"Whoever has no past has neither present nor future" Sheikh Zayed

One of the blog posts with the most photos... A quick summary first.

Photos of Al-Ain Museum


And the neighboring fort established in 1911.



And our evening visit to the hotsprings and Jebel Hafeet mountain.



The Al-Ain Museum and Jebel Hafeet were fun and enlightening parts of our trip. The local museum was facinating because it showed more of the pre-oil bedoin lifestyle.


HH Sheikh Zayed (a.a.)was a very wise man. He had many famous sayings that the nationals know and recite. One of his most famous sayings is, perhaps: "If you do not know where you came from, you have no past and no future."

This is quite the statement from a monarch who grew up as a bedoin in the mountains near Al-Ain, passing over Jebel Hafeet and camping in the desert.

Much of the desert lifestyle is still practiced in homes and by locals in their own way. At night, especially on Fridays which are the biggest day in the weekend, people congregate around fires for chatting, story telling and drinking coffee.


The historical museum held many amazing artifacts found in UAE and often in the arid region of Al-Ain and Abu Dhabi.


600 year old handwritten Qur'ans


Famous Arabian Swords and weapons... see how I wish I could try one of these out... Bet they're a heavy workout.



Famous Bedouin daggers known locally as a Shibriya.



Historical clothing of Bedouin women; these days the locals sport black abayas and niqab. This is a cultural change from the past. Their abayas are artfully decorated and unique. The sisters here really know how to dress up black abayas.



The museum had a plethora of coins from Muslim ruled lands, these coins are from Hijiri 111, which should be somewhere around 700 AD.



Cooking utensils from days gone by.

We also traveled to the Al-Ain Qisr (Al Ain Castle) which was the home of Sheikh Zayed's wife.



A photo near one of many Sheikh Zayed photos



We watched the sunset together at the reservoir...











Our visit to Jebel Hafeet (Mount Hafeet) began with a stop at the reservoir. We watched the sun begin to set and we took off for the hotsprings. Some ladies went swimming in the ladies only portion, but I had no swimming suit so I hiked with a few friends up the nearest largest hill in the famous green-covered basin at the foot of Jebel Hafeet. This are is not naturally covered with green flora and fauna; however because Sheiykh Zeyed loved this area he had this crab grass (as we call it in California) planted to cover the basin in green.

A group of us hiked the nearest hill for a spectacular view near the hotsprings.


This night photo is perhaps my favorite.


Jebel Hafeet has very famous hot springs.

Even those of us who did not swim enjoyed the warm water in the fountain.

We were accompanied by our guards Intisar and Bimbola... :) they look SO serious.


The mountain looks mystical from the bottom but the 1000 foot ascent is quite dramatic with switchback curves and an even more breathtaking view. I think I heard our bus strain as we pulled past the last few curves into the famous hotel at the summit.

This hotel is famous abroad and locally. Rich locals own mansions near here; the royal family has owned property here due to Sheikh Zayed's love of Al-Ain and the desert.

The lobby is grandiose; there are 4 story tall vines hanging all over.

The view down to Al-Ain is breathtaking.




Al-Ain is a huge city; driving across the city can take quite a while especially with its famous round-abouts, yet its angular layout is quite lovely.

Before dinner at the restaurant in the hotel we lounged in a traditional style tent. These can be found in malls and hotels all over for people to relax indoors.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Today's shout out goes to bird lovers and bird watchers (oronthologists)here's a funny bird with a silly Pun I knew my dearest Husband will love.

This is a bustard found in the desert in this region.



Don't be a bustard... come back by sometime and leave a message :)