Golden Jubilee

The day has finally arrived! Today, the UAE celebrates 50 years of forming a Union between seven independent Emirates. When my dad came to Dubai in 1968, each of the Trucial States issued their own passport and rules. The Indian Rupee was the currency used, and I remember growing up referring to the coins using the Indian equivalent!

Just about everything has changed since then. When we were at the Etihad Museum on Tuesday, someone said in a video clip that the Emirates were catapulted from the 16th century to the 20th century in a few decades. They weren't joking. The pace of change has been so rapid it's been painful, at times, to keep up. You can be forgiven then for still being a work-in-progress!

In the past, we have done a day trip to the Northern Emirates, but today we stayed in Dubai. There are a few activities planned, but with the new COVID variant, (which has arrived here), we felt it best to stay away from crowds. G did the driving while I took pictures today. We drove towards the flag on 2nd December Street (yes, really - most likely named after Cairo's 6th October Street). Then to Burj Al Arab Beach and back up again. We ended up in Wafi, where we had biryani to celebrate the big birthday! They had a cultural event on (barasti tent and all), so it was great to get a shot of the dancers, and I got to hold a falcon for the first time! There were photographers capturing the "event". When I asked where they had got their souvenir pins from, two of them took theirs off and presented them to us! That was totally unexpected and SO kind!

Home to catch the live stream of the festivities from Hatta. They had a very 21st-century programme, but what was amusing was watching the Rulers recording the event with their mobile phones. They're human! :))

My blip is of Zabeel Palace, the home of Sheikh Rashid, now used as the Majlis.