R. Doug Wicker's Blog, page 17

Random Photo Week with a QUIZ at the End

The Subject of This Week’s Mystery

I‘m going to interrupt my Middle East photo tour for something a bit different this week. Next week I’ll resume our visit earlier this year to two destinations within the United Arab Emirates. So, if you’re looking forward to some views of Dubai and a video starring the world’s tallest building, do not despair. As for this week, the theme is Dramatic Skies, Automobiles, Desert Flowers, and a Mystery Destination. See if you can figure out that destination fro...

Fun Photo Friday —Qasr Al Watan Palace Favorites 3

Abalone and Mother-of-Pearl

Today concludes this series on Abu Dhabi. Next week will show so recent random photos, and the week after that I begin my series on Dubia. I hope to see you then!

Qasr Al Watan Interior Qasr Al Watan Stained Glass Arches and a Dome — Qasr Al Watan Wandering the West Wing — Qasr Al Watan

For additional information on the Qasr Al Watan Palace see:
● Qasr Al Watan Palace
● Qasr Al Watan Abu Dhabi site
● Qasr Al Watan official website
● Islamic architecture
● Ab...

Abu Dhabi — Qasr Al Watan Palace Part 6

Qasr Al Watan Palace

Today we’ll finish our tour of Qasr Al Watan Palace, and this week’s Fun Photo Friday will present the third and final of favorite images taken here. After that it’s time to move on to our next United Arab Emirates destination — Dubai. But in this article, we’re going to concentrate on the Presidential Gifts room and a hint of the treasures contained within. To orient you, we’re talking about Item 3 in the diagram below:

Qasr Al Watan Palace interior map

The image be...

Abu Dhabi — Qasr Al Watan Palace Part 5

Qasr Al Watan Palace

Today and Wednesday I’m going to show you the west “working” wing of Qasr Al Watan Palace. Wednesday will be devoted mostly to the room housing presidential gifts, but today we’ll complete our tour of the hallway north of the Great Hall, then head into the west wing to view the Presidential Banquet Hall (informational link below). Let us begin with that hallway just north of the Great Hall:

Qasr Al Watan Palace

As we made our way around to the west wing, we were cont...

Fun Photo Friday —Qasr Al Watan Palace Favorites 2

Courtyard — Qasr Al Watan

Today is the second of three Fun Photo Fridays featuring Qasr Al Watan Palace favorites.

For additional information on the Qasr Al Watan Palace see:
● Qasr Al Watan Palace
● Qasr Al Watan Abu Dhabi site
● Qasr Al Watan official website
● Islamic architecture
● Abu Dhabi
● United Arab Emerates
● Arabian Peninsula
● Middle East

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

Abu Dhabi — Qasr Al Watan Palace Part 4

R. Doug Wicker in Qasr Al Watan Palace

Time for us to head deep into the east wing at Qasr Al Watan Palace. Here we’ll explore the cultural side of the house, for the east wing contains the House of Knowledge: Age of Enlightenment (information link below), the 50,000-book Qasr Al Watan Abu Dhabi Public Library (information link below), and the Presidential Meeting Room. Just to give you a sense of direction, here again is the palace interior diagram:

Qasr Al Watan Palace interior diagram...

Abu Dhabi — Qasr Al Watan Palace Part 3

Qasr Al Watan Palace — view of the Great Hall from the east wing

Today we hang a right at the Great Hall and head into the east wing, although the Great Hall is so stunning that many of today’s photos will peering back into that area. I hope it doesn’t get too monotonous for you. Let’s start with a review of the layout of Qasr Al Watan Palace to help you get your bearings:

Qasr Al Watan Palace layout

The Great Hall is represented above by the number 2. The east wing is to the right and c...

Fun Photo Friday —Qasr Al Watan Palace Favorites 1

It’s All Done With Mirrors

Today I present the first of three Fun Photo Fridays featuring favorites taken of Qasr Al Watan Presidential Palace.

Tiles and Domes Dome Above the Great Hall Grand Gateway to the Courtyard Darn — I Forgot My Library Card Ursula Crossing Off Another Bucket List Item

For additional information on the Qasr Al Watan Palace see:
● Qasr Al Watan Palace
● Qasr Al Watan official website
● Qasr Al Watan Abu Dhabi site
● Islamic architecture
● Abu Dhabi
● United Arab ...

Abu Dhabi — Qasr Al Watan Palace Part 2

The domes over Qasr Al Watan Palace

It’s time to head inside Qasr Al Watan Palace, but before we do let’s swing around for one more shot of the tiled courtyard and one of the surrouding structures:

Qasr Al Watan Palace courtyard

Now we’re back in the entry hall of the palace:

Qasr Al Watan Palace entry hall

But as impressive as the entry is, looking ahead you’ll see an even larger room with a higher domed ceiling:

Qasr Al Watan Palace

This is the Great Hall at Qasr Al Watan, an...

Abu Dhabi — Qasr Al Watan Palace Part 1

Qasr Al Watan Palace, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Over the preceding three weeks I presented to you the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (For the beginning of that series see: Abu Dhabi — Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Part 1) Over the next three weeks it is time to move on to another stunning Abu Dhabi site — Qasr Al Watan Palace. For additional information, click on any of the links at the bottom of today’s article.

The entrance into Qasr Al Watan Palace

Qas...