Textiles and Treasures

The morning began a little later than normal, I'm suffering from earache and I was up quite a bit last night.

We decided to visit the Hindu Temple on the other side of the river. I had been told that it was Diwali Festival.

The temple caters to the large Hindu community in the UAE and is the only Hindu temple in the country.

Our hotel faces the Dubai Creek and we walked a short distance past Dhows being loaded by Indian workers.

The Dhows are often painted Turquoise and rust and there is evidence that the men spend most of their lives in the small building atop the decks.

We caught a water taxi to the other side of the river and of course sitting quietly on the ferry we were privy to a whole different way of life than the rush of cars and business in Dubai. Ferries shuttled back and forth like the gondolas of Venice.

Offerings

As we pulled up to the pier.... we became aware that we would be unable to get to the temple because of the crowds... but it was interesting to just view the spectacle.

There were 100's of pairs of shoes on the pavement.

The Temple is down a very narrow lane, and in fact is up a flight of stairs in an ordinary building so we just decided to walk the lanes with the crowd and leave the temple to the devotees on their special day.

The Security guards pushed the crowds forward and people dashed into small shops that were linked to the lane....barely wider than 2 people.

Orange flowers, lights, garlands and the smell of incense blended with the sound of the crowd which eventually flowed on into the old part of Dubai and into the Textile Souks.

The narrow lanes were overflowing with fabrics of all kinds....
The shop attendants do everything to get you into the shop...  once you are in... the bargaining begins...

I bought silk shawls because I wear them a lot... I hadn't seen silk ones like this before and they are just gorgeous.

The souks are fascinating and well worth a visit. The Museum nearby was full to overflowing with visitors so i didn't enjoy that quite as much.

We decided to dine by the river and it was absolutely delightful. Coconut fish soup, lemon and mint drink and my favourite Turkish coffee...

It was relaxing and refreshing with the sea breeze.

I added another hat to my collection an Antique embroidered Afghani hat...  and I will treasure it as a wonderful memory of the day.

I loved the buttons she added to this piece, the embroidery and the beading is amazing.
Now thats not all for the day, we're off to dinner on a Dhow.... NO, I didn't want to see belly dancing, just feed me and let me look at the scenery.

A day of Textile heaven and I know we only gathered a small amount around us today.

More tomorrow.

Planning

4.35 am and sleep alludes me.

If I was home, I would be up working on the Bayeux.

But this is not home and this is my view right now.

I could work on my books.
I could draw  - ( I did that yesterday)
And I've spent many frustrating hours trying to organise my shop on the web page for sale of the book and I'm still not there yet. Grrrrr.

The bulk has arrived in Australia, and they will arrive in the USA tomorrow....

However, I'm planning activities for the next two days.

Today we will go to the Fish Market and the Hindu Temple celebrations, the fabric district then finish with dinner on a Dhow Cruise.

Tomorrow, the Cultural centre breakfast and my Sister and Brother in law arrive for adventures in Abu Dhabi and a trip to the desert.

So it all sounds rather interesting.

Full Circle.

A few years ago I taught a class in NZ, and I met a lovely lady called Glen.

A few years later, Glen came to class in a small place in NSW I think. !!!

A few years after that, Glens' group in Auckland invited me to teach for a week retreat.

We did a portrait class and Glen decided to do a portrait of her daughters friend.

At times she became discouraged.... but did finish the portrait.

Last night here in RAK, we had a wonderful dinner with some of my Sister and Brother in Laws friends.

A very excited lady came through the gate and said.
"I have a wonderful story to tell you" she said,  and showed me the portrait Glen had made in class of her..... Yes, she was the friend and the image had gone full circle.
So here we are Sue and I with her portrait on the iPad.
Amazing.

But full circle in Quilting is not new. It's happened to me many times....as I'm sure it does with you all.
As my Buddy Jim West said today...."Sometimes just being in the moment instead of capturing the moment is the game plan"
It just happens. No planning.

Full circle is spending time with students who come to your class with trepidation and come back time and time again, with new expectations, anticipation and confidence.

I had another wonderful experience today....
I was a guest at a college. I shared my ideas and quilts with several hundred people.

Mainly young students 18 years and over who had never seen textile art like this before.

"Please come back and teach us" I heard over and over again. Some lingered for several hours.

I was thrilled and honoured that these young people would embrace the art in such a way.

So of course I'll be back, it would be exciting to bring quilting in such a way to this part of the world.

Sharing what you do in a simple form is the greatest honour an Artist can achieve.

The students snapped away  photographing  my quilts today... let's hope it provokes discussion and creativity. Lets not be too precious about "Our Artistic rights" keeping our creations on the wall instead of the viewers hearts (and cameras)

Images

I've had no chance to write the blog today, other adventures have taken priority.

Images of people I saw at the Camel Races.

Camela races and curiosities. A photo Diary by Pamela

What a day.

We were up at dawn, and experience tells us that the light is perfect for photos at that time of the day.

The mosque looked splendid but we had no time to stop...

Turn right at the egg shop, drive about 2 miles and there we were at the Camel Races.

The noise, the smell, the ambiance... all amazing and everyone is so friendly....
"Take my Photo" is the conversation.

Where else in the word do young men stand an pose for you to take their photo.?

Look at this mans shoe in mid air. This camel needed a little extra encouragement.

The camels sit quietly muzzled. Robots on their backs.... I love the jockey caps and colors on the robots.

The are manoeuvred into position behind the barrier.

The stand expectantly,

The barrier is lifted and they're off.

The there's the home stretch.

We had hot fresh falafels and sweet coffee for breakfast and that was just the beginning of the day!!!!

Good Morning Sunshine.

I  have so much to do and I'm really on a go slow today.

I woke at 3.00 am and finally fell back to sleep at an ungodly hour.

I will try to add more quilt show photos to the web page tomorrow.

It was hot, but we walked the markets and I found a small fabric shop that sold the most beautiful fine Indonesian cotton for $6 for 4 yards.!!!!! yes, thats right $6.

I bought some for a quilt back and the other for my Christmas cloths.

We walked past aromatic spices and listened to the banter of the folk who  are convinced we need a copy watch or at least a named handbag.!!!!!

There are still old parts of the city to be explored and this we did relishing the cool of the 
decorated century old arches and the courtyard.

It was hot. So we tried to get a Taxi back to our hotel.... "It's just a couple of miles they said... better you walk".... so walk we did, along the dock past the most interesting array of goods waiting to be transported...

My face was bright red when I was kissed by a camel, or was it just the heat?

Then it was time to leave and go to Ras al Khaima some  120 kms NW of Dubai.

The windblown desert sand is red rust arched in snake like semi circles against the wind. One side of the arch is in deep shadow.

There are trees,  spaced sparsely offering little shade to the dry earth.
Like Australia the foliage is blue green.

The traffic is relentless near the city, but finally thins to a steady stream and blends on the horizon with the grey blue of the sky.

I wonder if the sun is ever able to penetrate the dust in the air.

There are no clouds, just a layer of mist.

our driver is traveling at 140 Kms an hour.... It just doesn't seen that fast.

Buildings of immense size suddenly arise from the earth... There is no beautification to support it... Just red dirt.

Suddenly, an oasis appears and an entire city comes into view.

RAK.... 

Our home for the next 4 days..... and as I write this its late and I need to be on top form for the Camel races at 7.00 am tomorrow.

Beautiful Dubai

I woke this morning to white light.

The entire side of our room is window and I always leave the curtains open... blinking through the brightness, I fell back onto the pillow  not recognising just where we were for a few minutes.

Looking out the same window last night was a sea of lights in black space.

This morning, was a view of the river and the dhows moored at the dock.

"Thats right, we're in Dubai"

I'm led to believe that you can't see in the window, just out... !!!

Dubai is also known for souk districts located on either side of the creek. Traditionally, dhows from East Asia, China, Sri Lanka, and India would discharge their cargo and the goods would be bargained over in the souks adjacent to the docks. Many boutiques and jewellery stores are also found in the city. Dubai is known as "the City of Gold" and Gold Souk in Deira houses nearly 250 gold retail shops, and our hotel is right just a short walk away.

My aim while here is to

1. Photograph

2. Discover Textiles and artifacts

3. Spend time with family.

4. Give a lecture and share with my Quilting friends.

5. Travel to the desert, film the camel races and anything else that suddenly comes our way.

However today I was a not in the best form after 18 hours of travel...

Tomorrow I will be jumping and feeling much better.

It was a hot day, and it will take a little time to acclimatise.

Traditional Air conditioning.

Reflections.