Souk Al Bahar

This blogging Mom is busy but does not want to miss one of her favorite memes =)

I leave with you photos outside of Souk Al Bahar in Downtown Dubai. Enjoy and thank you for your comments. I will get back to you as soon as I can.

Souk is a commercial quarter in an Arab city. Souk Al Bahar translates to "Market of a Sailor."

Across the souk, you get this view of Dubai Mall and The Burj Khalifa Lake.

 Inside these sand-blast walls are some 100 shops including restaurants.The cultural theme flows throughout the mall, with boutique shops showcasing the Arabian heritage through a mix of authentic handicrafts, fashionwear, perfumes, carpets and furnishings.

The Souk is also a place distant enough to allow your camera a complete capture of the world's tallest building, making it a must visit for tourists.

An entry for

Some Tall News

After almost a month of stressing, we were finally granted a tourist visa to enter Europe. We are ecstatic as this also marks our first official family holiday.

Now don't feel so green because we are not solely paying for  the trip. My husband's company agreed to convert our tickets to the Philippines into a European airfare.

For those interested to acquire Schengen Visa, you may visit my blog post here.

We will be on travel with a toddler and the success of the holiday all depends on careful planning. We have more than a month to prepare. I started to Google websites  about travels with toddler and they all say plan, plan, and plan some more. Uugh.

Before I go, I leave you with my photo of the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa.

Thousands of people from more than 100 countries have contributed to the realisation of ‘Burj Khalifa’. The tower embodies the spirit and optimism of global collaboration, and shows to the world what can be achieved when communities work in partnership.

Because we still have cloudy and dusty weekend, we chose to spend Friday nearby Downtown Dubai. I took numerous night shots of the 800-metre structure(because we frequent the place on weeknights to watch The Fountain) and this is the first time I captured Burj Khalifa in daylight since its completion in January. (those circular ceiling in front is part of the Dubai Mall structure)

 
An entry for

Burj Khalifa

Congratulations Dubai for the spectacular opening of the world's highest building last night. We were able to watch the last part of the fireworks display so now i have to content myself on Youtube and Yahoo videos hehe.

They used to call it Burj Dubai (meaning Tower of Dubai) but the Ruler of Dubai renamed it to Burj Khalifa in honor of the President of United Arab Emirates Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed. For 100 AED adult and 75 AED for children, you can go to the 124th floor viewing deck.

Mostly will be posting videos of the opening so instead i am sharing these uncommon yet very interesting facts i read from Arabian Business.

Seven Things You Didn't know About Burj Dubai/Burj Khalifa

This photo (Kodak C30) was taken in 2008 right after our first visit to Dubai Mall Aquarium and Discovery Center.

1. The Burj has a Y-shaped floor plan, maximising the views on every floor. If you looked at it directly from above, you would see the Burj Dubai is evocative of the onion domes that are popular throughout Islamic architecture.

2. The Burj has been wind-tested like perhaps no other building in history. Over 40 wind tunnel tests have taken place, from large structural analysis models to façade pressure tests, some using a World War II airplane engine. The tower can adapt to high winds.

3. During the construction of the Burj Dubai, concrete was pumped a staggering 605m up the length of the tower, in order to complete the building. That’s another world record for the superstructure – though it has broken so many already, that for some the excitement has worn off ;)

4. Supertall buildings have to take into account ‘stack effect’ or ‘chimney effect’ – the changes in atmospheric pressure or temperature that occur as the building gets higher. The Burj Dubai underwent rigorous stack effect testing before construction began.

5. The Concourse level to level 8 and level 38 and 39 will be home to the world’s first Armani Hotel. Levels 9 to 16 will house luxurious one and two-bedroom Armani Residences, while floors 45 to 108 will be filled with what architects call ultra-luxury residences. There will be both indoor and outdoor swimming pools on levels 43 and 76.

6. The interior design of Burj Dubai’s public areas was the work of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP under the direction of award winning designer Nada Andric. Over 1,000 pieces of art from prominent Middle East and international artists will adorn the Burj’s walls.

7. At the peak of its construction, the Burj Khalifa had some 12,000 labourers working on it – picture a swarm of ants, and you’ll be close. Construction commenced in January 2004, and took 22 million man-hours to complete.

Now go and impress your friends. Ciao!