Visiting a mosque in Dubai

Another first: I visited a mosque.  

The Jumeirah Mosque in Dubai is open to non-Islamic people, which is a rarity. It includes an attached cultural center offering impressive public programs. Having never been inside a mosque, I figured a tour might be interesting.

As did 75 other people. We removed our shoes, covered our heads, shuffled in, sat on the floor and listened to a British docent who's been living in Dubai for 21 years explain fundamentals of Islam. 

This mosque was completed in 1979 and holds up to 1300 people. It's government supported, so the funding is secure. Worshipers stand side by side without gaps to prevent evil from entering. There is no VIP section as all are considered equal - the dignitary and the homeless man stand together. Men and women are separated to avoid distractions. The head of the mosque, the Imam, calls everyone to prayer.  

We were told about the five pillars of Islam which are the foundation for Muslim life. Unsurprisingly, our docent emphasized the peace of the religion and repeated a few times that they have nothing to do with radicals. 

The Pillars:
Shahadah - the declaration of faith
Salat - 5x daily prayer facing Mecca, beginning before dawn and ending after sundown
Zakāt - alms-giving as an obligation to help lift up those less fortunate; the tithe is 2.5%
Sawm - fasting (ritual, repentance or ascetic); obligatory in the month of Ramadan (thinking about not eating or drinking water for 12 hours makes my head hurt!)
Hajj - the pilgrimage to Mecca (in Saudi Arabia; birthplace of Muhammad), which every able-bodied Muslim is required to do once in his/her life

Missing a prayer or fast requires the believer to make up for it, so there's a lot of mindfulness involved.  

We learned more about abayas (women's garb) and how they're not as hot as they seem, and the dishdashes men wear (that cool black band on the head was originally used to corral camels so it was highly practical). 

There is the washing ritual, a key preparation for the faith. This explains why the restrooms are constantly flooded with water. Wash hands three times, mouth three times, nose three times, face three times. Wash hands up to elbows three times, once over the hair and behind the ears. Feet and ankles, three times each. If the cycle is broken, you must start again. That's a lot of water in the desert...

At the end of the day, the basic tenets of doing good, helping others, being mindful, improving oneself and repenting for misdeeds is universal - and as a Christian I see the similarities. 

I learned a lot more than I included here, and I know my interpretation is pretty sophomoric, but it was helpful to have a glimpse into a much-aligned faith. It also reinforced to me why I'd fail in Muslim society due to my overly independent and often stubborn behavior, along with an occasional lack of discipline and good judgement. Let's just leave it at that. :-)

 




 

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P.S. on Panama: the Waldorf Astoria

Before we left Panama last month, I dragged Greg to the just-opened Waldorf Astoria. Situated on Calle Uruguay, the arrival of the Waldorf not only signifies the confidence Hilton has in Panama's ability to attract very well-heeled visitors, but also the gentrification of the Marbella neighborhood (some very trendy restaurants and Class A offices are moving into the area). 

Since the hotel was still in soft opening and occupancy was low, we waltzed right in and were greeted by a gracious staff member named Roberto. He was excited that we're big Hilton fans, so insisted on giving us a personal tour! 

They welcomed us with refreshing watermelon juice (one of my favorite Panamanian traditions - weeks later, I'm still missing the watermelon juice with which I started each day in Panama).

 

The hotel has a distinctly Asian theme. Kudos to the person who designed the lighting and selected the furniture. Enter the main lobby and admire the lofty ceilings adorned with a pattern that reminds you at the same time of sea coral and lotus root. 

The spa is sublime. The welcoming foyer is just so yummy smelling, and the furniture is super sleek. Five treatment rooms are well-appointed and roomy, including one couples massage room with an adjacent soaking tub tucked in an alcove.

The restaurant and lounge feature some of the most stunning furniture I've seen at least in this part of the world, from the late Mid-Century Modern chairs to the lounge sofas covered with a metallic finish leather. 

The floor between the lounge and restaurant has a dramatic cut-out at one end featuring illuminated rich wood with crossed samurai swords, and a massive wooden vessel reminiscent of a dragon boat.

The pool was of diminutive proportion to the rest of the hotel, which seemed unusual for this tropical city. But the outdoor space around it was stunning, so let's give them a mulligan. 

If you want a rarefied hotel experience in Panama, check yourself in to the Waldorf Astoria Panama for some well-deserved pampering. 

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Laundry in Dubai

It's a generally mundane topic, I know. But laundry here in Dubai is a cultural thing. Let me explain.

If you're a member of the white collar (professional) society, you send your laundry out or your live-in maid does it for you. 

If you have a live-in maid, her quarters consist of a tiny room, usually windowless and usually off the kitchen. Your maid also helps with house cleaning, child-minding, grocery shopping, cooking, dog-walking, errand running and tea making. She is indispensable. 


If you send your laundry out, you choose to have the clothing items laundered, pressed (freshened) or dry-cleaned. You don't flinch at paying 19 AED ($5.17) to have one men's shirt laundered. A safari suit (Indian male attire) cleaning will set you back 45 AED ($12.25). And that three-piece tux will come back clean for a mere 75 AED ($20.42). 

Oh, and apparently they do this weird thing to western style men's suits. After they dry clean the suit, they steam it and then kind of buff it so it's rather ... shiny. Not everyone wants to sport a reflective look, but apparently this is what they deem appropriate.

So far, I've done a tubful of hand washing (horror!) and accepted a generous offer from Greg's colleague to impose upon his apartment and washing machine. 

Isn't it funny how you take these things for granted, until it becomes hugely, disproportionately important?

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First impressions of Dubai, a city in the desert

When Greg was asked by his employer to go to Dubai for a couple months to work alongside the team there, he was of course agreeable. And since I'm doing work which isn't time/place dependent, I was agreeable too. So here we are in the United Arab Emirates, staying at the Hilton on Jumeirah Beach. We've been here for almost a week now, and I'd like to share some (admittedly outsider) first impressions.... 

- They are overstaffed nearly everywhere. Example: buying ibuprofen at Boots apparently requires  three employees, two hand-offs and one consultation.

- As expected, there is a fair bit of male-female separation (not just in mosques). For example, I took a pink-topped taxi the other day which was driven by a woman, who are allowed to take fares from women.

- There are very few 'natives' since this is a very young country technically speaking - only 17% of the population is Emirati. Of course, there were tribes roaming these lands around 5500 BC...

- Americans don't come here much, but this place is overrun with rather sunburned Brits, and our East Slavic brethren who make Dubai's Jumeirah Beach area feel like Russia-on-the-Sea. 

- There's a prevailing attitude that if you don't have history, you just pay to build it. 

- Also as expected, the culture has certain parameters one should respect. For example, there is a zero tolerance policy on drinking and driving (like ANY drinking). One drink with dinner at a restaurant, and you aren't driving home. Better have a car service or taxi waiting. Not that it's a concern for me, as I'm a woman so I can't rent a car anyway.

- There is a bit of a 'haves and have nots' caste system going on. It determines your role and your job. 

- Excess is kind of expected. Indoor skiing, anyone?

- The prevailing newspaper here is very politically correct (though the op-ed section is progressive), and publishes page after page of pics of governmental leaders at meetings, conferences and ribbon cuttings. It's almost as if they have 10 stock photos they rotate daily. 

And so, those are the first impressions. I have lots more exploring to do, a lot of treasures to cover and a lot of hummus to eat!

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A lunch affair to remember

I don't normally go out for lunch (usually I'm at the gym), but a recent opportunity with Houston Foodie Friends was just too tempting to miss. And am I ever glad I didn't miss this one!

March was wine month at Smith & Wollensky, which meant that you could enjoy a flight of wine with your meal at a modest cost. Even though Smith & Wollensky is a chain, the standards by which they operate are extremely high. And normally, so are the prices but they do reflect the quality of the food.

Fortunately, since the staff knew that it was a group of foodies visiting, they took us on a VIP food journey. Of course, there were the obligatory starters: truffled chicken salad in wonton cones, tomato and mozzarella skewers with balsamic drizzle, crabcakes, mini beef wellingtons.  

And there is THAT bread. Apparently it is a labor of love with many steps for them to make this decadent stuff, with a lovely outer crust dusted with rosemary and pleasantly large salt crystals, served with some of the best butter you'll find anywhere.

The cobb salad was equally decadent, and didn't just have regular bacon - we're talking thick cubes of pork belly. Expertly mixed with evenly distributed dressing, the creaminess of the avocado wove itself through every bite.

While the salmon wasn't something I tried, the presentation with micro-greens and creme fraiche was colorful and showy.

And they treated us to this ridiculous assortment of desserts. I don't even want to know how many calories were loaded onto this tray, but the six of us made quite a large dent in this one!

The most memorable dessert here, hands-down, was the coconut cake. Not only was it beyond fresh, but also it was topped with a headdress of massive strips of coconut. What's not to love? 

Between these wonderful treats and a parting gift of a bottle of the signature steak sauce, I knew I was spoiled. And needed to get myself to the gym toute suite.



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The blue trees: Dr. Seuss and Brothers Grimm mash-up

This is a blue tree. Rather, this tree is blue. I painted this with biologically-safe, water-based ultramarine mineral pigments. I wouldn't normally go around slapping pigments on trees, but this was a special installation from performance artist and sculptor Konstantin Dimopoulos and I was a volunteer. 
 
The Blue Trees is part of an ongoing series he's creating, and in the case of Houston it's meant to draw attention to the millions of lovely trees we lost to Hurricane Ike and the drought. On a grander scale, it's also meant to call attention to the perils of deforestation. 

They said they had more than 100 volunteers over the three days of painting, but if I were guessing I'd say closer to 200 folks showed up to be part of this social installation. This is the scene upon arrival. Note the (blurry) bluebonnet in the foreground - our national - er, state - flower. 

Dimopoulos himself was overseeing the painting. He's an interesting character. Born in Egypt, he has a Greek name, spent many years in New Zealand and now lives in Australia. And his accent is all Aussie. He's charming, well-spoken and visionary. And wears a lot of blue.

Here is Konstantin, being interviewed by one of the affiliates. No, they didn't plan out that kneeling choreography...

The horseshoe of crepe myrtles stands stoically, peaceful and unmoving in the center of a hub of traffic. The blue adds a layer of odd tranquility, with the final effect feeling like a collaboration between Dr. Seuss and the Brothers Grimm. 

Houston loves art, and I love Houston for supporting projects like this one!
  

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Macarons: the French Texan craze continues

The cupcake craze has lasted way longer than I ever thought. Like 5 years longer. Finally, though, the sugary dessert tide is shifting. 

Move over, sweet little cakey ones. Make way for macarons. And for specialty shops that painstakingly create and sell them, like Houston's Macaron by Patisse.

I remember seeing macarons all over Europe, even on my first trip to the UK back in (gasp) 1984. They were virtually unknown here in the States, save for a few bakeries in large cities. Macarons are mostly a French confection, but the macaron's origin remains debated. So, either they were created in 1791 in a convent near Cormery or maybe the nuns were beaten to the punch by Catherine de Medici's Italian pastry chefs in the 1500s. 

Macarons are made from two lovely flavored meringue discs that sandwich buttercream, ganache or jam. I must say these little treasures were appealing to the eye and the palate. See the Baileys ones above? They were only around for a week before St. Patty's Day. One of the macarons in this tray became Capri's first ever macaron. She gave it the official 'oishii' seal of approval.

We left with four macarons: blueberry vanilla, tiramisu, mint chocolate and lemon. I tried the last two, and both were perfectly textured and well-flavored. Since I'm not overly crazy about sweets, two of these little things were enough! 

The decor of this little shop truly transports you right across the pond, with touches from France and Italy, and a custom-designed chandelier.

 

The empty plate says it all...

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