Abu Dhabi...part 8...

It's Saturday, first official day of the west's weekend.

SWMBO isn't in touch a lot, cos she's her busy self at weekends. Out and about, walking "the girls" on the beach, cooking, etc...

I have a case of serious ring sting from last night's curry. Very serious. Handstands in the shower? Fuck that, I'm contemplating squatting on the bidet for a while and gently spraying my petrified sphincter.

As a result, I stay in the hotel for a while, scared to move in public spaces for fear of not being able to find a toilet in time, or worse, letting go on the back seat of a taxi.

I sit and work and browse the web until the stomach cramps, and urge to piss out of my arse, subside.

At 2pm, I decide today might be the last time I get to the Grand Mosque and decide it might be worth another ZAR100 taxi fare. I've checked on the web and the place is definately open to the public today.

I pick up the camera bag and head for the street and another hell-for-leather taxi ride through the streets of Abu Dhabi. Fuckin' lunatics these taxi drivers. All of them.

We go in the Mosque grounds by the back entrance and I see a bunch of other people, so all is good.

In keeping with the spirit of learning, worship and inter-faith tolerance, there is no entry fee to the place. It was decreed by the Sheikh that no-one would pay to get in.

There is also the story that a fortune teller foretold that, when the Sheikh commissioned the mosque, he would die before it was finished. It came true, and he is buried in his own little mausoleum just off the main mosque. No photos are allowed of his tomb.

The Mosque is phenomenal as a structure, built by mortals. Domes, spires, arches, coloured glass windows, multi-coloured tiles, marble walls and floors, chandeliers the size of busses, plush carpets...this place had no expense spared on it. I'm not going to try and describe it further. There will be a whole bunch of photos posted that will do it far more justice tna I ever cold.

After 3hrs, I take a ride back to the hotel and sit in Heroes and have two pints of Guinness and a platter of bar snacks for dinner. My stomach has settled now.

I leave the pub because of the smoky air that makes it hard for me to breathe. As usual, I fall asleep in front of the TV at about 23h30 and put the light off.



Part 9, coming soon to a blog near you...