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Arabia 2023

January 2023
We had a conference from Cognizant planned in Abu Dhabi and I wanted to see a bit more. Read more
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  • TravelerArabia 2023
    Day 1

    Travel to Abu Dhabi via Istanbul

    January 15, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

    Sunday morning. Packing, car ride to Nürnberg Airport, breakfast, flight to Istanbul at 10:00. It still works with great support from Tamara. I have not forgotten how to travel.

    The new airport in Istanbul is so huge, and nice. It feels rather like a huge shopping mall. The business lounge is huge and they still serve the great food.

    The flight further to Abu Dhabi was 3 movies long. Too long having an annoying guy sitting next to me. But soll to shot to complain about it.

    Flight was a bit late, it took me a while to find a taxi. 3:00 morning local time I managed to check in at the Hilton and went to bed straight. Event was scheduled to start at 8:30 and I wanted to be on time .    Read more

  • TravelerArabia 2023
    Day 3

    Celebration Dinner on the track

    January 17, 2023 in the United Arab Emirates ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Next evening the dinner was setup on the tracks. Many awards and loud music, no show and basic food. But nice tequila :-)

    It was exactly the spot on the Yas Marina Circuit where the championship was decided last year.Read more

  • TravelerArabia 2023
    Day 4

    Evening in Abu Dhabi

    January 18, 2023 in the United Arab Emirates ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    After the last sessions almost everybody left directly to the airport, we went to Abu Dhabi city for some proper food.
    The Peruan restaurant Coya was fantastic. After a longer walk along the channel we ended up in a German restaurant for a last drink.Read more

  • TravelerArabia 2023
    Day 4

    Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

    January 18, 2023 in the United Arab Emirates ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    On the way home our taxi driver gave us the opportunity to have a glance of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. Big!!

    „The mosque is large enough to accommodate over 40,100 worshippers, while the main prayer hall can hold over 7,000. There are two smaller prayer halls, with a capacity of 1,500 each, one of which is the women's prayer hall.

    There are four minarets on the four corners of the courtyard which rise about 107 m (351 ft) in height. The courtyard, with its floral design, measures about 17,000 m2 (180,000 sq ft), and is considered to be the largest example of marble mosaic in the world.

    The Grand Mosque was constructed between 1994 and 2007. The building complex measures approximately 290 by 420 m (950 by 1,380 ft), covering an area of more than 12 hectares (30 acres), excluding exterior landscaping and vehicle parking. The main axis of the building is rotated about 12° south of true west, aligning it in the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

    The project was launched by the late president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who wanted to establish a structure that would unite the cultural diversity of the Islamic world with the historical and modern values of architecture and art. In 2004, Sheikh Zayed died and was buried in the courtyard of the mosque.“    Read more

  • TravelerArabia 2023
    Day 5

    Where to go?

    January 19, 2023 in the United Arab Emirates ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    I wanted to see something new within a range of 3 hours flight from Abu Dhabi.
    First choice was Saudi Arabia/Riyadh. I had checked the requirements and applied for an online visa. No replies for days: „send to embassy“ was and is the status.
    OK. Let’s go to Asserbeichan/Baku. Or just to the Oman? Go straight back home? Qatar?

    There were many websites promising a visa within minutes for Saudi Arabia. All fake. At the end I realized, you can get an visa on arrival. I had wasted 100 usd for nothing.

    But Saudi Arabia was confirmed! I had 30 minutes between the last meeting and dinner. The 3rd website worked and I managed to book a flight. Hotel was easy. Suddenly on GetYourGuide all the excursions were over 400 USD. Bravo. Trip advisor saved me and I had a trip to the edge of the world Friday afternoon.

    In the morning I wanted to have a relaxed breakfast, drive over to 10 min away airport and have a relaxed flight to Riyadh.

    Check in on the airline was a Desaster again. But I had to realize that I booked the flight from Dubai and not Abu Dhabi. Bravo.
    No breakfast and I wanted to take a car to Dubai. As there was a shuttle leaving I just jumped on it. What a mistake. It took us over 2 hours to Dubai and I missed the flight. On the way I tried to book me a new flight, trying it for 10 times, the app finally accepted my payment.

    2 hours Starbucks and some calls later, I am on the way to Riyadh. Seems i have forgotten how to travel. I certainly need more praxis again.

    Besides that it took ages to get the visa on arrival, that my luggage was gone and that I had chosen a hotel on tho other side of the very! big city, it is all good now :-)    Read more

  • TravelerArabia 2023
    Day 5

    Flight to Saudi Arabia

    January 19, 2023 in Saudi Arabia ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Finally boarding. Flight was good with excellent view on the Persian Gulf and the dessert on the way to Riyadh.

    #90

    „Saudi Arabia,[d] officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA),[e] is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about 2,150,000 km2 (830,000 sq mi), making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Arab world, and the largest in Western Asia and the Middle East. It is bordered by the Red Sea to the west; Jordan, Iraq, and Kuwait to the north; the Persian Gulf, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to the east; Oman to the southeast; and Yemen to the south. Bahrain is an island country off the east coast. The Gulf of Aqaba in the northwest separates Saudi Arabia from Egypt. Saudi Arabia is the only country with a coastline along both the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, and most of its terrain consists of arid desert, lowland, steppe, and mountains. Its capital and largest city is Riyadh. The country is home to Mecca and Medina, the two holiest cities in Islam.

    Population: 2022 estimate: 38,401,000 (40th)
    Density: 15/km2 (38.8/sq mi) (174th)    Read more

  • TravelerArabia 2023
    Day 5

    Kingdom Center

    January 19, 2023 in Saudi Arabia ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    After checking in I walked over to the Kingdom Tower. It is an amazing building with the nice lights at night.
    The shopping center was another one nobody really needs. All kind of international expensive brands, and no people.
    I was hoping to get some nice food at the foodcourt. But they had basically all the big chains: McDonald’s, KFC, Subway … ended up with the Persian food and a nice coffee. Everything packed in tons of plastic, we are certainly not used to this anymore.
    I tried the go up to the skywalk. The list was always out for a few minutes for maintenances, than the closed.

    „Kingdom Centre (Arabic: مركز المملكة), formerly Kingdom Tower, is a 41-story, 302.3 m (992 ft) skyscraper in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. When completed in 2002, it overtook the 267-meter (876 ft) Faisaliyah Tower as the tallest tower in Saudi Arabia. It has since been surpassed and, as of 2021, is the fifth-tallest skyscraper in the country, whose tallest two buildings are the Abraj Al Bait Towers and the Capital Market Authority Tower. It is the world's third-tallest building with a hole after the Shanghai World Financial Center and the 85 Sky Tower in Taiwan.

    The tower was developed by Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal and designed by the team of Ellerbe Becket and Omrania, who were selected through an international design competition. It is situated on a 100,000–square-metre site and houses the 57,000-square-meter Al-Mamlaka shopping mall, offices, the Four Seasons Hotel Riyadh, and luxury apartments. There is a 65m skybridge atop the skyscraper.

    The upper third of the tower features an inverted parabolic arch topped by a public sky bridge. The sky bridge is a 300-ton steel structure, taking the form of an enclosed corridor with windows on both sides. After paying the admission fees, visitors take two elevators to reach that level.“    Read more

  • TravelerArabia 2023
    Day 6

    Masmak Fort

    January 20, 2023 in Saudi Arabia ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

    After a nice breakfast in the hotel I took an Uber to the fort. It is Friday, weekend and everything is opening only in the afternoon. I had a nice walk in the area and went back.

    „The Masmak Fort (Arabic: قصر المصمك, romanized: Qaṣr al-Maṣmak), also called the Masmak Fortress or Masmak Palace, is a clay and mudbrick fort in ad-Dirah, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Built in 1865 for prince 'Abdurrahman ibn Sulaiman AlDabaan under the Emirate of Jabal Shammar, The fortress played an integral role in the Unification of Saudi Arabia, with the Battle of Riyadh, one of the most important conflicts of the Saudi unification, taking place in the fort. Since 1995, the fortress has been converted into a museum showcasing one of the most important landmarks of Saudi heritage.“Read more

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