Blogs from Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, Middle East

Later that evening…our first theatre show. The whole ship seemed a little subdued. We arrived only five minutes before the curtain raised and we were still spoilt for choice as to where to sit. What a difference a cruise makes. On our last trip, people were turning up an hour before the show to ensure they got a seat and now it’s a case of: ‘What time does the show start?’ ‘It depends. What time can you make it!!’ Khor Fakkan – the city time forgot…or at least the city Chris forgot as I was ready to move on to Muscat until I read my notes!! A day at sea, our first of five during this trip. MSC is not as prolific as some cruise companies in holding trivia sessions. It depends where the ship is ... read more

Gestern bin ich mit dem Bus nach Sharjah gefahren. Diese Stadt war 1998 UNESCO Kulturhauptstadt der arabischen Welt und 2014 Hauptstadt der islamischen Kultur. Die Fahrt vom Union Square in Dubai bis nach Sharjah dauerte etwa 30 bis 45 Minuten und verlief problemlos. Vor Ort bin ich vorbei am nicht so sehenswerten Souq und haben dann die restaurierte und ummauerte Altstadt gefunden. Die Arbeiten daran sind aber noch nicht abgeschlossen. Dort bin ich etwas herum gelaufen und habe auch Kaffee getrunken, bevor ich mir ein Kombiticket für das Sharjah Heritage Museum, das restaurierte Haus Bait Al Naboodah, eine Schule, ein kleines Kalligraphiemuseum und das Fort gekauft habe. Es waren aber nur wenig Touristen zu sehen. Danach bin ich wieder zum Busbahnhof und nach Dubai zurück gefahren. Dort habe ich wieder Computer gespielt und abends auch ein ... read more

There is something quite surreal about this place. It's seriously hot, over 40 every day. I like to walk when visiting places but it's very difficult to walk for more than about 20 or 30 minutes in this heat. A sandy haze has also covered the city each day. You pass from Dubai emirate to Sharjah emirate without realising but the latter is "dry" in another way and more conservative following the dictates of its ruler. It is bigger than I expected and the public buildings are impressive--all built to last in attractive stone. Under construction about a kilometer from where Lyn lives is an amphitheatre modelled on the Coliseum. I have been to the Museum of Islamic Civilisations and an information session for non muslims at the Al Noor Mosque where I was the only ... read more

On the way to the job site yesterday, Eric said: "I'm sorry in advance about the staring - these guys are not used to seeing a girl out here." I've mentioned the staring problem before, right? I'm a little used to it working on job sites in California; many times I am the only girl out there too, but it is never that noticeable unless you are on a big site with dozens or hundreds of men. I remember, working out at Riverpark, that I had worked with this one guy on the vibration compaction. Then one day, I was drilling down in a pit, and he was driving a scraper - he would drive around the pit and honk and wave at me. It was funny more than anything, and there always seemed to be ... read more

Hello to All, This Blog is about our trip to Sharjah – Salalah. We two families (4 adults, 2 kids) started our journey from Sharjah to Salalah on 28th August 2011 08:00 pm; we reached 10:00 pm at Al Ain. We had dinner there and resumed our journey towards the United Arab Emirates border “MAZYAD” (MAZYAD border is the best & easiest way to exit from UAE to SALALAH) We have to stop on UAE Border post for immigration procedure. Immigration authorities have to verify our passport and they have to put the “Exit Stamp” on our passport. (Please make sure, passport and visa must have a minimum validity of six months on the date of travelling). Once you finish the UAE Immigration procedures, we have to proceed to Oman Border Check post for immigration process. ... read more