UAE Mothers Day

We are in the middle of Ramadan with stunning decorations all over the city. Friday night Nathan and I went to Mamsha for a bit of a date night. I wanted him to experience the Nordic food of the Valgerand restaurant that I have been to a few times.

It happened to be UAE Mothers Day, so I got a free glass of Prosecco! Happy Mothers Day to me I guess - I'll celebrate all of them, the UAE one, the UK one, the Swedish one, why not!

We opted for their iftar menu, to be able to taste as much of their food as possible. Unfortunately that meant that ALL the food came at once! We were enjoying our cocktails when the entrees came, and I hadn't even put the spoon into the carrot soup and the mains turned up... Crowded table!

I sure wish it would've been spaced out a bit more so we could've enjoyed each and every course better, but the food was good. I guess we will have to come back another time, and order from the normal menu to get the proper experience.

Swedish tour of Kings & Queens

I'm so glad I am continuously trusted by the SwedishLadies group to take them through each new temporary exhibition we host at Louvre Abu Dhabi. Today it was time to showcase the Kings & Queens of Africa: Forms and Figures of Power exhibition.
This time 10 beautiful ladies, with 5 excited guests came along.

Delivering tours in Swedish is always actually a challenge for me. All our research and studying is done mostly in English, and I very rarely get to do tours for Swedish guests. The flow is not really the same, but at least when I do tours for the SwedishLadies, it is a friendly atmosphere.

The Roses

I came back straight into a full on weekend with work. That's what happens when you have been gone for three weeks!
But, I still had time for a very important pizza-date on Friday night, with this bunch - the Roses!

The last time Misuzu was here, I was away myself, so it had been quite a while since last time. Six years later (?!) and she looks exactly the same - how is it possible??

The kids were here for the whole week as they were on school holidays, but Misuzu only had the weekend. I was really happy that they chose to come to the museum one of their afternoons, especially since I had some time in between tours to spend with them.

Ashley was dressed for the occasion:

Spring in Stenum

My trip continued a little bit up further north, back home to my parents.

Swedish spring really is something else. Last year I was home much later, in April, and got totally snowed in! This year I come in early March, and I had beautiful weather! Out for a walk, and had to remove my jacket it was so warm.

We managed to catch up with Emma, Stoffe and Elicia. Oh my, time flies, she has grown so big already! What a cutie!

Turned out I shouldn't have said too much about the weather because after the first few nice days, the temperatures plummeted and the snow came back.

Seriously! Who ordered this?!

So, good timing for my departure! Brrr! And about time that I returned back to Abu Dhabi, after three long weeks touring Europe!

A little treat for the train, this time we had bought "Näst bästa semlan i Västergötland" according to another list I had found. Still, didn't measure up to the Bageriet one, but a semla is a semla and it was my last one for a while so I still enjoyed it.

 One last night with Pia and Martin, and then it was time for me to fly back home.

Happy Birthday Pia!

I arrived to a sunny and nice Skåne to celebrate the birthday of my good friend Pia. I haven't been able to spend her day with her previously since it falls during term time, but with no more school kids to consider - here I was!

She was working half day for her birthday so I spent the morning by myself having a browse around the shops in central Malmö for a change (we normally go to the big shopping center Emporia when I pass through).

When she had finished work we met up so I could treat her to birthday lunch. We were able to sit outside, and had Swedish meatballs for lunch, om nom nom!

Then it was time for her birthday gift, I had booked us both in for facial treatments. This is right after, feeling very very relaxed.

In the evening we had dinner with the family and it was time for Pia to open the rest of her gifts.

 

And we ended the night with devouring "Malmö's best semla" for dessert, as decided by Tik-Tok. I googled, and these apparently were the winners. They sure were yummy, but the ones from Bageriet in London still came out on top if you ask me..!

Flying off

We all left Istanbul on the Tuesday, flying off in all different directions but luckily our flights were actually almost all at the same time so we could go to the airport together.
Linnea and Nathan took off with 10 minutes in between, Linnea back to London and Nathan back home to Abu Dhabi.

I had to wait another hour, which was ok, before it was time for me to board my plane up to Copenhagen. I was continuing my trip in Scandiland, starting with a pit-stop in Bunkeflo for a special celebration!

Patterns of Istanbul

The Topkapi Palace

Later on, Nathan and I went to visit the Topkapi Palace. Linnea stayed in the hotel and had a break, as the hefty entrance fee wouldn't have been worth it for her not having a great interest. 

This palace was built by Mehmet II to serve as his residence, and for almost 400 years it was the home of the Ottoman sultans. About 30 sultans ruled from the Topkapi Palace, resulting in a successive medley of changing Islamic, Ottoman and European architecture, styles and decoration. 
This palace complex served as both the administrative and educational center of the Ottoman Empire from 1478-1856, and opened as a museum in 1924.

This immense palace complex housed between 1000-4000 people, including up to 300 in the harem. The Harem was a closed world, where the sultan's wives, concubines and children would live. Every detail of Harem life was governed by tradition, obligation and ceremony. The word harem literally means 'private' or 'forbidden'.

This panel depicts Mount Arafat, a site near Mecca considered holy by the Muslim world.

Amazing tile decorations everywhere. This prayer nice had a depiction of the Holy Mosque in Mecca:

Part of a hamam dating from 1585, with gilded bronze railings being a later addition:

The Imperial Hall, used as the sultan's ceremonial and reception hall.

The Library:

The terraced gardens with their numerous pavilions were my favourite parts, behind us the Baghdad Pavilion:

The palace complex is nestled just along the Bosporus, so there was amazing views from the palace garden. A bit of a shame it was a rainy and gloomy day.
The Sultan used to break his fast during Ramadan in the small arbor on the left in the photo, the Iftar Arbor.

The throne of Sultan Mahmud II, made by Charles Joseph Lemarchand, 1808-1839.

In the Chamber of Holy Relics they were housing many relics of the prophet, and other important people in his vicinity.
Coat belonging to Fatima, the daughter of Prophet Muhammad:

The case for the sandal of Prophet Muhammad:

The footprint of Prophet Muhammad:

Prophet Muhammad's standard was kept in this chest:

In the Privy Chamber there was an exhibition with portraits of the Ottoman sultans, and also a collection of calligraphy and miniatures:

The Turkish word tughra can translate as "badge" or "sign" in English. It refers to both the calligraphic seal and signature used by Ottoman sultans. Each sultan had his own unique tughra and it would appear on all official documents alongside works of architecture commissioned to represent the state.

We continued by visiting the Imperial Treasury, with an impressive collection of Ottoman, Indian, Japanese and European arms and armour spanning 1300 years. For example we saw the Topkapi Dagger, which features three enormous emeralds on the hilt, and a watch set into the pommel.

The royal pages' dormitories now house another part of the Imperial collections, the imperial wardrobe. We could admire imperial robes, uniforms and caftans woven with gold and silver threads.

What an absolutely overwhelming visit, this is a very thorough museum, I'm glad we took our time. There is so much to see and learn, and what a joy to walk around the gardens and enjoy the views as well.