John Cornhill

John Cornhill
Friday 26 Jan 07
Had a great day today. We had been invited to a picnic in the desert, so met up with the Al Abbar family and followed them through Sharjah and Ajman to Umm Al Qaiwain where we left the road and drove through the sand dunes to a place where other families had already set up tents, shades, tables, lights and generator and even a toilet. Most of the others there were sleeping over. The children were fully occupied on a very long steep slope in the dunes. Some even had snow-boards and were boarding down the slope. Lunch was 4 kinds of fish, perfectly cooked, with rice and salad. I ate mine with my fingers as people do here and it was delicious. Also had a giant piece of cake and lots of slices from a pummelo, a giant grapefruit. It was a sunny day with a slight breeze, all very relaxing and pleasant.
In the evening with Jillian, Fran and Angela went to the Al Sahra Desert Resort - 30 minutes out into the desert from Dubai. Here every day is staged a play designed to celebrate Arabian history, culture fables and folklore. The audience sits on sofas in an outside amphitheatre setting. The play is performed on a stage in a large lake with rocky backdrop. It was a story of a king, his two sons (princes) and a kidnapped princess narrated by Omar Sharif and performed by ballet dancers and gymnasts with (loud) music, huge and striking cinematic images, laser beams and water springing up everywhere in fountains and jets, and fireworks. The pyrotechnics created a fantastic visual effect to complement the dancing and the actors. The play is called Jumana (Secret of the Desert) and is a breathtaking must if you ever happen to be in this area.
Take care everyone, see you soon,
John