Post on Istanbul almost a month later!

In a rare moment of forward planning I booked tickets to Istanbul in July for the long weekend of Eid in November. Now in Dubai there is always an element of suspense when it comes to the exact dates of Eid since the ‘moon sighting committee’ based in Saudi Arabia (YES there really is one NO I have not made this up) declares the dates only after sighting the moon. So I had my fingers and toes crossed from July to November and hurrah Eid holidays were declared on exactly the dates I wanted. Since my husband and I have valid visas to the US we knew we would get visa on arrival in Turkey. Istanbul was where we were spending most of our time and we found it to be enchanting, historical, exotic and very tourist friendly. We stayed in the Sultan Ahmet district since that’s where all the main tourist destinations are. We got to our hotel by taking the metro and then the tram from the airport. Infact throughout our stay in Istanbul we did not use a cab even once.

The first sight of the Blue Mosque took my breath away....

We did not expect to fall in love with Ishtiklal street near Taksim Square. The street was lit up beautifully for Eid and if you like shopping please go to the clothes and shoe shops there. I’d like to give a special mention to ‘Mavi’ where we bought two pairs of jeans, two shirts and a sweater and after all that my husband left all his credit cards and our hotel room card there, but we got them all back the next morning!

The Agya Sofya, Basilica Cisterns, Bosporous Cruise, Topkapi Palace, Galata Tower are all beautiful. It is also worth walking on the Galata Bridge and watch people fishing. If a fan of seafood you can also enjoy grilled fish at Eminonu.

Had we had more time on hand we would have probably taken the bus to Izmir to go to Ephesus but we had to fly there. Ephesus is absolutely worth going to. Unfortunately we could not go to Cappadocia since it was snowing there.
Ideally Turkey needs atleast 10 days to do justice to it. Street food there is yummy and affordable. The people are lovely – not only do they ALL look good but are also friendly, helpful and excellent salespersons. You see chubby cats everywhere and all in all when you get there you know instantly that you are in a region that is not only rich in history but also has a promising future. With an emerging market economy and strategic location, being at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. Turkey is considered to be a force to reckon with. Istanbul has now replaced Amsterdam as my favourite city in the whole, wide world!

Janet Jackson and more...

I went for the Janet Jackson concert that took place last Thursday and was really grateful for the opportunity to watch atleast one member of the Jackson family live in action. How I wish I had had the good fortune of watching Micheal Jackson perform live! Janet was awesome and I realised that there are so many songs she has sung that I do not know at all, especially the slower numbers, but I had a good time nonetheless. I loved her dance troupe, they brought the stage alive, especially when she performed my personal favourite Rhythm Nation.

I was a little upset during the concert when a group of four girls, much taller than me, decided to stand right in front of me, even though I was standing where I was since much before them. I requested them to move and they refused. They were rude and ill-mannered and it took all of my will-power to stop myself from saying something awful to them. They were also double my size so I guess it was prudent to back off when I did. But for the rest of the concert I had evil thoughts of pouring water on one of them (the rudest of them all) or throwing stones at her. The extent of my anger surprised me but shouldn't all of us be intolerant of such thoughtless behaviour in a public place?

Aah...the familiarity of brands!

I have never been one for brands so I did not know what the big deal was about Tim Hortons opening up in Dubai. I had not heard of it earlier - it's a Canadian brand offering fresh doughnuts and coffee across Canada and USA. They now have a branch in Dubai and have set their sights on India and China as well. The Canadians in our office were excited about the launch and one of them bought the whole office doughnuts, which were fresh, as promised. So Tim Hortons is like our Barista, except that cafe shops were not part of my growing up years so my life goes on without entering one for months altogether. But I can relate to the excitement of something so familiar coming to the city you have moved to and it is nice to be part of someone else's excitement as well. Like the time my husband and I went to Student Biryani - a Pakistani chain with branches in USA and now Dubai for it's mouth watering birayani.

And that's where we also had Pakola - The Cola of Pakistan for the first time.


I'll probably be ecstatic if Gokul - my favourite pav-bhaji and ice-cream hotel in Santacruz (W) opens up a branch in Dubai :)

Conversation with a 7 year old

Conversation with a 7 year-old today -
Kid: Auntie, it's my birthday today. Will you come to my birthday party at McDonald's in the evening?
Me: Isn't the party only for kids?
Kid: No, it's also for bigs.

A pleasant surprise in the newspaper

I was pleasantly surprised when I read this article in The National yesterday which was about Trevor Scott-Briggs, a former rugby player who sustained serious spinal injury earlier this year. After months of being in hospital he took his first steps to recovery on Tuesday. He thanked his family for their support and then went on to thank my radio station - Radio 2. He said that he found the songs on Radio 2's breakfast show inspiring and they helped him to stay positive.
As someone who is in charge of the music on Radio 2 I sometimes find my job dull and monotonous but this article made me realize the reach and impact of radio and how simple decisions I take at work can affect so many people.

Here is the link to the article -
http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/health/rugby-player-stott-briggs-winning-his-hardest-battle

The Box Appeal

If you are in the U.A.E and would like to do your bit towards charity try out the Box Appeal. This is an initiative I had heard of in the past in which the Red Crescent distributes shoe boxes in the U.A.E. People are urged to fill these boxes with personal items such as anti-bacterial soap, shampoo, towels, shaving cream, razor etc. The boxes are then given to labourers in the U.A.E. There was a time when the Human Rights Watch described the conditions of labourers here as being 'less than human'. Most of them are from the Indian subcontinent. This is something you can easily do to show them you care. The campaign is on till September 15th and it takes about twenty minutes to fill up a box. Boxes can be picked up and returned at any Radisson Blu hotel in Dubai.

Countdown to Iftaar

Ramadan is on which means that we cannot eat or drink in a public place during the hours of fasting, infact it is a legal offence to do so. It also means that restaurants come up with great Iftaar buffet offers and the social calendar fills up with Iftaar dates with friends and family.
I saw this today - I've seen countdowns to New Years or the opening ceremony of the Olympics but this is the first time I have seen a countdown to Iftaar. I totally understand the sentiment though - I would be counting down to Ifaar everyday had I been fasting.

It's so hot in Dubai now that.....

...I have to hold my steering wheel with tissues so as to be able to drive when I leave work at 4 p.m.

...The hanger in my husband's car seat bent to an unrecognizable shape

....The dashboard of my car states that the temperature outside is 36 degress at 11 at night!

....My colleague believes that his fillings might melt if he steps outside

....My cat has taken to sleeping in the wash-basin or in my flower pots to keep his cool

....My plants have died and my cat uses the flower pots instead

.....Weekends have become stay-at-home days and nights

....I have taken to having oats for lunch since I can't be bothered walking to the cafeteria to pick up food

.....My sunglasses fog up each time I step outside

.....I've started going to the gym five times a week because there is not much else to do (grin)

It just gets worse...

Got a mail from admin today that read - During the holly month of Ramadan general working hours will be reduced by two hours.

Then overheard a colleague say - Oh! He's spelt Holy wrong. Shouldn't it be 'Wholly'?

What kind of mushroom is this?

I've never had much of a green thumb and the summer in Dubai thwarts any ambition of developing one. So I don't know how to react to this mushroom growing on one of my dying plants. What kind of mushroom is it? Is it poisonous? Should I uproot it or let it grow? How did it start growing in the first place? Help...