Sailing

Last saturday Thijs and I were invited by Frank to join him and some others on a 40 ft sail boat sponsored by WTS Energy.   The previous days had all been cloudy and a bit wet but as we set foot on the boat the skies cleared up and the sun came out!  We sailed along the coast towards the Burj al Arab, saw the World Islands (nothing happening there, building wise) and the amazing Dubai skyline with the Burj Khalifa towering above everything else.  It was really nice to see everything from a different angle.

While sailing we enjoyed some champagne and wine & cheese.  A lovely afternoon, I must say!

A little rumour about the back side (visible from the sea) about the Burj al Arab is as follows:

Burj al Arab was designed by Tom Wright of WS Atkins PLC, during the designing stage, the world was told that it was built to resemble a sail, but critics are claiming that Wright designed the cross after he had a dream to have a Christian influence in a Muslim country (something that Wright denies).

Some locals claim that this was an intentional move on the part of the British architects. This issue is more ironic when one considers that the Tower of the Arabs is widely considered to be Dubai’s most important landmark. The real question is, does it matter if it looks like a cross?

In the year 2001, Dubai introduced the 4th series number plate. It has the Burj al Arab symbol, due to conspiracy theories and controversies surrounding Burj Al Arab’s resemblance to the Christian cross, the Burj Al Arab symbol was removed without any explanation in the year 2004.