I just spent the last three days traveling around Jordan on a little vacation. There are so many contrasts between Dubai and Jordan. Dubai is moving so quickly to have every modern luxury that its culture has been covered up to tourists. In Jordan, thousands of years of culture can be seen around every corner. We ate traditional Arab food and even spoke to a Bedouin.
The first day we spent driving around Amman, Jordan's capital city. From the two construction sites we visited the city stretches for miles in all directions. Everything is built from the same, sun-bleached sandstone. The city definitely looks like the typical Arab city you would see in a movie. From Amman we drove to Jerash, an important Roman city from over a millennia ago. The ruins of the city were the best preserved I have ever seen. I thought it was more awe-inspiring than even Rome itself just because the land around it has been relatively untouched and you could see Jordan the way the Romans did. Their building technology was so advanced for their time. Some of the columns still standing were even built to sustain earthquakes. Ironic, because the rest of the city was leveled by an earthquake.
On Friday we drove down to the Petra. Petra includes the temple-like structure in Indiana Jones and Transformers 2 built right into a cliff face. The whole gorge is littered with ancient tombs from 2000 years ago. It is hard to imagine the amount of work it took to carve these tombs into the cliffs without any modern tools.
Yesterday we finally had at least part of a day to relax. In the morning we drove to Mt. Nebo, where Moses first saw the Promised Land, and then to Jesus' baptism site. Directly across the Jordanian baptism site was the Israeli viewing point. It was interesting to see the border, divided by only a slow, murky river that couldn't have been more than 20 feet across. There was no armed guard or concrete wall like elsewhere along the border.
Our final stop was the Dead Sea. We spent the whole afternoon relaxing at a resort on the Sea's edge. The Dead Sea is something everyone should visit to experience. It is so salty that it is literally impossible to sink. The Jordanian side is very rocky and some cliffs drop straight into the sea. Across the way in Israel there are huge salt flats leading down to the water. It is very cool to say I've been to both sides.
Pictures from Jordan will be up soon.
Tom
Friday, May 28, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Today I visited the Kingdom of Sheeba, the second of our five project sites. This project is absolutely massive. The current stage includes over 30 villas and a central apartment complex with 74 apartments. The development is located on the outer most island in the Palm Jumiera, the man-made islands that alway pop up when you Google "Dubai." All of the buildings on site are designed with Yemini architecture in mind. They have brick facades, arched windows, and lots of terraces. The villas face either the city and have a private beach or look out to the Gulf of Arabia. They all have their own pool, three car garage and jacuzzis on the third floor terrace. Each of the villas are worth $8 million and are all being bought by Russian mobsters. There go my chances of buying one.
The other site I've been on is the Conrad Hotel Dubai. It's owned by the Sheik of Abu Dhabi, the second most powerful man in the UAE. He's the guy that bailed out the entire Emirate of Dubai when they started to default on loans. The hotel is 50 storeys tall, has a three storey reception area, and a fully automated car park. The car park might be the coolest part of the design. You drive into one of nine lifts and get out. The lifts and robotic arms take care of the rest. There are no floors for the cars to drive on. Everything is completely mechanical. the cars are stacked in racks and can fit three high in every level of a normal parking garage. The other cool aspect of the project in the bridge that spans between the tower and car park. It is 40 meters wide (about 130 feet for all of you Americans) and provides area for the pool, sun bathing, and a fitness center.
Tomorrow I am heading to Jordan for a little vacation. I am flying into Amman and will visiting the Dead Sea, Jerash, and Petra. It should be an incredible three days. Keep checking in for pictures.
Tom
The other site I've been on is the Conrad Hotel Dubai. It's owned by the Sheik of Abu Dhabi, the second most powerful man in the UAE. He's the guy that bailed out the entire Emirate of Dubai when they started to default on loans. The hotel is 50 storeys tall, has a three storey reception area, and a fully automated car park. The car park might be the coolest part of the design. You drive into one of nine lifts and get out. The lifts and robotic arms take care of the rest. There are no floors for the cars to drive on. Everything is completely mechanical. the cars are stacked in racks and can fit three high in every level of a normal parking garage. The other cool aspect of the project in the bridge that spans between the tower and car park. It is 40 meters wide (about 130 feet for all of you Americans) and provides area for the pool, sun bathing, and a fitness center.
Tomorrow I am heading to Jordan for a little vacation. I am flying into Amman and will visiting the Dead Sea, Jerash, and Petra. It should be an incredible three days. Keep checking in for pictures.
Tom
Monday, May 24, 2010
Off-Roading in the Desert
On Friday we went on a Desert Adventure. You get picked up in a Chevy Tahoe and driven out into the desert. We met up with about 20 other trucks and drove out into the dunes. The dunes are constantly shifting but some of the bigger ones rise 40 feet in the air. They drop straight down on one side. It's usually the side the drivers like to take you down too.
It's hard to explain how much fun the ride is. The drivers speed through the desert doing about 40. They go flying over dunes so that one second you're starring at the sky and the next, the truck tips forward and the ground is rushing up at you. Then they drive up another dune and cut the wheel so the truck slides down on what feels like two wheels. Your seat-belt is constantly locked and the truck feels like it's going to tip over the whole two or three hour ride, but it beats riding a camel through the desert. I'm pretty sure the girls screamed that entire time.
They stop for people to take pictures of the sunset over the desert and then bring everyone to a camp in the middle of no where. There was a buffet of all of the Arab appetizers you can think of and barbecue for dinner. After dinner we relaxed, smoked hookah, and watched the most terrifying belly dancer in the world.
More to come soon,
Tom
It's hard to explain how much fun the ride is. The drivers speed through the desert doing about 40. They go flying over dunes so that one second you're starring at the sky and the next, the truck tips forward and the ground is rushing up at you. Then they drive up another dune and cut the wheel so the truck slides down on what feels like two wheels. Your seat-belt is constantly locked and the truck feels like it's going to tip over the whole two or three hour ride, but it beats riding a camel through the desert. I'm pretty sure the girls screamed that entire time.
They stop for people to take pictures of the sunset over the desert and then bring everyone to a camp in the middle of no where. There was a buffet of all of the Arab appetizers you can think of and barbecue for dinner. After dinner we relaxed, smoked hookah, and watched the most terrifying belly dancer in the world.
More to come soon,
Tom
One of the Tahoe's stuck on top of a dune
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Week 1
I'm obviously terrible at keeping in touch with all of you at home so I started a blog so I don't have to! No but really, I want to keep you up to date with all of the experiences I get to enjoy and I will post pictures so you can see them too.
A lot has happened in the week since I left the States. I've been to the top of the world's tallest tower, walked around the world's largest mall, and have eaten dinner at a $1 billion horse track.
It all started with a glorious 13 hour flight from JFK. I didn't move for the first 12 of those but I got a lot of sleep, read a few pages in a great book, Three Cups of Tea, and watched a few movies. When we finally stepped off the plane, it was a balmy 100 degrees out...at 8am.
The 5 other Syracuse students and I met with our boss, Mr. Yabroudi and the 6 students Lebanese students that we will be working with at our apartment, Topaz Living Courts. Then we went to our first dinner, at the Hilton in a restaurant named Bice which set the tone for the next few nights. We've had dinner at the Atlantis Resort, a five-star restaurant at the horse track I mentioned, and in a movie theater with lazyboy recliners instead of normal seats.
We have been working almost everyday since Saturday, the 15th. I won't bore you with details because I'm sure no one cares about the tendering process or laying rebar but I will say some of the construction sites are incredible. We visited one tower that looks like Swiss cheese but the whole structure is held up by this concrete wall.
When we're not at work we get to experience a lot of unique things only Dubai can offer. We have been to the top of the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building. It towers almost three times the height of any other building in the city. We also took a tour of the Old City which is kind of misleading. By "old" they mean all of the historic buildings that once stood in Dubai are now being rebuilt out of concrete. There is nothing old in Dubai, unlike European or US cities where the old and new are mixed together. Everything is modern and some of it seems like it's straight out of the future. They have the biggest tower, hotel, mall, amusement park, you name it- it's all brand new. As our driver once said, "Dubai has the everything the biggest and tallest, only the people here are small."
A lot has happened in the week since I left the States. I've been to the top of the world's tallest tower, walked around the world's largest mall, and have eaten dinner at a $1 billion horse track.
It all started with a glorious 13 hour flight from JFK. I didn't move for the first 12 of those but I got a lot of sleep, read a few pages in a great book, Three Cups of Tea, and watched a few movies. When we finally stepped off the plane, it was a balmy 100 degrees out...at 8am.
The 5 other Syracuse students and I met with our boss, Mr. Yabroudi and the 6 students Lebanese students that we will be working with at our apartment, Topaz Living Courts. Then we went to our first dinner, at the Hilton in a restaurant named Bice which set the tone for the next few nights. We've had dinner at the Atlantis Resort, a five-star restaurant at the horse track I mentioned, and in a movie theater with lazyboy recliners instead of normal seats.
We have been working almost everyday since Saturday, the 15th. I won't bore you with details because I'm sure no one cares about the tendering process or laying rebar but I will say some of the construction sites are incredible. We visited one tower that looks like Swiss cheese but the whole structure is held up by this concrete wall.
When we're not at work we get to experience a lot of unique things only Dubai can offer. We have been to the top of the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building. It towers almost three times the height of any other building in the city. We also took a tour of the Old City which is kind of misleading. By "old" they mean all of the historic buildings that once stood in Dubai are now being rebuilt out of concrete. There is nothing old in Dubai, unlike European or US cities where the old and new are mixed together. Everything is modern and some of it seems like it's straight out of the future. They have the biggest tower, hotel, mall, amusement park, you name it- it's all brand new. As our driver once said, "Dubai has the everything the biggest and tallest, only the people here are small."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)