by Deborah Quinn | Jan 19, 2014 | Abu Dhabi, environment, surat al-sabt saturday snapshot
True, it’s Sunday. But I took the photo on Saturday, which must count for something. When people visit Abu Dhabi, mostly they see big shiny buildings, and big shiny malls, and big shiny hotels. It’s the land of big shiny things, except when you’re in...
by Deborah Quinn | Nov 22, 2013 | Abu Dhabi, environment, expat, NaBloPoMo, NYC, religion, The National, Travel, UAE
I live in the suburbs now. From the maelstrom of Union Square in Manhattan to the slightly more sedate “urban” experience of highrise in downtown Abu Dhabi was one shift. But in a weird way the shift from one cityscape to another wasn’t as big a...
by Deborah Quinn | Nov 16, 2013 | Abu Dhabi, Books, environment, NaBloPoMo, UAE, Uncategorized, urban nature
I have a garden, which I’ve wanted for years. In New York I had to be satisfied with window boxes and urban tomatoes (they look pretty but oh, those airborne carcinogens, especially if the tomatoes in question grew fourteen stories above a 14th street bus...
by Deborah Quinn | Nov 14, 2013 | Abu Dhabi, environment, expat, NaBloPoMo, Politics, UAE
It’s hot here in the desert. Even now, in November, when people say “ah…the heat has broken,” we’re still talking 90F at midday. The road I have to take to my house winds through a whole huge construction project designed to make room...
by Deborah Quinn | Nov 4, 2013 | Abu Dhabi, environment, expat, NaBloPoMo, ranting, surat al-sabt saturday snapshot, UAE
Fifty years ago, Abu Dhabi looked like this: The key feature of this landscape? Sand. And now? Green, green, green. If you look closely, every tree and flower has a little hose coiled at its root; hoses run under every lawn and green space. Forget the oil industry: if...
by Deborah Quinn | Sep 7, 2013 | Abu Dhabi, environment, surat al-sabt saturday snapshot, Travel
The original fan dancers: Two lady ostriches, fluffing their feathers… And then settling down for a chat:
