2008

Central Souq or Blue Souq in Sharjah
We went to buy some carpets before leaving for Northern Ireland	This is Mr Ali - our trusted carpet salesman in the Blue Souq. He is illiterate - but speaks excellent English and certainly knows how to count!	And Mr Ali is very proud of his son who is becoming a good salesman as well (he called me several times to buy my Toyota Prado - but did not want to pay the price, though..)
On the way home we had to go through the industrial quarter of Sharjah.	It took forever and ever - which is why we hardly ever go to the Blue Souq.
	When we finally reached Al Khail Road it all went pretty quickly	Workers accomodation along Al Khail Road
Yet another building under construction on fire.		The coffee-group - gathered in Anettes garden.
May 22nd the team from GAC had finished packing the house	and the container arriving late - 7hrs late - was ready	- amazingly it only took the guys 1½hours to get all the boxes in.
We stayed for almost a week in Chelsea Towers	The view is stunning - here towards the sea and Port Rashid	This park was built about two years ago right behind the previous office in Al Moosa Tower
The Shaikh Zayed Road	day	and night
	GOODBYE DUBAI - THANK YOU FOR 3 GREAT YEARS!
	HELLO BELFAST - WHAT HAVE YOU GOT IN STORE FOR US?
First impressons count: we spotted the golfcourses.	Belfast City	The river Lagan
We now stay in the Belfast Hilton - with the view of the hills and the river Lagan from our room		Yes!!!! It feels like "home": we can see cranes!
The following photos are from our City Tour - so full of information that I cannot possibly remember it all!!	This is George Best Belfast City Airport, only open from 7am to 9pm to limit noise pollution in this residential area	a peace line between protestant and catholic neighborhoods with barbed wire, still in place, reminding us of the recent 10th anniversary of the peace agreement in Northern Ireland
City Centre		Albert Clock, leaning a bit as it is built on what used to be the riverbed.
An old church with a new spire which nobody seem to like	a funeral procession held up the traffic	locally this sculpture is called "the thing with the ring" and has become a landmark for giving directions
		Belfast has numerous carparks as a lot of buildings were torn down after being bombed - for safety reasons. They were then converted to carparks and now prove excellent bases for new construction work.
The City Hall and Belfast Wheel	The bakery where Bill Clinton and Gerry Adams coincidentally met when Clinton was in NI to help with the peace process	The fence round the Royal Hospital has images of patients in the hospital. The Royal has become expert at replacing kneecaps. During the Troubles it was a popular way of hurting your opponents to shoot them in the knees.
The Royal Courts -	with a 9 foot bomb proof wall around it.	The modern Laganside Courts
The old court where many cases were heard during the Troubles - after which the prisoners were taking via an underpassaqe to:	the prison. Now to be converted into a museum	The shipyard where the Titanic and the Olympic were built.
Stormont, the Northern Ireland Parliament.
All over Belfast you see murals painted by both sides of the conflict. A lot of them are sympathising with various political causes all over the World
		Bobby Sands who starved himself to death in a hungerstrike - now portrayed in the movie "Hunger"
The Colloden Hotel in Cultra	Cultra Inn -	- where we had lunch (fish'n'chips, of course)
Another view of the Waterfront Hall	and here from the other side next to the Belfast Hilton where we stayed for a week	The moderne Lagan Courts with glass front - unthinkable 10 years ago during the Troubles, but now a lot of buildings have glass fronts as it is now safe to do so (no risk of bombs)
The River Lagan and Lanyon Place was the centre of all commerce for many years and to celebrate this a series of art work is displayed at various places in the vicinity	Thanksgiving Square with the an art piece of a lady standing on a gobe holding a ring of hope and inspiration ("the thing with the ring" from our bus tour)
"Dreams" symbolising childrens ability to dream		"Lagan Symphony" symbolising birdlife and music associated with Lanyon Place
"Sheep on Road" as until 1994 there was a sheep and cattle market here		Here is space for "The Ulster Brewer" celebrating the 100th anniversary of brewing in Belfast