A Long Weekend in Dubai — DAVID YARBOROUGH

Back in the comfort of my business class seat on Emirates, I am reflecting on our visit to Dubai as we head toward Delhi and the start of our tour of India. As for the to and from, I must give high marks to Emirates. Excellent equipment, warm service, extraordinary lounges and an enormous, efficient airport at DBX. Granted I’m judging from a small sample size, but I can see how their service is rated the best in the world by frequent travelers.

Dubai itself is much as I had expected it be, but larger. It’s enormous, with everything requiring a 15-30 minute taxi. Everything here is about superlatives: the biggest, the tallest, the most expensive. There are literally dozens and dozens of skyscraping building under construction, preparing to join the hundreds already dotting the skyline. Almost all are residential buildings, marketed to the wealthy of the region and around the world who are seeking a safe place to park some assets and use for play.

The leaders of the United Arab Emirates, men who gained their power and affluence by birth, have chosen to suck the wealth they fortuitously inherited in the form of oil lying beneath their desert home, exchange it for dollars and euros, and use them to build above-ground assets, mostly high-rise buildings and shopping malls. And airports, hospitals, freeways, golf courses, and other accoutrements of modern life. The impression I gained was very much like that of Miami, though with a far more toned-down nightlife.

The weather during our stay in mid-February was very pleasant. I’ve heard it gets quite a bit hotter in summer. There was haze each morning, but the air quality seemed fine. No need to pack an umbrella for this destination.

It’s a bit cloudy at the top of Burj Khalifa

We followed the basic sight-seeing route: the souks (very disappointing), the loading of the ancient dhows that somehow manage to stay afloat across the Gulf piled with the finest goods China has to offer, the malls with truly over-the-top luxury shopping and amenities such as gigantic aquariums and indoor ski slopes. The Burj Khalifa is indeed very, very tall. There is also the truly strange and almost creepy historic neighborhood of Al Seef which was leveled and re-built as some former Disney planner must have thought it should have been. Visiting there was like walking through an abandoned movie set.

The highlight of our stay in Dubai was a trip to the neighboring emirate of Abu Dhabi. This required a long (80 minute) taxi ride at high speed on a five-lane wide freeway that showed nary a crack or pothole. The reward for this was an extraordinary sight: the Sheikh Zayed Grande Mosque. What a sight! The gleaming white structure sits on high ground, framed by four minarets. The Sheikh conceived this as a gift to his people and as a way to promote understanding among people of all faith. Thus the unusual welcome of non-Muslims.

On arrival, guests descend a steep escalator to an underground mall, complete with a food court and boutiques. While this may sound crass, it is really a clever and even necessary amenity, as thousands of people come each day from all over the world to see this marvel which sits in a remote spot with no nearby commerce. From the mall, the throngs travel by moving sidewalks over a great distance to reach the mosque itself. Admission is free to both Muslim worshippers and visitors like us. Timed entry tickets are procured online and presented on your smartphone. After security screening, airport-style, everyone is inspected for compliance with the dress code. Men get by easily enough, but women are especially scrutinized. Allie was covered from head-to-toe and had the required headcover, but her long-sleeved white blouse was deemed too provocative since there were tiny eyelets just above each wrist revealing tiny specks of naked flesh if one were to really try hard. Off she was whisked to a dressing room where she was loaned a very elegant long brown dress-like thing. Tres chic!

Appropriately attired, we finally entered the grounds of the mosque. It is breathtakingly beautiful both inside and out. Inlays in the white marble reveal a floral motif that is carried throughout the various elements of the complex. The scale of it all is staggering: 55,000 people can pray there at one time; last year they welcomed more than 6 million visitors. Even with an unlimited budget, construction of the mosque took 19 years!

Our stroll through the mosque at a leisurely pace was peaceful and calming despite the crowds. Everyone there, Muslim and visitor alike, wanted to take many photos. Our friend Coco was taking a shot of Allie and me when a security guard approached us and chastised me for placing my hands on my wife’s arms, apparently a technical violation of the “no hugging” policy.

Besotted with the sheer beauty of the Grande Mosque, we grabbed another taxi and headed to the Louvre Abu Dhabi. Again the buildings are rendered in all-white, but this time capped by a dramatic nest-like woven dome roof with a matte-black finish. The French architect Jean Nouvel designed the sprawling structure as a modern imagining of an old Arab medina. Frank Gehry is designing the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi which is being built nearby, but still several years away from opening. He will do well to match or outdo Nouvel in this desert setting.

I apologized for my inadvertent PDA at the Sheikh Zayed Grande Mosque

The museum’s permanent exhibit is laid out as a chronological depiction of how art has reflected the globalization of mankind and how each culture takes from others and adds to its own art traditions to produce new art forms. There were lots of school groups there, and I imagine this methodology is enlightening to those new to the art world.

One curiosity we encountered on a our day-trip is the fact that all taxis in Dubai take credit cards, but none of those in Abu Dhabi do. Yes, they require cash. How quaint! Now who in the world carries wads of cash with them anymore? Okay, some of my friends still do—you know who you are! But seriously, this is supposed to the most technologically advanced place on earth. Cash? Yes, we had to go to an ATM (those still exist?) and extract enough dirhams to get us home!

Back in Dubai, through pure happenstance, our hotel, Jumeirah Creekside, was hosting just about all of the world’s best tennis players, in the UAE for the Dubai Open which takes place in the adjacent tennis venue. As a huge tennis fan, I was in awe, surrounded every day by these recognizable and exceedingly fit athletes. We mostly saw women players as the men’s draw didn’t start until later in the two-week period. Too bad, since top guns like Novak Djokovic and my idol Roger Federer are competing here. But sitting at breakfast with Samona Halep, Karolina Pliskova and Kim Clijsters at nearby tables was a treat. The young American Sophia Kevin, just off her surprising championship at the Australian Open was also in the house. Every elevator ride was an experience for me!

Having seen Dubai, I will say I am very thankful for the experience but frankly will not go out of my way to return to this Miami in the desert. Now off to Delhi and the start of our actual India tour. We will go from order to chaos, but that’s what we came for.