It's really an interesting place. There is a lot of wealth and western influence here, but it is still an overtly Islamic country. There are Quizno's Sandwich Shops, KFC's, and Islamic National Banks; and, of course, there are mosques on every corner.
We enjoyed our time here. We got lots of rest, and probably worked through most of our jet lag here, which was great! During our visit, we were able to make a few outings, mostly to the shopping mall areas. Along the way, we were able to see how much the area is growing. There is construction everywhere! I think we heard some statistic that one-third of the world's cranes are in Dubai (UAE).
The first visit was to what was called the "Mega Mall."
We walked around and saw a bunch of merchandise that we couldn't afford, and ate at the Chili's there.
On a second outing, we went to more of a "common" mall -- I forgot the name. Here, we visited what would be considered the local equivalent of our Wal Mart. We only got off one picture before some store reps made me turn off my camera. I am glad they did, because there are some cultural no-no's involved in taking other people's pictures. Thankfully, the one photo we got (below) has no culturally "offensive" material.
Probably the most enjoyable part of being in Sharjah was the rest. It was nice. There wasn't a ton of sleep, but there also wasn't a lot we had to do. We really enjoyed just being still (not traveling) and having some family time together.
And, of course, Benjamin enjoyed the times he got to play in the courtyard area.
We will leave off here and continue on at a later time with our travels into country. Thanks for reading! And, more importantly, thanks for pr'ing!
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