It was start of 2010 when I visited United Arab Emirates. Though it was an official trip sponsored by my company yet I fully utilized that opportunity to explore UAE during my off hours.
Shopping Malls of UAE
UAE, especially Dubai, is a shopping hub in middle east. You could have heard about Dubai Shopping Festival which attracts millions of visitors each year. Almost all world-famous brands have their outlets in emirates. Regardless of one really wants to go for some shopping or no, visiting the shopping malls itself is intriguing.
Shops in malls simply lure you in.
UAE’s traditional clothing and accessories on display in a shop.
Dubai Mall is said to be largest in the world. It also houses an aquarium.
Mall of Emirates, one of largest in the world, has an indoor ski resort. Wonderful experience to play with ice when its extremely hot (40+ degree Celsius) outside.
And the most famous picturesque place in Dubai Malls.
Sharjah’s famous Blue Souq. Also known as Gold Souq (Souq is an Arabic word means market). It’s building is like train shape with Arabic art work & text.
World tallest building, Burj Khalifa, was under construction at that time.
One can observe a mix of all nationalities in UAE. There is no language or communication problem. English is widely understood throughout emirates.
Dubai city tour bus at Dubai Mall. Open top recommend in winter season only as it could be hot and humid during summers.
One of various monuments in shopping malls.
Global Village – Dubai
It was my first weekend over there when I made plan with my friends to visit global village in Dubai. As the name suggests, the place offers a combo of observing world cultures and tasting their cuisine. Replica of symbolic buildings of some countries were constructed with shops containing traditional items of that country.
It felt really nice to see Replica of Shahi Qila (Lahore Fort) – Pakistan in Global Village – Dubai.
European area in Global Village – Dubai.
An Indian model in Global Village – Dubai.
Jumeirah Beach – Dubai
Its one of the most famous beaches in Dubai. In fact, it has two separate portions. One public beach portion and free. Other one is also open for public but with some entrance fee. The reason of fee becomes obvious when one enters the paid beach i.e. one cannot differentiate whether it’s some western beach or a of a Muslim country’s. It’s definitely not a place to visit for Muslims. However there’s no problem in wandering around public (free) Jumeirah beach area.
Jumeirah beach entrance.
A view of famous Burj al Arab from Jumeirah beach.
Enjoying at Jumeirah beach.
Palm Jumeirah Island – Dubai
Of course, Dubai visit was incomplete without Palm Jumeirah, an artificial island created using land reclamation. It was just another weekend when we (me & my friends) packed in a van and headed towards Atlantis resort in palm Jumeirah.
Heading towards Atlantis resort in palm Jumeirah island.
Alongside the road, there were residential buildings. There were also some private villas on island. I heard that some of those were purchased by international celebrities / public figures.
A villa in palm jumeirah.
Finally we reached Atlantis. No doubt, it’s a lovely piece of architecture. It also had a fish aquarium with a number of marine species. The alleys of aquarium were bursting with tourists and we were getting a bit tired as well. We just spent an hour there and came out of the building.
Atlantis resort in Palm Jumeirah.
A Muslim Traveller 
Assalamu Alaikum. That’s a very nice summary of your stay here in the UAE 🙂
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wa alaikum assalam. Yea, I enjoyed every bit of it.
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