Re: Dubai Guppies
You've brought back soooo many fond memories. I spent my childhood in AlAin... and Ain-Al-Fayda, Jabal-Hafeet and the 24 gardens in Al-Ain at the time were a weekend routine.
In your description of Dubai, you mention Ghurair Center which I guess is no longer an attraction but boy! was it something at the time... we used to go there to buy nintendo games and electronics.
Good ole days!
I recently went to Dubai in 2005 for a conference but I dunno... the city's become too crowded and commercialized for my taste - or may be I was reminiscing too much and didn't like the "new" city all that much - and it’s not just the buildings and the malls… it’s the people too… that simplicity and modesty that I remember was no where to be seen.
So right you are Umar! and to speak of Dubai, I visit the place at least 15 to 20 times a year for shoots and official conferences, seminars etc...and since my family..has not visited Dubai since we came back in 1993 on transfer back of my services, they mostly talk about AL GHURAIR CENTRE and places like SANDY BEACH MOTEL-KHORFAKKHAN and AIN ALFAYDA and HATTA etc...where they spent some of the memorable moments of their times as young kids---as we had a group of 07 families spread in various parts of UAE and we always and regularly had a weekend gathering at one of the spots....for picnic, overnight stay at Chalets etc., and to top it all we recorded it which was last year converted to a DV and sent to each of the 07 family heads...now spread in USA, UK, Far East with the then young children...now Moms and Dads themslves... in fact of the 07 families group...a girl from the same group married to the boy of the same group family...and settled in Dubai only.
So...UAE has immense memories for me also.....of the years--1981 through 1993 at Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
Where now stands BUR JUMAN is the place where we played cricket on Fridays......and way back in 1976 on my visit to Dubai from Bahrain..I was posted at...I am a witness to the making of SHINDAGHA chunnel and I even saw HH Sh. Rashid, the Ruler of Dubai sitting on a sand pile and monitoring the work with his aides...!!!
The famous RASHID BRIDGE....the first born of bridges in Dubai....was a killer to the speeding ALFA ROMEO driven by a high up local's son...when he crashed the car with 125 speed at the tower which was pulled up ( it is regularly done at 12 midnight even now) to let the ships etc pass the bridge underlay at the creek..... and I also won a AED.500 bet from my friend for diving in the creek at 11 PM on that Thursday night....to swim a little and come back....much to the disdain of my wife....aur begum se phadda maheenay tukk jaari raha.....
It has always been a silly habit in me to create memories---someway---and for UAE---I have immense including over a 1000 photographs and two Dvs of 2 hours each..
Sorry...but your submission....might have made me bereft from the subject.
What were you doing in UAE? Dad's posting?
Ma' Assalamah !
Khush Rahein..........