This blog began as a description of our life in Al Ain, UAE (United Arab Emirates). Brn worked at the UAE University Libraries Deanship for three years and Bss homeschooled our four children, D, B, P, and O. After returning to the the USA for five years, we are living in Abu Dhabi now.
Showing posts with label jebel hafeet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jebel hafeet. Show all posts
2020/10/30
2009/04/04
Up Jebel Hafeet in 3 minutes 29 seconds
The UAE's Mohammed Ben Sulayem drives a Nissan GT-R up the World's Greatest Driving Road to set the first official record.
2008/02/17
Juxtaposition
Two things I saw yesterday:
Tamouh plans for indoor ski slope on Jebel Hafeet
Quote at the Al Ain Palace Museum:
Probably not by its ski slopes either.
Tamouh plans for indoor ski slope on Jebel Hafeet
Controversial plans to build an indoor ski slope on the highest peak in Abu Dhabi are being considered by local developer Tamouh Investments, as part of a major mixed-used development...
The project is controversial as it will radically alter the appearance of Jebel Hafeet...
Although the scheme will use the natural slope of the mountain, it will still require substantial work to alter the profile of the mountainside.
Quote at the Al Ain Palace Museum:
إن حجم الدول لايقاس بمساحاتها على الخريطة بل نتراثها و
حضارتها
زايد بن سلطان آل نهيان
Probably not by its ski slopes either.
2007/12/26
Sunrise on Jebel Hafeet
My boss is one of the nicest men that you will ever meet. So it wasn't surprising that he insisted that as a Christian I take yesterday (Christmas) off. With the family in the US, I actually wouldn't have minded working and being around people, but I also didn't want to insult him, so that settled it. So I did something that I've been thinking about doing for a while but haven't gotten around to: watching the sunrise from atop Jebel Hafeet. So I set the alarm for 5:00 am and dashed up to the top.
As I expected, I had the place to myself, both because of the time of day and the time of year. Last winter when I mentioned that we had all gone up Hafeet the day before, my co-workers were horrified because of how "cold" it is this time of year. Of course, cold is relative, but still, it was far from freezing, especially when out of the wind:
So I got to enjoy the spectacular views in complete peace
and watch as dawn broke
and night gradually brightened into day.
A first for me was the very thick fog that was near the top of the mountain. At one point visibility was down to just a few feet. It made the drive up and down, already selected as the "greatest driving road in the world" even more exciting. (Of course being in a mini-van takes away a large amount of the excitement.) All in all, it was the greatest Christmas morning spent without my family.
As I expected, I had the place to myself, both because of the time of day and the time of year. Last winter when I mentioned that we had all gone up Hafeet the day before, my co-workers were horrified because of how "cold" it is this time of year. Of course, cold is relative, but still, it was far from freezing, especially when out of the wind:
So I got to enjoy the spectacular views in complete peace
and watch as dawn broke
2007/12/25
2007/12/24
Sand Dunes
It is probably because I'm lonely without Bss and the kids, but I've have gone out just driving in the desert a few times the last couple of weeks. When I leave here I'm really going to miss the austere beauty of the dunes around Al Ain.
2007/10/16
No! What are you people thinking?
Why in the world would you want to take one of the few relatively undeveloped and beautiful places in Al Ain and put touristy junk up there? Why ruin the spectacular views? The things that these people are suggesting would only restrict the view and create more trash atop the mountain. Please, please leave the top of Jabal Hafeet alone.
2007/10/02
From the North
Al Ain, viewed from the Airport Road, north of town. This is about 20 km from Jebel Hafeet.
2006/12/27
Early Photos
It seems hard to believe that I have now finished half of my three year contract. Sometimes it still feels like I just got here. I was looking for something else and came across some photos that I took my first couple of weeks here. Looking at them is sort of like seeing Al Ain through the eyes of a newcomer. It is interesting to see what I took pictures of, and what I didn't. But since I never posted any of these (that I can remember) I'm going to put a few up.
Here is one of the very first photos that I took. It is the view from my hotel room.
Here is one of the very first photos that I took. It is the view from my hotel room.
2005/07/24
Trip up Jabel Hafeet
On Friday, I made a trip most of the way up Jabel Hafeet, which is just south of Al Ain. At 1,340 meters (about 4,422 feet), it is the tallest mountain in the Arabian Penninsula. There is are 13 km road going up to the top, and I made it most of the way up (about 10 km) before the car's engine started to overheat. The road is quite steep in places (if it is 13 km long, and the mountain is 1.3 km high, then I think that makes it an average grade of 10%).
These are a couple of views of Hafeet from the south of Al Ain:
The road up the mountain. Going up it is two lanes, coming down it is only one (probably to control the speeders).
This is the view from the place I stopped. You can see how twisty the road is.
And the sun setting from the mountain top.
Except for a few speeders, who insisted on passing me where there was cleary no room, that nearly caused several serious accidents on the way down, it was a very pleasant trip.
These are a couple of views of Hafeet from the south of Al Ain:
The road up the mountain. Going up it is two lanes, coming down it is only one (probably to control the speeders).
This is the view from the place I stopped. You can see how twisty the road is.
And the sun setting from the mountain top.
Except for a few speeders, who insisted on passing me where there was cleary no room, that nearly caused several serious accidents on the way down, it was a very pleasant trip.
2005/06/18
Jabal Hafeet
Jabal Hafeet is the tallest mountain on the Arabian peninsula. It really isn't that tall, but since it rises up out of the flat plain, it looks very impressive. This is the view of Hafeet from my hotel room window:
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