Aw, Man!

Check out my Jordan pics here :)

The Ugly in Beauty

Guys, I have lots of cool pictures to show you. I just filled up a memory card but can't upload the pictures because my hard drive is already overflowing with pictures. *irritation* This weekend I rode the metro and took some pictures that I hope to get up soon. Tonight I went to a really awesome drum concert (I'll come to this when I post about it, but for now I just need to say: I ♥ Atsu).

But I'll begin at last week, when I went to Abu Dhabi and visited the Shiekh Zayed mosque. Sheikh Zayed is sort of the UAE's version of George Washington. Or was. He died in 2004, just a few months after we moved here and so we got a week off and I took a trip to Oman. But that's a story for another day. Today I am telling the one about how he got a HUGE mosque named in his honor. His tomb is there, too, and there is always someone there--round the clock--reciting the Quran. I would have taken a picture but it wasn't allowed.

See the No Photography sign? Bahahahaha!

I'm hilarious.
So, I've been hearing about this mosque for years. It was only done last year (I think?) but they've been building it for several. It's very detailed. And I finally got to see it.

*cheers*

I realize only now that this is just not a great shot. This is like, a third of the mosque. I'll have to dig around and see if I took a picture of the whole thing. But still, domes! Cool!

This is right above the entrance. See what I mean about detail? Bricks! And carvings and, well, you'll just have to see what else.

This is the inside. It's really enormous. And the whole floor is covered in this carpet:

I think it's the largest in the world. It took over a thousand women several years to make. Oh look, I have stumbled upon information: there's a brief bit here and a newspaper article here. Also, a wikipedia entry! And it was really silly of me to guess that it was the largest in the world. I mean, OF COURSE it is the largest in the world. Go to all this trouble to build a gorgeous mosque in honor of the UAE's George Washington and not even achieve a world record? Unacceptable. Unthinkable!

So, enormous interior--40,000 worshippers enormous. World's largest (most gorgeous?) carpet. All topped off by this incredible ceiling:

I'm sorry, did I say incredible? I MEANT HIDEOUS:

So obscene. Why couldn't they have done something more like this:

Actually, it's really the dome interior I like. The chandelier only looks good because it doesn't look like this:

Ack!Ack! Avert your eyes!! It's the world's most hideous chandelier!

The mosque has hundreds of columns, all (nicely) decorated with (lovely) inlaid stone flowers:

And those hideous gold palm things. Ekh.

Despite its HIDEOUS chandeliers and those weird palm things, the mosque is glorious.

oooooo...

aaaaahh....

So there you have it. Sort of. You really need to see it in person to get the full effect.
Stay tuned for Ats♥♥♥♥♥

Wordless Rambling

Quick! Pretend it's still mid-September!

**I tried posting this weeks ago but the links went awry. Gar.**

Today the sky was blue, which is a big change from the previous months' beige. It was also pleasant to be outside, which is a big change from the previous months'...well, this:





It's so muggy that just walking outside fogs the lens.

Last week, Mom and I made it to Festival City (hello, peanut butter cup perfection) and on the way we encountered the following:



See the red symbol on the back window? I thought it looked like some sinister intergalactic warcraft. Mom thought it looked like bosoms. It's neither, and that's why the interpretations--especially hers--were so funny.

We went to Mall of the Emirates so I could (finally!) see the 6th Harry Potter movie. This may be why the Basilisk is this year's hot item.





This was one of the movie posters.


Take note of the censorship. Someone did a bang-up job with that marker!


The Burj, looking very done:


It isn't, but even in its unfinished state it is the world's tallest building.