Photos!

Am going to try to finally post some photos...I'm at a new hotel (so I can be at the same hotel as the rest of the senior members of the team, and all of the designers...plus it is MUCH nicer...and I have a kitchenette!), and hopefully it has better internet...let's try.

Below are photos of an old, historic fort/castle/royal residence here in Abu Dhabi.  It started as a watch-tower, then the castle and residence grew around it.  It is called Qasr Al Hosn.  I love the juxtaposition of the old and the new in these photos...especially considering the "old" is not really that old...only 100 years or so!  It represents the transition of a nomadic peoples to a sedentary one...who were smart, banded together, and invested in their own country's riches (oil).  I won't go into all the facts, you can look them up in you like.  But I hope you enjoy the photos!

Ok, so this is one way that the bedouins/traveling people found fresh water...they dug into the sand, where fresh water could be found, and actually bubbled up to the surface.  For 2 days it was potable (called "sweet water" as opposed to "salt water), then the next two days they used it to make coffee, then the next 2 days they used it to wash clothes, then the 7th day it was only good for animals, and they would have to dig a new hole to find a new source of fresh water.  can you imagine??

if you look at the top of the old castle/lookout tower, you can see little structures that look like beaks..these were used to pour boiling oil or water onto enemies that tried to breach the walls.  yikes!

this is out exec producer (in the shirt and pants) walking with one of the representatives of the CPC (Crown Prince's Court, for whom we are working) in traditional dress - Kandora. 

these simple structures are leftover from the Qasr Al Hosn festival, which is a yearly event that takes place every year inside the walls of the castle...it is kind of like the Arabic version of a Renaissance fair...replicating life as it was before the joining together of all of the Emirates.  So they reconstruct old houses, souks, mosques, built in the traditional way, and there are "historical interpreters" dressed in the old way and acting out old traditions.  We will feature a lot of these traditions in our show, as it is the celebration of the 44th anniversary of the uniting of the emirates.

again, structures from the festival...but i just love the old vs new in this photo.  and again the "old" is not that old...less than 100 years.

these are some of my posse...folks working on this production.  they are from all over the world - it is truly amazing.  australia, azerbaijan, south africa, UK, america, mexico, spain, italy, new zealand.  very, very cool to work with such an international team again.

this is an irrigation system used to spread water from an oasis, or a pooled water source thru to a residence area.  truth be told, i don't know much about it, except that it also created a little micro-climate amongst the plants, and aided in the growing of even more plants.  

i'm sure my arabic scholar friend andrea will correct a lot of the above..hopefully i got most right!  i do know that qasr means "castle".  and i do know it's still very surreal that i wake up every morning in abu dhabi.  and it is very hot (90's during the day...dips down to the mid-80's at night).  and that i am really enjoying myself so far.  :)