www.travel-arabia.com Publisher KALIMAT GROUP INTERNATIONAL FZ-LLC Travel Arabia Head Office Office G4, Building No.1 Phase One, P.O.Box 502408 Dubai Media City, UAE Tel +971 4 391 0410/1/2/3 Fax +971 4 391 6619 E-mail editor@travel-arabia.com General Manager Hekmat el Zein Editor Flor B. Pamintuan editor@travel-arabia.com Staff Writers Anjana Das Habeeb Salloum Contributors Gordon Torbet Eugene Correia Angela T Chuck Wightman Ty Treadwell Photographers Mahesh Kumar Duvvuru Maher El Zein Samir Ahmed Designer Mohammed Usman Siraj Assistant Designer Mohd Noufal Althaf Hussain Sales & Marketing Manager Syed Muhammad Arif arif@kalimatgroup.com Distributor Jashanmal National Co. LLC Travel Arabia Lebanon Office Riad el solh 11072070 P.O.Box 11-1197 Beirut, Lebanon Tel +961 3 435 780 Fax +961 7 762 104 Travel Arabia disclaimer All text and layout remains the copyright of Kalimat Group International FZ LLC, unless stated otherwise. Travel Arabia is fully independent, and its views are not those of any company mentioned herein. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. All rights reserved. © 2007 Kalimat Group International
your letters
Reader’s view of Travel Arabia.
Happy Thanksgiving!
While the Muslim population celebrated Ramadan and Eid and the Indian residents are celebrating Diwali or the Festival of Lights this month, I would like to take this opportunity to say “Happy Thanksgiving” to all the Americans in the Gulf. Thanksgiving is an annual celebration to commemorate periods of good and poor fortune. Thanksgiving is considered a big day for the Westerners and most families get together on this day. They prepare food, eat together at dinner time and utter a prayer for all the blessings that they have received. Turkey is always a part of the Thanksgiving meal together with the yummy Pumpkin Pie and Cranberry Sauce. Thanksgiving Day falls on November 22 this year. Happy Thanksgiving (Turkey) to all. Charles Douglas, Dubai
Out in the Park It’s nice to see families and friends come together during the Eid celebration. It was a long holiday and I spent the whole day with my family at Za’abeel Park. The atmosphere was festive. There were people of different nationalities enjoying the day. This is the first time I’ve seen Za’abeel Park so crowded. The children were very happy playing and running around while the parents were busy barbecuing, preparing snacks and resting. Long holidays don’t come often in Dubai and I’m glad there are parks to go especially for families or people who can’t afford to leave the city or relax in some luxurious hotels. The weather was cooperating too. It was breezy so I know a lot of us who were at the park enjoyed it. I’m sure the beaches and the parks in Dubai and the whole of UAE are packed with visitors. Ramesh N., Karama
Erratum
The Photos in the dining promotions on page 61 and page 63 of October Issue 07 are mistakenly identified. Credits should go to Habtoor Grand Resort and Spa instead of Courtyard and Metropolitan Palace instead of Sheraton Dubai Creek. Our apologies. Editor, Travel Arabia
Kicking Butts
I would like to applaud several malls in Dubai that are now enforcing the smoke-free policy on their premises in support of the Dubai Government’s initiative of a UAE-wide smoke free environment. The initiative which started on September 15, 2007 is a positive action. Burjuman Centre and Dubai Festival City are two of the malls that I have so far visited carrying no-smoking signs in prominent areas on the premises. It is a relief to learn that shoppers can now enjoy clear air while shopping at the same time. We all need a clean environment especially with all the global warming issues. I hope most of the establishments in the UAE follow the same step and enforce a non-smoking policy. Let’s do it for the generations to come. Thomas Joseph, Dubai
Fujairah Rotana Resort & Spa Thank you for featuring Fujairah Rotana Resort & Spa in your October issue. I have stayed in the resort and completely agree with you that this is an ideal retreat from the city. It is not far from Dubai and once you get there, the warm and friendly atmosphere plus the view of the sea from the lobby will make you forget the city. The spacious gardens, the mountains and the cosy rooms will invite you to stay longer. Louise T., Dubai
Travel Arabia would like to receive your comments and suggestions. Write to editor@travel-arabia.com