Cultural Tour: Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

If there is one thing good about living abroad, it is being able to immerse in a totally different culture. It gives you a different set of eyes thus changing your perspective in a lot of things. Until now, I still feel lonely, and quite unadjusted yet to the expat life. There are days that I long to hop on that plane, sleep for nine and half hours, and wake up in Cebu. Truth is, it hasn't been easy and I know that most (if not all) expats feel the same way. 

So to ease the whole drama I've been feeling lately, I decided to take on a cultural tour.  After some research, I decided to visit the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque for 2 reasons: 1: it's free, 2: it's very pretty in the pictures I see on social media.

If you go there in the morning and at this time of year, you only need these: 

Sunblock for both the body and face (these are still from PI given by Carl who works in Belo, thanks C!). Camera of course (and tripod if you go alone). And Hafilat Card. Note that starting Oct 1, the buses here in AUH are not accepting coins anymore. You have to buy the Hafilat Card which is 10 dhs and load it up with credits. One bus ride within AUH is only 2 dhs.

Would you believe that I got to spend only 4 dhs on this tour? Yes, and that's all for bus fare. #Winning Anyway, the bus numbers I know that goes to the Grand Mosque are 54 and 44. You can just do your research if these buses does not pass your area. The mosque is a bit far from the city and it will take approximately an hour to get there. The bus station nearest the mosque is about 10-15 mins walk. Not bad actually considering that I've been walking a lot lately. But if you do not want to walk that long, you can go there by taxi which will cost about 40-50 dhs from the city or hire a private car. 

Also, make sure that you wear comfortable shoes because there will be more walking inside. I suggest that you wear sneakers or workout shoes for that matter so that you won't hurt your feet. I made the terrible mistake of wearing ballet flats and ended with blisters on both feet. But I did not mind really, this place was too beautiful to think about those little nuisances. 

Another thing to take note of, make sure you eat a full meal before visiting. There is only one cafe inside the mosque which is expensive and the nearest baqala is beside the bus station. 

Outside the mosque, I walked this blue pavement all the way to the entrance in a scorching 33-35 degrees Celsius. I'm almost there, no time to back out now.

As mentioned earlier, there is no entrance fee collected for going inside. This mosque receives more than a million visitors per year. And as much as a lot of people see this place as a tourist spot, let us not forget that a mosque is a temple for the Muslims. This place is sacred thus, rules should be followed to adhere to the moral codes of Islam. 

I personally think that it's kind of them to share this mosque to everyone from all over the world, it should not be too hard for us visitors to follow. 

For women, the abaya and shela are a must in entering the mosque. It's great that they let you borrow those for free. You just have to go to the basement, present an ID (not a passport or Emirates card), and you will be ready to go.

For men, if you wear pants and shirt, you can get in with no problem. For those who are wearing shorts, they also let you borrow white robes. 

Excuse me for the selfie, this wasn't in the church yet ok? This was in the basement parking lot where the changing room is located.

It is notable to mention that they have prepared umbrellas ready for use, drinking fountains in almost all corners, and wheelchairs for anyone's disposal. 

The mosque is open to the public daily (Sunday-Thursday) from 9am - 10pm. On Fridays, it's only open for worshipers since it is their day of rest.  If you want to have the full cultural experience, you can check the guided tour schedules down below. I realized that the best time to visit the mosque is in the afternoon, around 4-5pm. It's when the sun is not too hot already but still visible. This makes your photos look vibrant still and, you will be able to see the mosque at night when all the lights are turned on. I'll definitely be going back for that experience. 

I was not able to go with the tour because I arrived around 12nn so I just walked around and followed all the other tourists.

You will find a lot of these paintings on the walls of the mosque.

This reminds me of my adult coloring book I left at home. 

Here are some facts I learned about the Grand Mosque:

• 3rd largest mosque in the world (after Mecca and Madina in Saudi Arabia)
• Named after it's founder who is the 1st President of UAE, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan
• Took almost 12 years to finish with 3,500 workers helping to make this mosque a reality
• Can accommodate about 40,000 worshipers all together
• This also the final resting place of the late President who died in 2004

Do you see those holes on that tower-looking structure? Those are actually lights. I can just imagine how beautiful the place would look like at night. (I must definitely go back)

These are just some of the domes which constitute the total of 82 domes for the whole mosque.

More domes. 

The mosque is surrounded with reflective pools which intensifies the beauty of this place.

The courtyard has a total of 1,048 columns. 

After so many attempts, I kinda got it right. I should bring a tripod next time. I just put my camera on tables and chairs to have a photo like this one.

Note: Remember that this is a temple. Do not bring your inner Tyra Banks in front of the camera. No jumping shots also. Also the guards and the personnel manning the mosque are not allowed to take your photos. 

The outside of the mosque is really beautiful and picturesque but the inside is another story. Just before you get in, you have to take off your shoes.

This is in one of those areas where you remove your shoes. The shelves you see behind me is where you put it.

More facts about the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque:

• Home to the largest hand-knotted carpet
• Has one of the world's largest chandelier
• Has chandeliers gilded with 24-karat gold

The entrance to the main hall. 

This was just a part of the 5700 square meter carpet which was created for a span of 2 years with about 1,200 artisans who worked on it. This carpet is made of 70% wool, 30% cotton. 

Inside the main hall, my neck got sore from all the looking up I did. The ceiling and chandelier were intricately beautiful. I haven't seen anything like it before. 

The carpet is predominantly green in color, a favorite of the late Sheikh.

If you go hungry, there's a cafe inside the compound, it has coffee, sandwiches, soda and juices.

Just beside the cafe is a souvenir shop where you can buy trinkets of cute stuff you can bring home.

Visiting the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque was totally amazing. I couldn't think of an even better way that I could have spent my day. Whether you're an expat or a local or just a tourist, this place should be on your list. Truly commendable. The architecture, both the exterior and interior design is enthralling. It delights your senses and most importantly, it excites both intellectual and emotional admiration. Truly a masterpiece.  

Bye Beautiful, see you again soon!



xo,

jas

My Little Iran Adventure Part 2

Kish Island is known to almost 90% of Filipino expats here in UAE. You see, one does not need to get a visa to enter their country. It has a very close proximity (30-45 mins plane ride) to Dubai which makes it more convenient for expats to exit for change of visas. Other nationalities though which countries are also near UAE tend to exit to their own as they don't have a strict immigration.

When I learned that I have to exit, I was really anxious and terrified because of the horrible stories I read online about Filipino expats in Kish. My sister who also went there for her exit had her fair share of tips and what-to-do's and what-not-to-do's in the place. I had a lot of things in my head that it seemed like I was being punished to be sent there. I nearly entertained the thought of going back to the Philippines for good. In hindsight, being able to experience Kish was something I had to go through so I can have the full UAE expat experience.

Here are some share-worthy things I discover to be true in Kish:

ENTRY and VISA CONCERNS

As mentioned earlier, you don't need to get a visa prior to visiting Kish. However, if you stay longer than 14 days in the island (which happens a lot), you have to get an Iranian Visa. It looks easy when I saw some folks get it. They just fill out a form, give 2 copies of their 2x2 pictures and pay about 150 dhs if I'm not mistaken.

There has been a lot of talks in the airport though that if your passport has an Iranian Visa to it, you cannot travel to the US or to some EU countries. This is something I have to validate though because I cannot find any information pertaining to this in the internet.

DRESS CODE FOR WOMEN

Kish is very strict in terms of dress code for women. Women have to wear shela and floor length dresses or skirts. If you opt to wear pants or leggings, the blouse/shirt you pair it with should be long enough to cover the butt. This has to be followed every time, a woman goes out of the house or in our case, the hotel. So even if the beach looked sooo inviting, hardly can you see women/girls out swimming. For guys, there is really no problem, they can dress up the same way as they do from their home countries.

By the way, if you're a woman and you happen to go there unprepared, they let you borrow a long blouse and shela at the airport just before you line up in the immigration.

SECURITY FOR WOMEN and IN GENERAL

Women, especially expats are to go out in groups. I'm not really sure when this rule came about but my sister was firm when she told me not to go out alone even if it's day time. So that's basically what we do there. In the airport, you get to find Filipinos who are in the same situation as you, so you talk, you share your sentiments, and you get to befriend them. These are the same people you will ask to go with you while you are in the island.

Remember in my previous post when I said I only have the Samsung S4 with me? That's because the hotel we stay in is sharing. And some expats who have been staying in the island for more than a month already waiting for their employees to process their visas are desperate to have cash to survive so they resort to stealing. It's sad and I don't like to think that they can do it to fellow Filipinos but it's what they do to survive. Better be safe than sorry. This explains the lack of photos and good photos.

FOOD

Every morning the hotel I stayed in gives free breakfast which consists of flat bread (it's so hard we coined a term for it: tsinelas), cream cheese (unbelievably good), butter and jam, and tea. The rest of the day, it's up to us to buy our own. During lunch, I usually buy rice and chicken from the nearby cafeteria. Their rice is long-grain and it has a certain smell which I detest. I'm usually a rice eater but I couldn't finish one serving because of that different smell. Evenings make me happy because shawarma is available. It's delicious, almost perfect. Aaaand it's cheap, 10 dhs for a really big helping. Also, their ice cream is creamy and rich in flavor. It's unbelievable. And you know how much is it? 3 dhs for one bowl with 3 flavors altogether. I can't stress this enough and I regret not having to take pictures but the shawarma and ice cream in Kish made my little adventure worth it.

SHOPPING

Kish is a free trade zone. Shopping comes out really cheap. Their mall hours are weird though. They open as early as 8AM and close at 1PM. Business will resume after 5PM till 10-11PM. Perfumes are everywhere in Kish. They have scents from different famous brands which is exactly like the original and sold in 10 or 20 ml bottles at 10 dhs each. What could go cheaper than that? They have everything from Chanel No. 5, Burberry, Eclat, Chanel Bleu, and a whole lot more.

Kish also offers a variety of make-up. Iranian girls take their make up seriously. Most brands are from Europe and I sampled some of their products too. I have to say that their foundation powder has really good coverage and can last longer than 12 hrs. It's the best 25 dhs I spent in my entire life.

IN CONCLUSION

Overall, it wasn't really a bad experience. I'm glad that I was given the worst expectations which made my reality so much better. I think that Kish has a really big potential in terms of tourism. They have wonderful beaches. They have good food (except for their rice). The people are surprisingly friendly especially the kids. They look at you with amazement and try their best to communicate just to say hi or how are you or where are you from.

I think the dress code for women is just a little inconvenient and if they can't change that then tourists from not-so-strict countries wouldn't be able to enjoy what their beaches has to offer. I mean seriously, how can you go swimming in clothes so heavy?

Here are some more of the less than 20 photos I took the entire time:

Someday, I wish to go back to Iran in a different circumstance. I want to fly out with the feeling of excitement rather than fear. I want to discover the places they're proud of. I want to interact with the locals with unyielding enthusiasm to learn their culture. I want to bath in the Iranian sun and laze the whole day. I want to go back and write beautiful stories rather than sad ones.

xo,

jas

My Little Iran Adventure Part 1

A month and a half ago, I left my comfortable life in Cebu in exchange for an expat life here in UAE. By far, it is the biggest risk I have ever done in my entire life. You see, there was no job waiting for me here, I was yet to go around, hand my CV to potential employers and wait to be called for an interview. It sounded pretty simple but the truth is, it isn't. I came here when the weather was a scorching 38-40 C every day. Also, it's easy to impress the employers when you score an interview especially that we, Filipinos speak better English but to get the interview is way too challenging.

To be honest, I stayed most of the time at home facing the laptop and scouting the internet for more job openings. To make the story longer, I got lucky to score an interview with a bank (I can't name the bank yet) and got the post. I was given the good news a week before my 1 month visit visa expires and they told me that they will process the employment visa and that I shouldn't have to worry. So I didn't worry was what I did. 

3 days into not worrying, I started to panic not having heard from the HR so I called and tried talking to the manager who interviewed me and to a Filipino I met in the bank. They told me that the bank hired a third party agency to process everything for them. A day before my visa expires, an agent called me from the agency verifying my email address because the first email she sent out bounced. SHE SPELLED MY EMAIL WRONG. There were so many other mistakes she made which I won't narrate but eventually, I had to exit since with all the errors and miscommunication, I end up overstaying for 3 days. 

I had 2 options:

a. Exit, send the exit stamp to the agency (PRO for the bank) and wait (in the country where you exited) for the employment visa to arrive so that when you enter UAE again, you are on employment visa already.

b. Exit, send the exit stamp to a local travel agency, get another visit visa, send the visit visa to agency (PRO for the bank), wait for the employment visa to arrive, do an airport to airport exit to have your passport stamped. 

A lot of expats choose option A but for me and in my situation, it cannot be an option. You see, for Filipinos, we cannot exit in our own country due to some POEA rules, our only exit option is Iran or Oman. At that time, EID holiday was coming so the PRO told me that I might have to wait for 15-20 days for my employment visa to arrive. I don't want to be stuck in Iran for that long so I choose option B where I only have to stay in Iran for 2-3 days and wait for my employment visa in UAE. 

There are 2 exit places in Iran, Kish and Queshm. 

Kish  is a 91.5-square-kilometre (35.3 sq mi) resort island in the Persian Gulf. It is part of the Hormozgān Province of Iran. Due to its free trade zone status it is touted as a consumer's paradise, with numerous malls, shopping centres, tourist attractions, and resort hotels.^[1] It has an estimated population of 26,000 residents and about 1 million people visit the island annually.^[2][3] Kish Island was ranked among the world’s 10 most beautiful islands by The New York Times in 2010, and is the fourth most visited vacation destination in Southwest Asia after Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Sharm el-Sheikh.^{[4][clarification needed]} Foreign nationals wishing to enter Kish Free Zone from legal ports are not required to obtain visas prior to travel. Valid travel permits are stamped for 14 days by airport and Kish port police officials. (Source: Wikipedia)

So to Kish I went. Here are some beautiful pictures I took from my Samsung S4. I did not bring my camera and iPhone for reasons I will tell you in the next post.

This reminded me of Shangri La Mactan and Boracay but theirs is cleaner and not yet commercialized. Anyone can just take a dip and swim away.

They said this little house is not yet done. No one seemed to know what this is for.

Another beach photo.

No one can't have too much beach photo

That's not a sand castle, it's made of brick-like material.

Please stay tuned for Part 2! Iran is not just a beautiful place, it has beautiful stories as well. I'll share mine on the next post. (:


xo,

jas