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Dubai Mall & the Aquarium

Posted by aim_abdullah in Labels:


I decided to break my journey in Dubai and took a later connection for the flight back to Malaysia to meet some friends who are currently working there. Though I have been to Dubai and Abu Dhabi for more than 15 times over the last 10 years, I’m still amazed at the pace of development taking place in those two cities. The landscape of Dubai has totally changed with new skyscrapers mushrooming all over the cities. The city seems to be continuously under construction. All the Emirates are trying to out-do each other in efforts towards diversifying their economic activities though all seems to be focusing on tourism. During this brief stopover, I took the opportunity to visit the Dubai Mall and the Aquarium as well as the newly launched Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR) Walk.

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Tagged as the largest mall in the region, the Dubai Mall located in the Burj Dubai District has more than 1,200 stores built over 5,900 million sg.ft. It caters to the need of everyone from the young to the old offering everything that one could think of. It’s a matter of whether one could afford them. It is similar to what one could also get from other malls throughout the world, including those in Dubai itself. But what make Dubai Mall different from the others are the recreational facilities available such as the skating rink and of course the key centerpiece which is the Aquarium. It is one of the of the largest tanks in the world at 51m x 20m x 11m and featuring the world’s largest viewing panel at 32.8m wide and 8.3m high. Over time, Dubai Aquarium is expected to have more than 33,000 living animals, representing more than 85 species including over 400 sharks and rays combined.

Dubai Aquarium's 270-degree glass walkthrough tunnel makes for incredible close-encounter experiences with some of the most fascinating underwater animals on the planet. A special 'lunar-cyclic' lighting system will change the ambience of the tank depending on the time of day.

Other attractions include a state-of-the-art discovery centre whereby both children and adults can enhance their knowledge about the aquatic world through a selection of books, audio-visual presentations and exhibits. In close vicinity will be a souvenir shop offering exciting mementos and gifts.




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Trip to the Dead Sea

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Heard so much about the Dead Sea and thus took the opportunity, whilst on official duty in Amman, to visit the site to actually see for myself. Located about 55 kilometers southeast of Amman, the drive took about 35 minutes (due to the speed limit imposed and presence of speed trap) for the whole stretch. The drive was to the Dead Sea in itself was refreshing with breath taking landscape and arid hills as we passed the Jordan Valley. There was not much greenery due to shortage of underground water as I was informed.

As its name evokes, the Dead Sea is devoid of life due to an extremely high content of salts and minerals which gives its waters the renowned curative powers and therapeutic qualities. And because the salt content is four times that of most world's oceans, you can float in the Dead Sea without even trying, which makes swimming here a truly unique experience not to be missed.

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Based on information available on the web, the Dead Sea lies over 400 meters (1,312 ft) below sea level. The lowest point on the face of the earth, this vast, stretch of water receives a number of incoming rivers, including the River Jordan. Once the waters reach the Dead Sea they are land-locked and have nowhere to go, so they evaporate, leaving behind a dense, rich, cocktail of salts and minerals that supply industry, agriculture and medicine with some of its finest products.

The water of Dead Sea is said to contain more than 35 different types of minerals that are essential for the health and care of the body skin including Magnesium, Calcium, Potassium, Bromine, Sulfur, and Iodine. They are well known for relieving pains and sufferings caused by arthritis, rheumatism, psoriasis, eczema, headache and foot-ache, while nourishing and softening the skin.



Managed to catch a glimpse of the setting sun over the Dead Sea and had to rush back to Amman for a dinner engagement. Plan to swim in the water of the Dead Sea when time is in my favor in the not too distant future and also perhaps with a trip to Petra, another historical site and favorite tourist destination in Jordan.




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Kahf Al-Raqim or The Cave of The Seven Sleepers (Amman)

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The Cave of the Seven Sleepers is located in the village of Al-Raqim, suburb of Amman. So I decided to make a brief stop to visit the said cave on the way to the Dead Sea. I however only managed to see the outside of the cave only because the caretaker had gone home as it was already 5.50 pm and passed his normal working hours. Had managed to have an idea of how it looks inside from the internet though.

The Cave of the Seven Sleepers is mentioned in the Holy Qur'an in a Sura named Al-Kahf. The story concerns a group of young men escaping from persecution by a local pagan ruler who fall asleep in a cave. Based on what I gathered from Wikipedia:span>

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" The Islamic version is related in Surah (Chapter) Al-Kahf (18, "The Cave"), of the Qur'an. During the time of the Prophet Muhammad, the Jews of Medina challenged him to tell them the story of the sleepers knowing that none of the Arabs knew about it. According to tradition, God then sent the angel Gabriel (or Jibreel) to reveal the story to him through Surah Al-Kahf. After hearing it from him, the Jews confirmed that he told the same story they knew.

Mohammed was challenged by the people of Makkah who did not believe in his message and prophethood by a question that the people of Makkah passed to him from the Jews. The Jews knew that Mohammed would only be able to tell the story if he was indeed a prophet. The Jews told the non-believers of Makkah to ask Mohammed "who are the youngs who disappeared, and how many were they?". Mohammed had no clue and told that he would answer them tomorrow, waiting for the answer to be revealed to him through Gebreil. However, the answer was revealed to Mohammed in a complete Surah named after the cave (Al-Kahf) of the seven sleepers. The Quran revealed the exact story that the Jews knew of, and it answered the questions (how many were the youngs, and for how many years they disappeared) similarly to the information they had. The Quran confirmed that they slept for 309 years, which Jews know of. The Quran however did not give an exact answer to how many were they. It mentioned that some people would tell they are 3 or 5 or 7 in addition to one dog. Jews did not know exactly how many were they 3 or 5 or 7, and were astonished when they knew that the Quran gave all the possible numbers they would suspect for the sleepers.

Mentioning the story in the Quran and the concurrent events that happened before revealing the story is claimed to confirm that the Quran was revealed by God and it contains only the words of God and not those of Mohammad, since it contained information that Mohammad did not know of.

The Qur'an states that the period of time these sleepers spent in the cave was three hundred years during which the calendar of their people was changed from solar to lunar and, as a result, the period of their sleep has increased to 309 (lunar) years. When they woke up, they had no idea they slept for centuries and thought they only slept a few hours. When they sent one of them to buy food, the coins he used to buy food were out of circulation and drew the attention of the town's people. After the story was widely known, the sleepers died. The Qur'an also mentions a dog among the sleepers, in the 18th verse of the 18th chapter, Surah Al Kahf.

Thou wouldst have deemed them awake, whilst they were asleep, and We turned them on their right and on their left sides: their dog stretching forth his two fore-legs on the threshold: if thou hadst come up on to them, thou wouldst have certainly turned back from them in flight, and wouldst certainly have been filled with terror of them.
(Surah Al Kahf, Qur'an: 18)

The ninth verse of Surah Al Kahf touch upon this group's extraordinary situation. As the narrative unfolds, it is seen that their experiences are of an unusual and metaphysical nature. Their entire life is full of miraculous developments. The tenth verse tells us that those young people sought refuge in the cave from the existing oppressive system, which did not allow them to express their views, tell the truth, and call to Allah's religion. Thus, they distanced themselves from their society.

Do you consider that the Companions of the Cave and Ar-Raqim were one of the most remarkable of Our Signs? When the young men took refuge in the cave and said: 'Our Lord, give us mercy directly from You and open the way for us to right guidance in our situation. (Surah Al Kahf, Qur'an: 9-10)

So We sealed their ears with sleep in the cave for a number of years. Then We woke them up again so that we might see which of the two groups would better calculate the time they had stayed there. (Surah Al Kahf, Qur'an: 11-12)

The reason for this state of sleep was their surrender to fate and peace, because Allah, arranges everything for the benefit of the believers.

The Qur'an also states that the number of sleepers will be known to God, and only a handful of people. It has not been mentioned that there were seven sleepers.

They will say: 'There were three of them, their dog being the fourth.' They will say: 'There were five of them, their dog being the sixth,' guessing at the Unseen. And they will say: 'There were seven of them, their dog being the eighth.' Say: 'My Lord knows best their number. Those who know about them are very few.' So do not enter into any argument concerning them, except in relation to what is clearly known. And do not seek the opinion of any of them regarding them. (Surat Al Kahf, Qur'an: 22)"





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Hamam in Damascus

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Hamams or more widely known as Turkish bath houses are available in most Middle East countries each with their own versions in terms of the facilities available. It could be easily be equated with the modern world of sauna facilities available elsewhere either in health clubs, hotels or spa resorts.

Historically, it was said that the hamams really became popular after the Arab conquest of the Middle East and began to spring up in every major city to the point that Baghdad at one point was rumored to have 10,000 of them. This was a great revolution in hygiene because before only the rich could really afford to bathe with any frequency and this opened the practice up to the public.

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The hamam that we went to, Hamam Al Malik Zahir, is over more than 1000 years and located behind the castle at the Umayad Mosque. It was formerly known as Al Akiki public bath. It is no doubt the oldest remaining public bath (not free though). The hamam has been fully renovated but it still retains the charm and touch of authenticity. We went in and got the whole process which was about 10 dollars. It starts out with a sauna where you stay in for as long as you feel like which is followed by some time in a steam room. This is the most famous part of the hamam where there are stone sinks around the large room with benches between them and a door where steam is bursting forth filling the room.


We spend some time in there until we were one by one called by the staff of the hamam who took something similar to the metal wire brushes you use on dishes and rubs off the first couple layers of your skin. That was fairly painful but you feel cleanse. He then scrubs you with the soap that Damascus and washes it away. After this treatment you go back in the steam room for as long as you want. We spend another 15 minutes and then we washed off and were given fresh towels and sat in the main room cooling off and drinking tea. It was an enjoyable 2 hours experience and we left the hamam elated and feeling fresh especially after the tiring climb up to Makam Arbain earlier.




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Are Malaysians that gullible and easily conned?

Posted by aim_abdullah in Labels:

A staggering RM20mil - that’s how much Malaysians have been conned by African tricksters in the past few years in at least 11 internationally known scams ranging from Black Money to inheritances which promise non-existent wealth. That was what was reported in The Star a couple of days ago. The victims are, ironically, educated people such as lawyers, accountants, academicians and even politicians who somehow were convinced that they could become instant millionaires by investing with these people despite all the publicity about such scams.

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As mentioned in the report, these scams are not something new. It has been around under different names or schemes. It was generally known before as advance fee fraud. This form of fraud is similar to a much older scam known as the Spanish Prisoner scam in which the trickster would tell the scam victim that a (fictitious) rich prisoner had promised to share (non-existent) treasure with the victim if the latter would send money to bribe the prison guards. An even older version of this scam existed by the end of 18th century, and is called "the Letter From Jerusalem" by Eugène François Vidocq in his memoirs

An advance-fee fraud is a confidence trick in which the target is persuaded to advance sums of money in the hope of realizing a significantly larger gain. Among the variations on this type of scam, are the Nigerian Letter (also called the 419 fraud, Nigerian scam, Nigerian bank scam, or Nigerian money offer, the Black money scam as well as Russian/Ukrainian scam (also extremely widespread, though far less popular than the former). Both the so-called Russian and Nigerian scams stand for wholly dissimilar organized crime traditions, they therefore tend to use altogether different breeds of approaches.

The number "419" refers to the article of the Nigerian Criminal Code (part of Chapter 38: "Obtaining Property by false pretences; Cheating") dealing with fraud. The 419 scam originated in the early 1980s as the oil-based Nigerian economy declined. Several unemployed university students first used this scam as a means of manipulating business visitors interested in shady deals in the Nigerian oil sector before targeting businessmen in the west, and later the wider population. Scammers in the early-to-mid 1990s targeted companies, sending scam messages via letter, fax, or telex. The spread of email and easy access to email-harvesting software significantly lowered the cost of sending scam letters by utilizing the Internet. In the 2000s, the 419 scam has spurred imitations from other locations in Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe, and, more recently, from North America, Western Europe (mainly UK), and Australia, the latter three mainly done by Africans.

Some other typical scams include cases where victims of the scam are promised a lottery win (example) or a large sum of money sitting in a bank account or in a deposit box at a security company. Often the storyline involves a family member of a former member of government of an African country, a ministerial official, an orphan or widow of a rich businessman, etc. Here is an example. Variants of the plot involving the Philippines, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Korea, Iraq, Kuwait, UAE, Mauritius, etc. are also known. Some emails include pictures of boxes stuffed with dollar bills, scans of fake passports, bank or government documents and pictures of supposedly the sender.

With so much literature written available on the net and occasional reports of scams and frauds, one cannot help but wonder how Malaysians could still fall prey to such scams?????.




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Mandi Roz in Damascus

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Had Mandi Roz (that’s what they called it in Arabic) with friends. There are however not many restaurants that offer the dishes in Damascus. There are many though in Jeddah and Sanaa. It’s a simply rice cooked in ghee with spices added to it (I think so ….) and served with either lamb or chicken. Browsed the net for further information on it but could not find any. Anyway, it was a sit down lunch with us seated on the floor and enjoying the food with our hands. Recalled vividly those days in the kampongs where we enjoyed numerous family lunch and dinners seated on “mengkuang” mat. It tends to bring family closer together. With development, all these are merely memories.


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