The Colors of the Land

As I landed in Dubai, I had a great chance to view the terrain.  I was struck by the muted textures of it.  The curved mounds of sand, the flattened lands ready for construction, mosque domes, high-rise buildings, and dots of palm trees flew by the window.  All seemed to be various shades of tan.

On my way to Sharjah, I had to remember not to talk to the driver to ask about architecture and the area in general.  (It can lead to wrong impressions here.)  Instead, I looked at the sights as we passed by them.   With the exception of the airport, no one was outside. Tile filled the tunnel walls.  Business signs were mostly red or yellow.  However, an occasional green or blue sign would stand out.   I would have thought the high-rise buildings would have had the “big box” effect I have seen in the US.  Instead, I was pleased to see that glass windows and subtle color shifts in the building materials created visual curves, circles and arches to make them much more architectural in nature. (Some even had an Art Deco/Nouveau look to them.)  The buildings were not just tan as I had seen from the air, but whites, greys, tans, and golds.  A few buildings had touches of peach tones in them as well.  Two large ferris wheels stood out of character in front of some of these giants.  

A short distance away from the airport, the road turned toward the Gulf.  The clear blue water added a nice contrast to the neutral-colored buildings nearby.   Here is the view of the gulf from my hotel room.  (The windows are covered with sand so please forgive the grainy nature of this shot.)

 

Now it is time to go explore! 

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