United Arab Emirates

Moving on to the 127th country in our trip around the world, we've landed back in the Persian Gulf area at the United Arab Emirates, or 'Emirates', or UAE. First of all, did you know what an Emirate is? Because full disclosure, I had to google it. (I'm realizing in Calib's SAT vocab studying, I need to improve mine as well, so I think we're going to start having a family word of the day for all of us). Anyway, an Emirate is a political territory, but not just any political territory. It has to be ruled by a dynastic Islamic Monarch, an Emir. Emirs are a basic title used for a high office in Arab countries, meaning general, commander or prince. 

So now that you know that, or have been refreshed- there are seven emirates in the UAE. The capital is Abu Dhabi. Despite the fact that Abu Dhabi is the largest (covering 80%) of the surface area of UAE,  most people are more familiar with the ultra-modern Dubai. The other emirates are: Sharjah, Ra’s al-Khaimah, Ajman, Umm al-Quwain and Fujairah.

The UAE has money to spend, thanks to it's oil wealth. In fact, it's one of the ten richest countries in the world, and it shows in it's architecture and modern living and its police cars! The police in Dubai drive Lamborghinis, Ferraris, and Bentleys! (So they can keep up with speeders!) 

The country is so rich, it's building more country! Two and a half miles off the coast, 300 artifical islands were created. You can buy the islands, or even rent them! The islands together form the shape of the globe, and rich people are already scooping up these ultra luxurious accommodations. Richard Branson owns the 'Great Britain' shaped island. 

The country is a major draw for tourists these days. They get somewhere around 12 million visitors a year, and that accounts for about 10% of the GDP. 

So why all the tourists? Well, there's plenty to do and see. 

If you prefer going off the beaten track, you can visit the remote, amazing desert dunes that lie on the edge of the Empty Quarter. If beaches are more your speed than deserts, UAE has that too. The water is warm and clean. 

If you're more of a cold weather fan, you can even ski in the United Arab Emirates! Not outside of course, where the weather is more Florida like (less rain, but still hot), but in the world's third largest indoor ski slope! 

If city life is more your thing, the malls are super modern with anything you could possible want. But the most impressive part of the cities is the skyscrapers. Dubai contains 10 out of the world's 50 tallest buildings. It's home to the world's first SEVEN star hotel (how expensive do you think that is?), and our landmark, the tallest building the world. 

Burj Khalifia was completed in 2010. It has 163 floors and stands at 2,717 feet tall. For perspective that's nearly 1000 feet taller than One World Trade Center, the tallest building in the United States. 

UAE has seen unprecedented growth in the last 25 years or so. Take those skyscrapers. Today Dubai has 448 of them. In 1991, they had just one. 

But beyond that, the UAE is miles ahead of some of its neighbors in women's rights. While Saudi Arabia just now got around to letting women hold drivers licenses, in UAE, women fill around two-thirds of government jobs. They account for 70% of university graduates. They are able to serve as muftis (Sunni Islam scholars). 

It's a big melting pot of a country. They say the residents of the UAE consists of 200 different nationalities. Arabic may be the official language, but English, Hindi and Farsi are all commonly spoken. Also worth noting: more than 30,000 American's call UAE home. 

In fact, UAE has many ties to the United States. It's home to over 750 US corporations/firms (including Cold Stone and Starbucks!) You can fly non-stop from 6 different US cities to UAE. It's also the biggest place for US exports in the Middle East. In fact every US state exports goods to the UAE. 

Other fun facts about the UAE: 

They have a 93% literacy rate. That's nearly double what it was in 1975- they've come a long way in a short amount of time. In the 1930's pearling was their biggest source of income. 

The falcon is the national symbol, and falconry is popular. (What's that you ask? Well, I had to google that one as well- "Falconry is the hunting of wild quarry in its natural state and habitat by means of a trained bird of prey") 

Interestingly enough for a country whose wealth is in oil, they're actually home to the world's first 'zero-carbon, zero-waste, car-free' city. 

UAE was the first country in the Middle East to hold the World Cup in 2009. 

Dubai holds the record for the world's largest firework display. They set off nearly half a million fireworks in a six minute time span for New Year 2014. 

They play camel polo! In fact, the game was invented in Dubai, and it's the only place in the world it can be played. 

The boys made their postcards. 

Calib's featured raining money. 

Peyton put Burj Khalifa at the center of his. 

And Hayden's featured the super fast police cars. 

I took a little help from the store with this one. We had Tabouleh with red onion, and diced tomato mixed in and a little lemon juice squeezed on top. UAE is also one of those countries where I've had something in the secret pantry for ages. A couple months ago I found these little cookies at Trader Joes, and they were 'product of the UAE'. I quickly put them in the cart and have been willing myself to remember them every since. (Not like that Colombian soda I still have sitting in there. I missed the ball on that one.) 

Along with that we had Oven-Roasted Chicken Shawarma  served on pita bread that I had spread 'The Best Ever Shawarma White Sauce', I read that to have it like they would in the UAE you want to pile with tomatoes, pickles and french fries, so that's just what we did.  

This earned five spoons up. 

Every single person wanted seconds (though not all of us went through with the idea). Hayden didn't love the tabouleh, and Peyton opted to have his without the white sauce, but we all agreed this is up there with some of our favorites. 

There is basically nothing I would do different on this recipe, and it is worth noting we used shredded rotisserie chicken from Costco. Last week it was on sale in the packages where they had already hand pulled the breast off for you for $6 for THREE pounds. Such a good deal. 

The cookies were totally worth the wait too. They were like animal crackers but better. 

For real, if you don't make too many things from this blog- make this. You won't be disappointed. 

UAE was colored in orange right there on the Persian Gulf next to our big yellow Saudi Arabia. 

That's 127 down, 69 to go! 

Next Up: Togo