United Arab Emirates, Dubai

Yuliia Caliskan

19th March 2015

I was so impressed by MY FIRST VISIT TO UAE, that decided – my next vacation I want to spend there again. And I did so! :)

Adventure in Abu Dhabi

I decided to visit Abu Dhabi for one day. The main reason for that trip was Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.

Good to know:

Getting to Abu Dhabi from Dubai: with a taxi to the Ibn Battuta metro station, from there at 6 a.m. took a bus to Abu Dhabi.
Cost was around 25 dirham each way, cash only.
The journey took approximately 1,5 – 2 hours.
In Abu Dhabi I arrived to the central bus station. On the same bus station later on took a return bus.
Don’t forget passport (I did :)).
Be sure to have some dirham in cash.
The mosque is open for tourists during Ramadan, but visiting hours are different.
If I remember correct Saturday – Thursday 9:00am to 11.00pm.
More information about the mosque and the working hours you may find on the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque official website.

I was amazed by the size and magnificent interior of the mosque. At the entrance I, like all other women, was given a traditional robe – an abaya and headscarf. Also all visitors must take off their shoes before entry the mosque. Personally, I liked mosque a lot. It was a fascinating, bright and beautiful landmark.

FEELING OF LUXURY!

When I was planning the trip, I decided to stay a few days in different hotels in Dubai. I booked two hotels in different locations. The first was Jumeirah Zabeel Saray, the second was Al Murooj Rotana.

Jumeirah Zabeel Saray was a five-star luxury hotel.

The hotel was located at The Palm Jumeirah. It was remarkable and exceeded all my expectations. I really enjoyed a huge delightful swimming pool, an incredible white-sand beach, lots of beautiful restaurants, amazing indoors and outdoors facilities and an unbelievable SPA. By the way, in this SPA one of the Mission Impossible movies was recorded.

More information about the Jumeirah Zabeel Saray hotel you may find on the official website.

The Hotel Jumeirah Zabeel Saray, swimming pool

AFTER SPENDING A FEW ENJOYABLE DAYS IN ZABEEL SARAY I MOVED TO AL MUROOJ ROTANA.

It was a very nice hotel, especially for people who likes shopping, because it was located next to the Dubai Mall. The hotel had all facilities for resting in the downtown. In my humble opinion, it wasn’t as luxuries as Zabeel Saray, but still very good and comfortable including cost. The hotel had pros and cons. Cons were absence of the beach and one of the pools was under the construction. Pros were prices and location (next to Dubai Mall and Burj Khalifa).

More information about the hotel -> Al Murooj Rotana

Burj Khalifa was gorgeous!

It’s the tolest building in the world! The hight of BURJ KHALIFA is 830 m.

I booked tickets in advance and avoided the queue. Entrance was located on the Lower Ground Level of Dubai Mall. I went to “At The Top, BURJ KHALIFA”. It was level 124 (452 metres). The view of the city, desert and the ocean was breathtaking. Also lots of fun I had from a high-speed elevator which was travelling at 10 meters per second. I felt like cosmonaut who is taking off to space.

More information about Burj Khalifa you may find on the official website.

STORES AND GIRLS ARE THE BEST FRIENDS FOREVER! :)

The Dubai Mall is a giant mall and the biggest place for shopping and fun in the world.

Good to know:

The approximate number of the stores is 1200.
There are over 200 restaurants and numerous places for fun and entertainment.
Working hours of the Dubai Mall: Mon – Wed 10:00 – 00:00; Thu – Sun 10:00 – 01:00.

In the mall, additionally to shopping, I also visited:

The Dubai Mall Waterfall – runs through the entire height of the mall;
The Dubai Mall’s Gold Souk;
The Dubai Mall Fashion Avenue;
The Dubai Fountains;
Burj Khalifa entrance is also in the mall – Lower Ground Level;
Moreover, previous year I’ve already visited the Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo. The details about the Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo, The Dubai Fountain and other Dubai must visit places you may find in my post -> FABULOUS VACATION IN UAE

More information about Dubai Mall you may find on the Dubai Mall official website.