Images: IshitaPhotoIdeas
Million Street – that’s the name of the street that we drove along along as we drove into the middle of nowhere. Only a sea of sand surrounding us.
In mid December every year, thousands of camel owners from the UAE and various GCC countries flock to this place near Zayed City in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi amidst the sand dunes of Rub al-khali desert, to participate in the ‘Mazayen’ festival or the camel beauty contest. Here, along the ‘Million Street’, transactions worth millions of UAE Dirhams take place, camels are bought and sold – their worth running into millions of Dirhams depending upon their beauty!
Camel manors are located along the sides of the Million Street so that the beauty and desirability of these camels don’t wane away from the dust and grime of the desert sand and harshness of the desert sun and they can be nurtured to look their best once the festival sets in. It is estimated that camel deals worth more than more than 200 million dirhams were made over the past seasons of the festival. And a charming and an authentic camel can fetch upto 10 million dirhmas!
Ahh…
Barren beauty has it’s own charm. The sun seems to glare more through the clear uninterrupted blue skies and the sand has a better silvery shimmer to it. And as we drove into the horizon along the rolling sand dunes of Rub al-khali desert, we were transported into the middle of nowhere.
And in the middle of nowhere we did the following things -
- Counted the number of stars upto infinity in a full-moon night
- Touched the uninterrupted desert breeze with our finger tips and flew kites after years
- Captured the sunsets and the sunrises randomly many a time through too many wide-angled frames and still felt that they weren’t satisfying enough
- Transacted millions of moments of solitude under brazen sun-rays and amidst the sea of sand – listening to our own heart beats after a very long time!
Unblogging it all… Ishita
Images: IshitaPhotoIdeas
Images: IshitaPhotoIdeas
October 24th, 2012 → 1:00 PM
[...] My Dubai diary in this blog: ♦ Things To Do In Dubai – Like A Tourist In My Own City – Showcasing the city I love to call my home! ♦ My First Authentic Emirati Food Experience! – Al Fanar Restaurant, Dubai Festival City ♦ An Evening of Wine Tasting at Asado Wine Club – Asado Wine Club, The Palace Hotel, Old Town* ♦ The Label Project – Wines Tasted Blindly! – Invite to a Global Wine initiative from Jacob’s Creek ♦ TRIBES Celebrating South African Heritage Day! – TRIBES, the South African Restaurant in MOE* ♦ Zatar Lamb, Crushed Lemon Potato with Chef Ron Pietruszka – Treat 2012, Burjuman World Food Fest + a Recipe ♦ Back To Dubai, Back to Costa –A nostalgic recount of favourite coffee haunt ♦ Searching for Shiraz – Lucknow to Kolkata to Dubai – Nostalgic search for Kolkata’s famous Shiraz Restaurant ends with Siraz opening in Bur Dubai. Exploring some Awadhi/Lucknowy Khana! ♦ Down To Earth Organic Store In Dubai & Mutton Chick Peas Curry – An event + a Recipe* ♦ Mums Who Share @JBR – A charity initiative ♦ Deep Sea Fishing & Fish Barbeque – Persian Gulf off Dubai Coast ♦ The Million Street, in the middle of nowhere – Rub Al-Khali Desert, UAE [...]
October 26th, 2012 → 12:42 PM
[...] My Dubai diary in this blog: ♦ Things To Do In Dubai – Like A Tourist In My Own City – Showcasing the city I love to call my home! ♦ My First Authentic Emirati Food Experience! – Al Fanar Restaurant, Dubai Festival City ♦ Al Maha Desert Resort & Twitterati Lunch – Al Maha Luxury Eco Resort ♦ An Evening of Wine Tasting at Asado Wine Club – Asado Wine Club, The Palace Hotel, Old Town* ♦ The Label Project – Wines Tasted Blindly! – Invite to a Global Wine initiative from Jacob’s Creek ♦ TRIBES Celebrating South African Heritage Day! – TRIBES, the South African Restaurant in MOE* ♦ Zatar Lamb, Crushed Lemon Potato with Chef Ron Pietruszka – Treat 2012, Burjuman World Food Fest + a Recipe ♦ Back To Dubai, Back to Costa –A nostalgic recount of favourite coffee haunt ♦ Searching for Shiraz – Lucknow to Kolkata to Dubai – Nostalgic search for Kolkata’s famous Shiraz Restaurant ends with Siraz opening in Bur Dubai. Exploring some Awadhi/Lucknowy Khana! ♦ Down To Earth Organic Store In Dubai & Mutton Chick Peas Curry – An event + a Recipe* ♦ Mums Who Share @JBR – A charity initiative ♦ Deep Sea Fishing & Fish Barbeque – Persian Gulf off Dubai Coast ♦ The Million Street, in the middle of nowhere – Rub Al-Khali Desert, UAE [...]
November 13th, 2012 → 12:47 PM
[...] My Dubai diary in this blog: ♦ Things To Do In Dubai – Like A Tourist In My Own City – Showcasing the city I love to call my home! ♦ My First Authentic Emirati Food Experience! – Al Fanar Restaurant, Dubai Festival City ♦ Al Maha Desert Resort & Twitterati Lunch – Al Maha Luxury Eco Resort ♦ An Evening of Wine Tasting at Asado Wine Club – Asado Wine Club, The Palace Hotel, Old Town* ♦ The Label Project – Wines Tasted Blindly! – Invite to a Global Wine initiative from Jacob’s Creek ♦ TRIBES Celebrating South African Heritage Day! – TRIBES, the South African Restaurant in MOE* ♦ Locavorism in UAE, Friday Market♦ The Change Initiative Inspiration! – Dubai’s first sustainable store, restaurant & café ♦ Zatar Lamb, Crushed Lemon Potato with Chef Ron Pietruszka – Treat 2012, Burjuman World Food Fest + a Recipe ♦ Back To Dubai, Back to Costa –A nostalgic recount of favourite coffee haunt ♦ Searching for Shiraz – Lucknow to Kolkata to Dubai – Nostalgic search for Kolkata’s famous Shiraz Restaurant ends with Siraz opening in Bur Dubai. Exploring some Awadhi/Lucknowy Khana! ♦ Down To Earth Organic Store In Dubai & Mutton Chick Peas Curry – An event + a Recipe* ♦ Mums Who Share @JBR – A charity initiative ♦ Deep Sea Fishing & Fish Barbeque – Persian Gulf off Dubai Coast ♦ The Million Street, in the middle of nowhere – Rub Al-Khali Desert, UAE [...]
November 16th, 2012 → 10:29 AM
[...] My Dubai diary in this blog: ♦ Things To Do In Dubai – Like A Tourist In My Own City – Showcasing the city I love to call my home! ♦ My First Authentic Emirati Food Experience! – Al Fanar Restaurant, Dubai Festival City ♦ Al Maha Desert Resort & Twitterati Lunch – Al Maha Luxury Eco Resort ♦ An Evening of Wine Tasting at Asado Wine Club – Asado Wine Club, The Palace Hotel, Old Town* ♦ The Label Project – Wines Tasted Blindly! – Invite to a Global Wine initiative from Jacob’s Creek ♦ TRIBES Celebrating South African Heritage Day! – TRIBES, the South African Restaurant in MOE* ♦ Locavorism in UAE, Friday Market♦ The Change Initiative Inspiration! – Dubai’s first sustainable store, restaurant & café ♦ Zatar Lamb, Crushed Lemon Potato with Chef Ron Pietruszka – Treat 2012, Burjuman World Food Fest + a Recipe ♦ Back To Dubai, Back to Costa –A nostalgic recount of favourite coffee haunt ♦ Searching for Shiraz – Lucknow to Kolkata to Dubai – Nostalgic search for Kolkata’s famous Shiraz Restaurant ends with Siraz opening in Bur Dubai. Exploring some Awadhi/Lucknowy Khana! ♦ Down To Earth Organic Store In Dubai & Mutton Chick Peas Curry – An event + a Recipe* ♦ Mums Who Share @JBR – A charity initiative ♦ Deep Sea Fishing & Fish Barbeque – Persian Gulf off Dubai Coast ♦ The Million Street, in the middle of nowhere – Rub Al-Khali Desert, UAE [...]
November 29th, 2012 → 11:19 PM
[...] My Dubai Diary in this blog: ♦ Things To Do In Dubai – Like A Tourist In My Own City – Showcasing the city I love to call my home! ♦ My First Authentic Emirati Food Experience! – Al Fanar Restaurant, Dubai Festival City ♦ Al Maha Desert Resort & Twitterati Lunch – Al Maha Luxury Eco Resort ♦ An Evening of Wine Tasting at Asado Wine Club – Asado Wine Club, The Palace Hotel, Old Town ♦ The Label Project – Wines Tasted Blindly! – Invite to a Global Wine initiative from Jacob’s Creek ♦ TRIBES Celebrating South African Heritage Day! – TRIBES, the South African Restaurant in MOE ♦ Locavorism in UAE, Friday Market ♦ The Change Initiative Inspiration! – Dubai’s first sustainable store, restaurant & café ♦ Zatar Lamb, Crushed Lemon Potato with Chef Ron Pietruszka – Treat 2012, Burjuman World Food Fest + a Recipe ♦ Back To Dubai, Back to Costa –A nostalgic recount of favourite coffee haunt ♦ Searching for Shiraz – Lucknow to Kolkata to Dubai – Nostalgic search for Kolkata’s famous Shiraz Restaurant ends with Siraz opening in Bur Dubai. Exploring some Awadhi/Lucknowy Khana! ♦ Down To Earth Organic Store In Dubai & Mutton Chick Peas Curry – An event + a Recipe ♦ Mums Who Share @JBR – A charity initiative ♦ Deep Sea Fishing & Fish Barbeque – Persian Gulf off Dubai Coast ♦ The Million Street, in the middle of nowhere – Rub Al-Khali Desert, UAE [...]
December 2nd, 2012 → 2:51 PM
[...] My Dubai Diary in this blog: ♦ Things To Do In Dubai – Like A Tourist In My Own City – Showcasing the city I love to call my home! ♦ My First Authentic Emirati Food Experience! – Al Fanar Restaurant, Dubai Festival City ♦ Al Maha Desert Resort & Twitterati Lunch – Al Maha Luxury Eco Resort ♦ An Evening of Wine Tasting at Asado Wine Club – Asado Wine Club, The Palace Hotel, Old Town ♦ The Label Project – Wines Tasted Blindly! – Invite to a Global Wine initiative from Jacob’s Creek ♦ TRIBES Celebrating South African Heritage Day! – TRIBES, the South African Restaurant in MOE ♦ Locavorism in UAE, Friday Market ♦ The Change Initiative Inspiration! – Dubai’s first sustainable store, restaurant & café ♦ Zatar Lamb, Crushed Lemon Potato with Chef Ron Pietruszka – Treat 2012, Burjuman World Food Fest + a Recipe ♦ Back To Dubai, Back to Costa –A nostalgic recount of favourite coffee haunt ♦ Searching for Shiraz – Lucknow to Kolkata to Dubai – Nostalgic search for Kolkata’s famous Shiraz Restaurant ends with Siraz opening in Bur Dubai. Exploring some Awadhi/Lucknowy Khana! ♦ Down To Earth Organic Store In Dubai & Mutton Chick Peas Curry – An event + a Recipe ♦ Mums Who Share @JBR – A charity initiative ♦ Deep Sea Fishing & Fish Barbeque – Persian Gulf off Dubai Coast ♦ The Million Street, in the middle of nowhere – Rub Al-Khali Desert, UAE [...]
December 7th, 2012 → 10:58 PM
[...] My Dubai Diary in this blog: ♦ Things To Do In Dubai – Like A Tourist In My Own City – Showcasing the city I love to call my home! ♦ My First Authentic Emirati Food Experience! – Al Fanar Restaurant, Dubai Festival City ♦ Al Maha Desert Resort & Twitterati Lunch – Al Maha Luxury Eco Resort ♦ An Evening of Wine Tasting at Asado Wine Club – Asado Wine Club, The Palace Hotel, Old Town ♦ The Label Project – Wines Tasted Blindly! – Invite to a Global Wine initiative from Jacob’s Creek ♦ TRIBES Celebrating South African Heritage Day! – TRIBES, the South African Restaurant in MOE ♦ Locavorism in UAE, Friday Market ♦ The Change Initiative Inspiration! – Dubai’s first sustainable store, restaurant & café ♦ Zatar Lamb, Crushed Lemon Potato with Chef Ron Pietruszka – Treat 2012, Burjuman World Food Fest + a Recipe ♦ Back To Dubai, Back to Costa –A nostalgic recount of favourite coffee haunt ♦ Searching for Shiraz – Lucknow to Kolkata to Dubai – Nostalgic search for Kolkata’s famous Shiraz Restaurant ends with Siraz opening in Bur Dubai. Exploring some Awadhi/Lucknowy Khana! ♦ Down To Earth Organic Store In Dubai & Mutton Chick Peas Curry – An event + a Recipe ♦ Mums Who Share @JBR – A charity initiative ♦ Deep Sea Fishing & Fish Barbeque – Persian Gulf off Dubai Coast ♦ The Million Street, in the middle of nowhere – Rub Al-Khali Desert, UAE [...]