Dubai

We all survived the 14hr flight from Dallas to Dubai! Coming from different home churches and States, our team was definitely put together by the Hands of God!  Our first picture as a Visiting Orphans Mission Team! 

We decided to take advantage of our overnight layover in Dubai with a bit of touristy sight-seeing! Dubai is 1 of 7 emirates that constitute the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and has expanded from once a small fishing settlement to now the busy commercial capital of the Arabian Gulf. On our tour we went to Jumeirah Beach where we put our feet in the Gulf with the view of the Burj Al Arab - the world's tallest hotel. It is designed in the shape of a billowing sail and is 321 meters above the coast. 

Along our journey, we stopped at the spice and gold souks (markets.) Winding alleys and sidewalk shops offered a variety of Arabian bargains. Dubai is known as "The City of Gold" with its array of shops that sell about anything in gold! It was neat to see all the window displays, and I have never seen so many spices, dried fruits, nuts, and candy in so much bulk at one time. The heaping pile of red pepper flakes (my favorite) made my mouth water!!! 

The building I could not wait to see once I found out we were flying to Dubai....... the Burj Khalifa- tallest building in the world. It was amazing! We could see it from anywhere around the city. We walked through the enormous Dubai Mall to get to it. This mall is the world's largest mall complete with 1200 stores and an Olympic sized skating rink.  We watched a wonderful water and light show in the Dubai Fountain in front of the Khalifa. BEaUtiFuL! 

Along our tour we also traveled in an underwater tunnel to Atlantis on The Palm. The Palm is man made islands in the shape of a palm tree. At the tip of the "tree" is the Atlantis Hotel which was very neat to see at night when it was all lit up. Dubai is currently working on building "The World" which will be man made islands in the shape of the all the continents. We also viewed a few mosques along our way, traveled through the center of city, saw the shipping yards with a multitude of cargo and cargo boats, were in awe at the massive skyscrapers and technology, and much more! 

Dubai Fast Facts: 

The official currency of the UAE is the Dirham. 

Climate is sub-tropical and arid with very little rain. 

Ski Dubai is located inside the Mall of Emirates - it offers real snow and runs up to 400 meters. 

Camel racing was definitely on the sports channel!!! 

Next stop: Uganda 

And finally............ this is for you mom: 

A Dubai School Bus