Jubail Mangrove Park walk

To get a change from our neighbourhood walks we went driving back up to Jubail Island this morning, to take on the Mangrove Park walk.

We managed to hit the park at high tide, which was quite different to how I have seen it before. Some parts of the walk was actually under water!

We still made it the whole way around.

And up into the viewing tower. 

We didn't see many crabs, birds or fish this time, but the walk was lovely.

Manar Abu Dhabi 2025

Last years Manar Abu Dhabi was really really great, both the drone show at the Louvre Abu Dhabi and at the location on Samaliyah Island. So when I saw that it was coming back for this season I was very excited.
It has been running since November, but again I wanted to wait until the family was here. I really sold it hard to them, based on last years experience. Told them they would LOVE it! 

This year it was on the beach at Jubail Island, and we dressed up really warm as it was a very windy night. Regrettably though, the experience this year was very different to last years.

The area was not by far as big as last year, nor were the installations themselves as impressive. There was quite a bit of visitors, but the oaw-feeling was far from the same. Last year I did not stop oh-ing and ah-ing over and over, this year I reacted more with: 'What's that supposed to be/mean/express?'...

It was so quickly covered, that I had a hard job trying to convince everyone to stay until the drone show, that I had read was on at 9pm.
I had to bribe them with dessert... to get the last 40 minutes to pass!

We placed ourselves in what some of the people working there said was the best spot, and waited. And waited, and waited... Turned out in the end, that it was too windy to run the drones... argh! But no announcement was made, so after having waited for 15 minutes past the show time, we gave up and went home. Everyone was freezing by now anyway.

What a shame, we left with a really deflated feeling this year. Next year better be awesome again.

Craft

Of course we also had to take Mormor to Craft. So that was today's dinner. Dominic came along too, as he had never been.

Only in the UAE

In the name of getting out and about, Mormor, Linnea and I went on a small excursion today. I wanted to go discover something I had read about, Abu Dhabi's first air-conditioned park!

And yes, this new park has a 700-meter air-conditioned walkway, completely climate-controlled!

This is the King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa Park. Apart from this air-conditioned path, it also has a playground, lots of picnic spots and elevated tracks for skateboards and scooters.

We were a little bit curious as to what this sign meant though, so we followed the path to check it out. 

Turns out it was a wellness zone adapted for people of determination.

The park felt extremely lush and green. Apparently it features over 1100 mature Ghaf trees that have been planted here. Really creating a nature-filled escape in the middle of the city!

Unfortunately the café in the park wasn't open yet, so we couldn't have lunch there as I had planned. Instead we drove across to the Art Café, tried and tested, for a yummy fika break.
A nice little girls day out. 

Zayed National Museum

I had received some free tickets for the new Sheikh Zayed National Museum, so I gifted that to the Turner kids for Christmas. I thought it was time they got to learn about the history of the UAE, and what better place to do it! It was time for a Boxing Day cultural excursion.

ZNM opened earlier this month in conjunction with National Day, on the 3rd of December. I purposely hadn't visited yet, so I was rather excited. The architecture is absolutely stunning, especially when you get up close.

So much to see and discover. 
One of the main attractions is a full-sized Magan boat. 4000 years ago, these boats were the backbone of the trade between Magan (todays Oman and UAE) and civilisations further east in the Indus Valley (todays Pakistan and India), and Mesopotamia (todays Iraq).
Based on writings found on a clay tablet from the Bronze Age, ZNM has recreated an 18-metre long fully functional Magan boat, it has been sailing in the Arabian Gulf. 

The first gallery is dedicated to the story of Sheikh Zayed, and took us through his life and vision for the UAE. We got to see many of his personal items, and a replica of his famous Chrysler - with a video in the background showing him bashing across the dunes in it!

One gallery looked into the different biomes of the UAE, with displays of how different elements make up the land.

Once we got up to the upper floor, it was more about the ancient history of this part of the world. One gallery traced the history of the Middle East over 300,000 years, up to the Bronze Age.

Another gallery traced the developments from the Iron Age until the spread of Islam. All really, really interesting, and a lot of information that we share in our galleries as well.

Hello old friend! The Marawah Vase, that we have had on display at the Louvre Abu Dhabi previously.

There was also galleries dedicated to the maritime history of the country, and the pearl diving traditions.

This museum is thoroughly explaining and celebrating the country's history and culture. The perfect place to bring any visitors really, to show them that this young country, has a very long history. 

The souvenir shop: 

I will have to come back again, as it was a rather fast visit this time. Too much to cover in one go. 

 

Sunny walks

To enjoy the weather Mormor and I went on sunny walks around the neighbourhood. One day all the way to Al Bateen for a mid-walk refreshment, some lemon mint, mmm:

We also walked to Al Muneera, discovered all the surroundings.