like Ibiza actually, with people (most of them foreigners) drinking beer and dancing electronic music. I didn’t hear yet about places like that in Kuwait. In the night we met Maria, an old friend I met in India 9 years ago. We were in Dubai Marina area, a kind of fair with a lot of restaurants and all kind of pubs. Due all of this, it is not surprising that Dubai can be one of the most favorite cities for foreigners in this part of the World, although I don’t know till when I could live in that kind of bubble.

The next day we wanted to go to the observation deck of Burj Khalifa, whose surroundings I already saw the first time I went to Dubai. Maria recommend us to avoid the tourist entrance and go directly to a restaurant called Atmosphere, on the 122th floor of the famous skyscraper and order breakfast there, what was worthier. We arrived there at 11am, already late so they didn’t let us enter. As we saw that the tourist queue was too long, we decided to walk a bit around the area. Later, before going to the airport, we went to Madinat Jumeirah, a kind of mini-city with shops, restaurantsm a hotel, etc., near to the famous Burj al Arab, one of the landmarks of Dubai.

It is interesting to see how many efforts people make to take a entire picture of Burj Khalifa

Short but intensive. One more time I could notice the huge differences between Kuwait and Dubai, even more after exploring the leisure areas. I don’t think I would like to settle down there, but it is not a bad place for escaping time to time. It is good to enjoy sometimes of certain “temptations”, difficult to find in the country where we live. There will be more episodes for sure discovering more corners in this city.

Exploring the souk

In these days, when I can enjoy some days off again, I could visit with more time one of the my favorite places in Kuwait, Souq Al-Mubarakiya, the old market, which I already mentioned briefly in other post. This time I stayed longer, examining every corner and paying more attention to the details of this market, whose history started about 200 years ago. Nowadays it is still one of the main spots in the local trade.

Walking though the different galleries in the souk is a good way to enter in the most picturesque Kuwait. The smoke of the incense and its typical smell spread around all the route, surrounded by all kind of colorful stalls. From the famous spices, dates and nuts, to the carpet stores and shops with traditional clothes, one is easily drawn into a sort of magic, a characteristic in this kind of corners in Middle East.

Besides going Shopping and get some goods cheaper than in other commercial areas in the town, in Mubarakiya it is also possible to eat very good and enjoy a good coffee, tea or fresh juice in some of its coffee shops and restaurants. For me, the best places to taste the local delicacies are inside the complex, in a small yard near to the fruits area.

It is true that maybe this one is not so spectacular and bustling as some souks in other Arabic countries, but Mubarakiya leaves no one indifferent. It is one of the liveliest places in Kuwait and a must-see for any visitors. In this link you can find a detailed map, a courtesy of Bazaar Town:http://bazaar.town/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Souq-Al-Mubarakiya-Map.pdf

 

The "mega museum"

Last Thursday I had the chance to visit for the first time, together with my girlfriend and friends, the Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem cultural center, inaugurated just few weeks ago. This complex of 13 hectares, which includes six themed buildings and a theater, is one of the biggest of the world related to culture and sciences, and it already became of the main landmarks in Kuwait, which continues moving forward in its modernization process.

Each building of the complex is dedicated to one field of knowledge. Just at the beginning, on the right hand, you can find the Space Museum. In front, on the right side, the Arabic Islamic Science museum, which also includes the Fine Arts Centre. Continuing walking towards the end, after passing the theatre on the right hand, you can see the two buildings of the Science and Technology Museum and, at the end, other two structures hosting the Natural History Museum. Each one of these buildings is divided in themed halls with a very interactive and innovative format.

One of the best part I saw was the Natural History Museum. I really enjoyed all the part of the history of life in the Earth, since the first multicellular organisms until now, through the age of the dinosaurs and other extinguished species. It reminded me my hobby when I was a child, when I felt interest about books of animals and I had a nice time reviewing knowledge that I still have in some part of my brain. Other interesting area is the one about ecosystems, especially the part of the rainforest, amazing.

The Science and Technology Museum is divided in two buildings. We only visited the human body section. Here you can review the physiologic functions and the parts in our anatomy, including a corner related to psychological processes, where you can test your short memory and check your personality profile doing a short test, among other things.

The whole experience was great but everyone was exhausted at the end. In two hours and a half, we just had time to see a third part of the complex, so we will need to repeat. In this link you can find all the information about this place, including prices and timetables: https://www.ascckw.com/

I recommend you to go now these days, when weather is still no too hot, it is really worthy.