A week in Dubai - enjoying time with dear friends

Ed and I had the incredible opportunity to travel to Dubai for a week, from March 6-14. My dear college roommate Marcia, and her husband Stuart live there and had asked us to be godparents to their youngest son, Simeon, now 8 months old. They also have a son named William and a daughter named Sophia Esperanza, or Esper. :) I had wanted to track Marcia down and visit with her, and now I had the added motivation to meet my godson. Ed had been wanting to see Dubai for several years anyway, so it didn't take much convincing! The trip started out wonderfully, as we got surprise upgrades on our flight! Delta flies directly from Atlanta to Dubai, so it was awesome!! We were very spoiled in first class! Here we are over southern Iraq, where the Tigris and Euphrates reach the Persian Gulf. Our visit was a wonderful mix of spending time with Marcia and the family, doing some sightseeing with her, and doing some on our own. I've broken up the blog entries into time with Marcia and time on our own - this is the time with the Murray family section. :)

This picture is symbolic of our purposes in visiting Dubai - Ed holding the adorable and very expressive Simeon, with the Burj al Arab in the background. The Burj al Arab is the tallest hotel in the world, shaped like a sail, and is also the world's only 7 star hotel. Agassiz and Federer played a match on its helipad.We went to a breakfast at the Center for Cultural Understanding, a traditional Emirati breakfast served in traditional style, and while eating you're allowed to ask your hostess any question you want about Dubai, the Emirates, Islam, etc. Ed and I greatly enjoyed our breakfast, particularly the fried dough in sugar syrup!! Oh, and the fresh dates were absolutely divine! The Center for Cultural Understanding also serves as grounds for a mosque that foreigners are allowed to enter and take pictures in. The architecture and designs are spectacularly beautiful. We thought Dubai did such a great job of fostering an environment where East andd West can meet in a comfortable way. Foreigners of all stripes outnumber Emiratis 10 to 1, so on one hand it's necessary to encourage a tolerant atmosphere (since they brought them here to build their city). It was great to be in such a diverse place, and to converse with Iranians, Iraqis, Egyptians, Moroccans, Jordanians, as well as Indians, Africans, Chinese, etc., as you visit various places, take taxis, eat out, shop, etc.

We also went to the beach with Marcia and the kids at Jumeirah Beach, which is a beautiful beach, though lined with skyscrapers - very Dubai! Here's Simeon playing with the sand and water in his little chair - I love the bright colors!Ed helping with Esper's construction projectMarcia with Simeon and Esper in front of the wavesAnd William, Esper, and one of their friends wanted to be buried in the sand, so Marcia and I buried them - we thought they looked rather like a three-headed turtle!Eating at a Lebanese fast food place by the beach - isn't Simeon the cutest little boy?Ed playing Uno with Stuart, William, and Esper in the living room one nightEd got in a lot of play time around the house and in the yard with William and Esper - they are both so smart, communicative and creative, and tons of fun!

Church is on Friday, to coincide with Muslim Friday prayers, and we went to church at the United Christian Church of Dubai, on a parcel of land with many churches, donated by the Sheik for churches, in recognition of the work an early mission hospital did in decreasing infant mortality in the Emirates. I really enjoyed it - it felt like a little slice of heaven, with Brits, Indians, Australians, K0reans, South Africans, people from all over sub-Saharan Africa, Philippinos, Americans, New Zealanders, etc..... in some ways, such diversity is an artifact of all the people Dubai draws, but it was beautiful to see in a church!

And fun to eat donuts in the common area afterward! :

On Friday nights, at the top of the Wafi Mall (which is sort of a tribute to Egypt, with a big lighted pyramid on top), there is an event called Peanut Butter Jam. On the terrace, under the stars, a succesion of live local bands play, it's free, and given its sponsor, you listen to fun music, under the desert sky, while lounging on M&M beanbags! It's a blast!Ed and I at Peanut Butter Jam, on our M&M bean bags :)
William and Brielynn, and young woman from Marcia's hometown who just graduated from college and came out for the year to live with them and help with the kids - she's a lot of fun! Marcia with Esper and Simeon

All of us lounging on the bean bags at Peanut Butter JamOn our last day, we all went to Safa Park, Dubai's version of Central Park. They have a wonderful swing/zipline. Here's Ed giving William and Esper a push along the zipline.And now William and Esper pushing me along the ziplineAnd Stuart giving Marcia and Simeon a swing
And now Ed gets a push from William!

All over the park were hoopoes, a bird I knew from Cameroon to be one that migrated north - and so much fun to see them again!Enjoying a relaxing afternoon in the shade of the trees of Safa Park