I left home about a week ago to travel half way around the world to visit Dubai in the United Arab Emirates to teach at the International Quilt Show of Dubai. I was both excited and apprehensive about traveling to such a distant place. Dubai is know for its amazing buildings and the view from my hotel window showed a glimpse of what I would see.

I stayed at the Dhow Palace Hotel and even the furniture lived up to its palace name.

The carvings and decorations in the hotel were pretty amazing. Here is a picture of the night stand in my room.

My first outing in Dubai was to the fabric souks. Here, the walkways are lined with little shops where a variety of fabrics are displayed both inside and outside. It is a real feast for your eyes.

Next we headed to the “creek” where we boarded these boats called Abras that would take us across. Everyone just boarded and sat in the middle.

This boat is called a Dhow. They are very heavily loaded with goods that they bring into Dubai. Some are decoratively painted and others look like it is time for dry dock and repairs.

On the other side of the creek are the spice souks selling their raw spices. It was really interesting to see such a variety and what they looked like in the whole form.

Dubai is called the City of Gold and visiting the Gold souks is a must. The shops are on both sides and filled with 18, 21 and 24 karat gold pieces. I have never seen so much gold in one place.

Barbara Weeks (the other international teacher from the UK) and are are laughing about the world`s largest gold ring on display behind us in the window. Ummm…wonder if that would fit?

However, I was there to teach so the next day I began with the Paper Piecing Tricks of the Trade class. It was a great group of students consisting of expats from around the world and quilters from the local areas.

I am off to the mall in Part – Two..

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