Media City

Today started out with Dr. S’s favorite activity, shopping. Our trip was to visit the Al-Arabiyya studios, but like other companies here, they operate on Arab time, so we didn’t need to arrive until around noon. Al-Arabiyya is based in Dubai but is generally looked upon as Saudi owned, or funded, though its funding is also derived from other sources. They call themselves the more sensible, "less-sensationalist" news source, pitting themselves against Al-Jazeera. I haven’t been able to watch much of the channel, so I can’t offer any opinion on this one.

The Mercato mall, on the other hand, I can offer an opinion on. It was made to resemble an Italian village, so all the store facades and the promenades were colorful and featured artistic drawings of various Italian scenes. The girls settled in for a late breakfast at Paul’s, a popular French café, and the boys went off with Dr. S, who as usual was shopping with the intent to buy. I’ve never met a man who truly enjoyed shopping like Dr. S, or who was so devoted to buying things for his wife. This time he purchased two pairs of shoes, and was still debating over a Gucci watch for her as we left. Then it was on to the t.v. station.

As we arrived at Al-Arabiyya, the Zarqawi story had just broken, so even though it was a weekend, there were people everywhere scrambling to put together graphics, history, bios, and story script. The channel was also live as we were in the studio, so we were able to watch the anchors real time and observe from the control room as well. We even managed a few minutes with the top Al-Arabiyya executive, whose name currently escapes me. Dr. S tells us that he is the number one media person in the Arab world, so perhaps I should work on finding his name…

Al-Arabiyya

After bumming around the studios we headed, where else, to a mall! This time it was the Madeenatee Jumeira, or Jumeira City mall. It’s all indoors, but designed to look like an outdoor souq, so everything is wood carved and draped with canvas. The outdoor patios of the restaurant area resemble the canals of Venice, with boats leading, via waterways, to the hotels surrounding the mall. Everything there was overpriced, but it was a great area, and we enjoyed a nice Italian meal! One of the highlights of this mall is its proximity to both the Burj al-Arab and the homes of the ruling family. We were able to pass by their mansions, and I’m not even sure what to equate them to. Each home was probably a good 8 times larger than the White House. I’d love, love, love to get a look inside, but let’s be realistic. The palaces are guarded heavily, and audiences are granted in a separate location, ensuring the privacy of the family. Then I thought about marrying a member of the family to get a look, but they tend to marry cousins. Oh well.

On the set of a program. Dina and Aiya, two AUS students from our class joined us.

Olan highjacked my camera and this was the result.

Kara plays correspondent.

Media City

Outside Jumeira City mall. On the left is one of the hotels.

Matt and I on the restuarant patio. That's the Burj in the background.

Inside the mall.

I forgot to put this one up earlier. Matt workin' the camera.