BsKnee on the Abra

Last night, we went to the most fabulous restaurant: Pai Thai in the Madinat complex. There is something magic about catching a quiet abra through well lit canals to a classy restaurant. We just loved the whole experience! The meal itself was also top rate – one of the nicest we’ve had on the whole trip. Thanks again for the recommendation Delanie! The evening closed out with an abra back to the Madinat and a quiet wander through the Madinat souk.

Inside the Mosque at Abu Dhabi

For our last day, we chose to take a trip (with a private car and driver) to Abu Dhabi.  We drove past the Yas Marina Circuit (where they have the V8s and Formula 1) and a weird circle shaped building in Al Raha. First stop was at the Al Nahyan Mosque (the real name is longer – but we don’t want to bore people). The mosque is apparently the second largest in the world – and is brand new. It is all white with gold on the spires – and looks spectacular from a distance. Up close it is quite dazzling. Inside, there are three main domes – with very large colourful chandelier type lights hanging from each of the domes. There is a floral theme throughout the place – repeated on all the columns, the carpets, and the walls.

Sharron and Karla

Once we had finished our quick tour, we met an old friend of Karla’s – Sharron – and she took us to the Shangrila Souk for lunch. We caught up with our driver again and looked through The Emirates Palace Hotel – another massive structure that exudes opulence. A quick tour through the cultural village and a drive home and we were done for the day.

Tonight we’ll have a quiet one, and prepare for the long journey home.

Our top 10 highlights from the tour are:

1. Best hotel: Sheraton Antalya in Turkey. Great food, good rooms, balconies, great location. All in all, the best package out of the many hotels we stayed in.
2. Best driver/guide: Ibrahim in Jordan. You just can’t beat the personal touch.
3. Best Roman Theatre: Aspendos in Turkey.
4. Best Roman Ruins: a tie between Jerash in Jordan and Ephesus in Turkey. The amphitheatre, church with mosaics, oval meeting place and roman roads etc are the highlights of Jerash. Ephesus has the library and the outstanding roman road. We couldn’t split the two.
5. Best meal: Friday brunch at the Dusit in Dubai. All you can eat and drink in 4 hours – and the food was outstanding. We’ve had some close seconds – notably dinner last night at Pai Thai.
6. Best flight – undoubtedly flying business class on the A380.
7. Worst hotel: Spa Hotel Collossae Thermal (aka the prison or Stalag 5). Nothing was good about this place and we’d like to see it removed from the tour for future visitors.
8. Best souvenir: the glass plates we got from the mosque in Amman.
9. Best scenic drive: tough one this – but the drive through Wadi Al Mujib takes the cake.
10. Best museum: the archaeological museum in Antalya.

Unexpected incidents include: seeing a half hour old baby goat on the side of the road in Jordan, coming across a poisonous snake at Aphrodisias, the snow in the morning in Cappadoccia, and the great pub experience in Bursa.

We hope everyone has enjoyed reading the blog as much as we’ve enjoyed writing it. Ciao for now!