Language in the UAE

The official language in the UAE is Arabic, however because of the demographics of the country, approximately 3/4 of everyone living here are expatriates, many other languages are spoken. The main language other than Arabic is English. There are many American, Australian, and British businessmen living here. Also, there are a great deal of Indians in the country so Hindi is spoken. Another widely spoken language is Farsi because of all the Iranians living in the UAE.

Religion in the UAE

The official religion of the UAE is Islam, however the government has a very strong policy of religious tolerance. Because of the amount of expatriates living in the country, you can find Christian churches and Hindu temples. However mosques are by far the most common. Within Dubai alone there are over 500. I heard on one of my tours that the goal is to have a mosque within every 500 meters so that places of worship are easily accessible to all. While riding along the metro, you can see scores of minarets from all the various mosques.

UAE Dirhams

The currency in the United Arab Emirates are called Dirhams. 1 US Dollar is currently about 3.7 Dirhams.

United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates was official formed on December 2, 1971. It is a federation of seven emirates. At first only 6 joined, but then a year later the seventh joined creating the country we have today. The capital is Abu Dhabi. The other emirates in no particular order are Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaiman, and Umm Al Quwain.

the flag of the UAE

Burj Al Arab

Another iconic landmark of Dubai was opened in 1999. It is a world class hotel located off of mainland Dubai, built on a man made island, and the hotel's name is the Burj Al Arab. It was built in the design the sail of a traditional Arab boat called a dhow.

Burj Khalifa

The tallest building in the world is located in the center of Dubai. The tower's name is the Burj Khalifa. Burj in Arabic means tower. It is 828 meters (about 2716 feet). Inside there is a hotel, residential apartments, an observation deck, a restaurant, and office space.

Dubai

Dubai is one of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates. It is world famous for its political stability, wealth, cosmopolitan lifestyle, ideal policies for corporate businesses, beaches, and skyscrapers. It started as a small fishing and pearl diving village back in the late 18th century. Then oil was struck in the 1960's and since then, due to the fantastic, innovative, and aggressive development projects championed by the ruling sheiks, the city has become one of the world's most famous.

Dubai's skyline as seen from the airport immediately prior to touchdown

some of the many skyscrapers lining both sides of Dubai's main road, Sheikh Zayed Road

the iconic Burj Al Arab

the Burj Khalifa

Food in India

I do not remember the names of much of the food I ate. I should have taken more notes, but generally I know I ate a lot of chicken and lamb. In India the cow is considered sacred and so no beef was available for consumption. I also ate a lot of vegetarian dishes for this same reason. Because of that, I know now that potato in Hindi is aloo. Also, another well known staple of Indian cuisine is curry. There are many different types of curry and they vary in spiciness. They would be served over meat or sometimes separately so that you could dip your bread (the kind I ate with almost every meal was called naan) in it.

Religion in India

The dominant religion in India is Hinduism. The majority of people identify with this religion, however many others are present. There are millions of Muslims living in India and there are also a great deal of Sikhs. Buddhism is also practiced here and has had an affect on the country as well. In all of the museums I visited there were both Hindu and Buddhist statues on display from throughout the centuries. In many cars the drivers had either statues or pictures of Hindu gods on display.

a mosque called Jama Masjid in Delhi 

a Hindu festival at a village outside of Jaipur

a statue of the Hindu god Vishnu

a half man half lion deity

Jantar Mantar

Jantar Mantar is the name of an astronomical observatory located in Jaipur. The instruments built in the early 1700's were capable of observing the stars and heavenly bodies with the naked eye. The complex features the world's largest stone sundial and many other instruments whose uses were not exactly clear to me. Clearly an astronomy class is in order. Fortunately, I believe the high school added one within the last few years.

the description for the instrument above

Jal Mahal

There is an interesting palace in Jaipur called the Jal Mahal. Jal in Hindi means water, mahal means palace. So, this water palace is exactly what you would expect, a mansion in the middle of a lake.

Elephants and Amer Fort

Sitting atop a hill outside Jaipur, the Amber Fort is similar to Agra Fort and Red Fort in the sense that both were built around the same time, with the same materials, for the same purpose. The main difference I found was that Amer Fort was atop a hill allowing me to see the surrounding landscape and also required a bit of a trek to the main entrance. Because of this, there were three options, I could either drive to the top, walk to the top, or take an elephant to the top. I opted for the elephant.

the ride was a bit bumpy but definitely worth it

elephants have long been used as beasts of burden

these particular elephants were painted for decoration

the view of the land around the fort. notice the haze in the distance

one of the main gateways into the fort

looking at the fort and the surrounding water features

Jaipur-The Pink City

Jaipur is a city located southwest of Delhi. The city gets its nickname because of the color of stone that was used for many of the buildings within the city.  It is part of the Golden Triangle of India, along with Agra and Delhi. Jaipur is the capital of the Indian state of Rajasthan and was one of the first planned cities in India. Because of this, the streets of the city are laid out in a grid pattern as opposed to the chaotic street plans of other Indian cities.

some buildings appeared more orange, but there was a rule that the signs on the buildings could only be white with black text

this is the Hawa Mahal, the most elaborate building in the Pink City and is the landmark of Jaipur

Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a tomb for his third wife. Construction began in 1631 and was completed 22 years later. The building, which is a UNESCO site and is often considered one of the seven wonders of the world, and its surrounding gardens, are almost perfect in their symmetry, the only piece out of place is the burial site of Shah Jahan, who is placed off center of his wife.

the view through the main gate

the view immediately inside the main gate

the Taj Mahal and I

looking back towards the main gate

the details carved into the marble

notice the shoe covers I was required to wear