INGULFED
In Ann Arbor
Camel Beauty Contest — مسابقات جمال الجمل
Pageantry in the desert.
Camel beauty contest.
Al Dhafra Camel Festival, Medinat Zayed, UAE
Twenty Tweleven
High points.
Overlooking the UAE-Oman Border and the Hajar mountains.
Jabel Hafeet, UAE
December in Abu Dhabi: Santa in the Sand — ديسمبر في أبو ظبي : سانتا في الرمال
Around (everyone else’s) Christmas time, the UAE is stil tropical, still desert. But of course, Santa still comes to visit (admittedly from the Philippines).
Top: December sunset
Abu Dhabi, UAE
Middle: The road past Liwa to Mureeb
Western Regions, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Bottom: A visitor tells Santa that she just wants a picture with him for Christmas.
Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Christmas in the UAE: Polar Bears — عيد الميلاد في الإمارات : الدببة القطبية
Polar Opposite Caps
A Christmas diorama at the Intercontinental Hotel
Abu Dhabi, UAE
More yuletide shenanigans from INGULFED today @ the Huffington Post
Christmas in the UAE: Blue Santa — عيد الميلاد في الإمارات: بابا نويل ازرق
Merry Christmas!
*(Are we saying this now?)
Happy (fifth night of) Hanukkah!
!*عيد الميلاد مبارك
Even though the Emirates Palace apologized for its last year’s “attempts to overload the tradition” by decking out a 43-foot plastic tree in diamonds and pearls, the UAE is hotter on X-mas than ever before.
According to one very high level administrator at a foreign-run university in the UAE (and I paraphrase), “the government was giving me flak for not putting a Christmas tree on campus.” Apparently, they wouldn’t have been cool with a menorah.
Happy holidays!
Check the Huffington Post today for more holiday stories from INGULFED!
Photos above: lobby of the Jumeirah Hotel
Abu Dhabi, UAE
