Showing posts with label The Festive Season. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Festive Season. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 18, 2018

Yes, Virginia . . .They Celebrate the Season

We’ve been walkin’ in a winter wonderland and rockin’ around the Christmas tree since setting out on our Middle East and India adventure nearly two weeks ago.  And that is certainly not what I expected to be telling you when we headed to Abu Dhabi on the northern coast of the Saudi peninsula!

P1090886
Mural - Abu Dhabi
Over coffee one morning in Agios Nikolaos, the Greek village we call home, my American expat friend Marti and I speculated on whether or not there would be much evidence of Christmas in the Middle East. . .a place where you ski sand dunes, not snowy hillsides. Probably some on the ship, we concluded, but little elsewhere.

In a Winter Wonderland

Were we ever off base! First, it is winter in the Middle East. While we tourists from Greece (it is in the 50F back there) are basking in temperatures hovering at the low 80’s, department stores are selling coats, sweaters and woolen scarves. It is cold here for the locals.

More than once we heard the refrain playing in the malls, “Oh the weather outside is frightful, but inside it’s so delightful, let it snow, let it snow, let is snow.” And the malls had snowflakes hanging right along side banners of their ruler, the Emir.

P1090883
Snowflakes in an Abu Dhabi Mall

The Festive Season

And the decorations sure looks like Christmas but here it is called The Festive Season. It comes complete with gaily decorated evergreens (Christmas trees) and even gingerbread houses.

P1090892
Tree trunk goes up in Emirates Palace Hotel - Abu Dhabi
One of the largest seasonal displays we saw was under construction at the opulent Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi. The place showcases the Arabian culture and puts you in mind of a palace when you enter. Opening in 2005 it cost 3 billion U.S. dollars to build.

PicMonkey Collage
Gingerbread house construction at the Emirates Palace Hotel
The Dubai Mall, one of more than 70 shopping centers in this sprawling city, was playing holiday music and had displays up for The Festive Season as well.

The most beautiful displays we happened upon were in The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai, India. I could have spent a day photographing its many scenes and settings in its common areas.

P1100420
Lobby Taj Mahal Hotel Mumbai
And it was so nice to see it gaily decorated! On a cruise stop three years ago we visited the hotel and there was a lovely – but somber -- memorial to those who’d been killed during the terrorist attack there in 2008. The lobby definitely felt festive this week.

PicMonkey Collage
Lobby of the Taj Mahal Hotel

Sailing into the Holidays

As our cruise comes to an end this week many of our fellow passengers are making plans to go home, hit the deck running and get the festivities and decorations underway.  It has been fun though enjoying those throughout the ship – no muss, no fuss for any of us!

P1100045
Celebrity Constellation lobby
Festive colors, festive scene and Christmas music playing in the common areas of the ship.

PicMonkey Collage
Decorations on the Celebrity Constellation
We’ll be home in The Stone House on the Hill for Christmas and thankful that we had a chance to experience The Festive Season during the month of December.  Good wishes to you and yours ~ whatever your season and whatever your holiday, we hope it is magical.

P1100457
May it be magical
Thanks for being with us ~ as always we appreciate your time spent here.  Next week we’ll have more tales from Arabia for you!

Linking:

Through My Lens
Our World Tuesday
Wordless Wednesday
Communal Global
king this week with:

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...