A Day in Abu Dhabi
Updated: Mar 8, 2019
Everyday I am in awe of how beautiful this country is. We drove to Abu Dhabi today, which is about a two hour drive from Dubai. I can say though that Iowa has a much more interesting scenic route than the UAE (outside of the cities is all desert). I didn't start the day off too great, as we all seem to be taking turns in some sort of illness. Today I had a bad headache and my stomach was upset. Don't worry, we powered through and saw everything on our itinerary.
The first stop of the day was the Abu Dhabi Louvre. The Louvre was set up in twelve chapters, each representing a different time period. As you walked through the chapters, you evolved with the times. It was super cool to see the evolution of art from realism sculptures to eccentric paintings. I personally really enjoyed this because I love sculptures and the unordinary stories they hold. I took an art history Kirkwood class in high school, so I knew a little of what our tour guide was talking about. It was also cool to see some of the art pieces that were in my textbook in person. The Louvre had an amazing architecture design outside the main exhibit halls. It was like a dome, that had cut outs in the ceiling. The Abu Dhabi Louvre is part of a thirty year agreement between the French government and the city of Abu Dhabi.
The second stop of the day was at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. This is the most beautiful mosque I have ever seen. It is marble white with striking gold and flower details. We had a VIP tour, so we could take some clear photos without a ton of people in the way. We did get in trouble a couple times because we were taking pictures after our tour was over, but apparently we had to go back to the public area right away. That's different than what they first told us, but whatever I guess. We saw the women's prayer room and learned a little more about the Muslim faith. Our CIE leader, Rawya, allowed us to sit in the back of the prayer room during their time of prayer in the mosque. It was awesome to see what everyday prayer is like in the Muslim faith. We fortunately got to see the mosque in both the daytime and nighttime. In the daytime the mosque very much stands out with it's all white marble. In the nighttime, they light up the arches with a blue light to highlight the structure. I personally prefer it in the daytime because I love the majestic all white look.
Today was another overall educational and tiring day. Tomorrow we have a meeting with a wedding planner at our hotel then a dinner cruise into the night. Until then, enjoy these pictures!