“B’day are special…they mark the fact that all the efforts and birthing pain were worth it”.
Ah! My 1 yr blog anniversary came and went silently. I celebrated baking cup cakes at home. Looking back last 1 year has been good for the writer in me. All though I went public with the blog much later, I needed to hone my skill and put up some volume of engaging read to talk about before I could tell people, “I BLOG”. Being a working mother of two life runs on full throttle for me. (You see we don’t want to let go of anything : school performance, healthy cooking, job, clean house…we want it all ). Hence my articles are not as regular as I would want them to be. Never the less I try.
I live currently in a beautiful city called Al Ain. For those of you who are not familiar. Al Ain is part of Abu dhabi which is one of the 7 emirates in UAE. While the world is more familiar with Dubai and Abu dhabi, there are few who are acquainted with this little beauty called Al Ain. It’s a small laid-back city rich in heritage. Its history is long, as it was one of the first places where water / oasis was found by man in the vast desert. Hence some of the earliest habitations in this part of the world were found in Al Ain. It is UAE’s first UNESCO world heritage site.
Now, why am I giving you the low down on this place, cause today’s morning walk was through Alain oasis. As you all would know through my previous posts that I love morning walks and morning walks become more interesting when they are through special places. Remember the Maldivian walk I talked about in my previous article https://musingsmorningwalker.com/the-view-through-my-shoelace-loops/ .This morning I decided to go through the oasis just to lift up my mood. It happens to be close to where I live. The walk, meant to be in my usual brisk pace ended becoming a snap at every step photographic journey. Don’t believe me check out the pics.
In Alain oasis, One gets a real feel of the old world bygone and how man lived with frugal means in sync with nature bereft of technology. I recently purchased huawei pro P20 just for its fantastic camera and trust me I used it to the hilt. I was thrilled , I could shoot even a bird perched atop the palm tree. (guess I put technology to good use : ) )
The oasis is spread over 1,200 hectares (3,000 acres) and containing more than 147000 date palms. There are 8 entrances to this place. The place basically showcases how date palm trees are grown, how they are harvested, the old watering system (the falaj system an ingenious engineering marvel) etc preserving the old world touch. From place to place there are pics of the old world giving sneak peek into Emirati culture.
one can see dates in its various forms of ripening. In fact the place is strewn with fallen ripe dates. So if you are not queasy about brushing the dust off the date and taking a bite go ahead. You know its ok sometimes, to pick fruits from their trees and eating it straight off, kind of like how we used to in our childhood days.
So, those of you who like to visit places with a touch of culture and history you must see this place. A better place to get information would be their official website https://visitabudhabi.ae/en/see.and.do/attractions.and.landmarks/family.attractions/al.ain.oasis.aspx . Morning walks are not just about physical exercise, I have always maintained that. Its also about enriching life with experiences , its also about getting in touch with nature cause I truly believe we all carry genes which recognize that we are one with nature.
Walking truly gives wings to my thoughts hence the logo that I designed for the blog. I wish everyone would discover what a beautiful, healthy and engaging habit it is. Most people find it difficult to wake up in the morning. I have gone through my share of struggles too. https://musingsmorningwalker.com/how-to-wake-up-early-trials-and-triumph. But all said and done it’s a habit worth picking up. I try to showcase here what my mind is going through when I go for my walks. What scenic beauties I revel in? why seeing the sunrise is such an uplifting moment? With the new year, the big 2020 upon us let us make some healthy changes in our lives. Let us take a step back,introspect and come up with changes which will make our lives better. Closed minds like closed doors stop us on our journey to meaningful lives.
HAPPY NEW YEAR AND MAY YOU BECOME THE BEST VERSION OF YOURSELF IN 2020 !
See you on the other side ….. : )