Monster Trucks & Flying Dirtbikes

Another photowalk- this time at Dubai Festival City, all just to feed curiousity that was rising as someone at work stumbled upon their site, http://www.monstertruckshowdubai.co.uk/.

Since the show lasted only an hour, we didn't mind getting standing tickets. All we wanted was to aim nikkors and fire away. A designated seat would certainly be a hinderance to capturing different angles of the stunts.

As the show started, dirtbikes, a buggy a quad and a "honkey tonkey" ferroza paraded along the make-shift arena. ( It was actually part of the parking lot) The commentator tried his best to make a lively show, but his way of entertaining just doesn't click with an audience who would rather have listened to an interpretation in their local language. He spent a considerable percentage of his time asking the audience to cheer rather than introducing the next stunt. My sympathy to the team doing stunts without any applause. (or maybe they failed to impress the audience?)

About three fourths of the show were dirtbike and big bike stunts. The dirtbike stunts were ok- jumping over cars and other stuff, while the big bike stunts were just something one can regularly see done by dare devils and adrenaline junkies on the highways of Dubai: smoking tires, doing wheelies. (what else?)

The feroza did a two-wheel stunt, and I wish I could say more.

As the final 10 minutes of the show came, the monster trucks were introduced. One broke down while doing a rambage over a pile of junk cars, and the other just did circles while the comentator was stressing the thousands of UK pounds spent on the car and the high fuel consumption (he must have forgotten he was in Dubai- a place where water is more expensive than gasoline) At last, that truck did its rampage over the junk, and that ended the show.

At the end of the show, I would only imagine the queen's voice, in its perfectly royal Brittish accent saying: "We are not amused...."

*** The stunts did a perfectly good job and a lot of skill and talent were seen. I am only expressing MY own point of view about the show. Having seen a number of similar stunts performed around the world, this show just did not meet my expectations. (or was it too hot to appreciate ther stunts? Blame it on the unforgiving arabian sun...)

Babel

Babel. The Tower of Babel (Hebrew: מגדל בבל‎ Migdal Bavel Arabic: برج بابل‎ Burj Babil), was an enormous tower built at the city of Babylon (Hebrew: Babel, Akkadian: Babilu), a cosmopolitan city typified by a confusion of languages, also called the "beginning" of Nimrod's kingdom. According to the biblical account, a united humanity of the generations following the Great Flood, speaking a single language and migrating from the east, participated in the building. The people decided their city should have a tower so immense that it would have "its top in the heavens."

We all know what happened to ancient Babel. Those people had one intension of building such a structure:

"Then they said, 'Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves..."

Fast forward around 4000 years later. On the same region of the ancient face of the earth has risen a simillar tower, built to top the records of modern engineering and architecture. Rising 828 meters into the arabian sky stands Burj Khalifa (formerly known as Burj Dubai) This icon in the heart of downtown Dubai has caused a spark of light for a city that sits on a shadow of scandalous econimic crisis.

Indeed, a "name for oureselves" has been established. In a city of superlatives where adjectives with "est" suffixes are a daily cliche among tour guides, the "tallest building" surely has found it's place on the list of places to visit.

The Burj is not hard to miss. Rising over three times higher than any building forming the cityscape, the Burj can be seen from great distances, even from Sharjah, Dubai's neighboring Emirate. At night, the tower's strobes rhythmically slice through the darkness to the desert sky, declaring its hights to aircraft pilots and silently commanding many flight passengers to scramble for their cameras to capture a glimpse of a celebrity among skyscrapers.

Sadly, this symbol of Dubai's bling is already scarred. It is a fact that this tower of vanity does not belong to Dubai (anymore). About a month before the tower opened its doors to the public, Dubai's economy was on a freefall. It's oil-rich neighbor, Abu Dhabi shelled out a whooping 10 billion dollars to cushion the blow. One of the trade offs was that this tower would be property of Abu Dhabi right smack on the heart of downtown Dubai.

Opening night was a blast. A multitude of mixed nationalities waited, anticipating the fireworks and fountain shows. Through the cacofony of various languages and fashion statements at the opening night, one can just imagine reverse of Babel. Babel was never completed and people fled from it. this time, on Burj Khalifa's completion, people of different languages came over to sing and unite in celebration of such an engineering feat.

The Eye of the Emirates

Walking along one of the man-made bays in Sharjah at dusk, your gaze can never miss a magnificent structure built near the shore. As the sun slowly retires at the west, its dying rays seemingly point to this iron giant. Man made lights turn on and continuously beg for attention while the gigantic ferris wheel's iconic image imerges from the lego-like sky skraper backdrop.



Standing proudly on Sharjah's Qasba canal, the 'Eye of the Emirates' has become a key attraction at Qanat Al Qasba. Her Highness Shaikha Bodour Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairperson of the Qasba Development Authority, explains: 'Our vision was to create an impressive structure that would allow people to see and appreciate Sharjah's rich mix of tradition, culture and modernity. We are confident the Eye of the Emirates will become Sharjah's most visible icon and portray a fresh, vibrant image of the emirate.' And true to her word, the eye is now an icon.



The wheel was built in the Netherlands according to the latest technology and highest safety standards. It features 42 fully air-conditioned passenger cabins, or gondolas, attached to its external rim, with each gondola accommodating eight people at a time. Passengers enjoy a panoramic view of 25-30 miles, including breathtaking aerial views of Sharjah and Dubai.



Around this tourist spot you are embraced by a nostalgic atmosphere of cozy mediterranean and asian restaurants offering the best of their cuisine along with western snack bars. Children ride their bikes and skateboards while some younger ones tske their shoes off to play along the water fountain.

Boats used mainly for touring the bay area and some routes along the canal are tied to posts along a port that seems to boast an invisible tag with "mini Venice" in it.

Amidst the buzzling noise comes a distinct prayer song from the mosque at one corner. As you wipe the swaet from your brow, the warm arabian night reminds you that you are still in the UAE.