Fresh from the Gulf

I didn't have to go far for this past weekend's adventure. Some friends and I found our way to the fish market on Saturday morning. Under normal circumstances this would require a 10+ minute drive to the port area. But March 13th was the Abu Dhabi triathlon, and several major roads were closed for the race. So we sat in traffic for about 30 minutes, crawling towards the port. Eventually we were close enough to park and walk in what we hoped was the right direction...

The fish market experience was worth the trouble it took to get there. It's a large, open room with aisles of fish vendors inside. Most vendors seem to have very similar offerings:

  The prices were great for fish that came in at 6 AM that morning.

     

  Barracuda

Shark, anyone?



   Red Snapper




                                                           

    We asked these men if we could take their picture, and they were obliging.

For those armed with a strong stomach, you can bring your fish to be descaled and gutted for AED 10-20, which is only US $3-5. I could only watch for a little while, but one of my friends was brave enough to buy some red snapper and mullet fish and have it prepared. Later in the day he barbecued it for dinner; nothing like absolutely fresh fish!

Global Village

This weekend I visited  Global Village, which is just outside Dubai. It's the largest fair I've ever been to-- rides, food, and shopping for items from all over the world. The fairgrounds are divided into pavilions for continents/countries such as China and Europe. Global Village is open from November-February, so this was the last weekend of the season. The good news is we could bargain for better prices since vendors were trying to get rid of their merchandise, but of course thousands of others were there for the same reason!

Emirati woman making a traditional fried dessert.

 

In a few hours, I found Africa to offer the best bargains, India to have the prettiest pashminas, and Yemen to overwhelm my senses with huge open bags of nuts and spices. But the real spectacle at Global Village is the crowd... without organization or administration, the people of the world--Indian, Filipino, Emerati, and Americans-- really do come together to shop, relax, eat, and enjoy each other's cultures. Although the gathering has commercial purposes, it is also a fascinating opportunity to gather together.


Some of my finds. 

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I'm sorry to add the sad news that a day after my friends and I visited Global Village, the roof in the India Pavilion collapsed, killing one woman and injuring others. See the article here.  

Fieldtrip to the Sorbonne-- Abu Dhabi style

Last week my coworkers and I were invited to visit the library at the new Sorbonne campus here in Abu Dhabi. I never guessed it would be a project just getting there.
  A van from our university drove us through downtown Abu Dhabi and out to Reem Island in about half an hour. In a matter of minutes we went from the heart of the city to an expansive, empty construction site. The Sorbonne is the first building to open on Reem Island, so everything else is open space right now.
                                               

After crossing the bridge onto the Island, we found ourselves on dirt roads and wondered why you need speedbumps in a construction zone. Vague directions brought us to the vicinity of the campus, so we got out of the van and started walking...

and walking past some workers in line for lunch
(See queue behind the fence)

Until we got closer to what appeared to be the main entrance...

which it was.

The dome, residence halls, and other buildings are still under construction.

And inside, the library is finished: large open spaces of seating for students and new furniture everywhere. We toured the space and enjoyed lunch together with some other librarians from the Abu Dhabi area . The library already has 50,000 volumes, most of which are in French. I have some work to do to catch up to them!