Exploring Khorfakkan and Fujairah, UAE

Monday morning began with mom and Villyamummy making puri in the kitchen.  A traditional bread made out of flour, water, oil and salt and then fried in oil…. Yummy deliciousness to start the day!

We had a lovely breakfast and then went on the road to do some sightseeing.  Our journey began at Khorfakkan beach.  Roj and I took a walk along the waterfront while the rest of the family relaxed in the shade.  The water had a slight shade of green and apparently this happens when the algae oxidizes.  We saw a few fishermen sending their nets out for a catch but didn’t see any fish at that point. 

Roj used to come to this beach regularly during his childhood, so it was quite nostalgic for him. 

Shortly after the beach we took a long drive and eventually ended up at a little Mosque at the side of the road.  I soon learned the historical significance of this little mosque.  It is called Al Bidya Mosque and it was built in 1446 AD, which makes it the oldest Mosque in the UAE.  It was built using only local materials of large and small stones, as well as burnt clay. 

I've noticed that a form of 'graffiti' over here is often writing one's name in the thick cactus plants.  You can find different notes and love messages everywhere just by looking at the leaves.

 Unfortunately, we weren’t dressed appropriately and therefore couldn’t go inside the Mosque, but we walked around the outside and then climbed the many steps to the top of the hill where there was a fort lookout standing for protection.  This provided a beautiful view of the coast and surrounding areas which included date farms.

Once we left the mosque, we continued driving and came to our next destination: the Al Rashidiya Dam.  We were told about this newly opened tourist attraction by several people in the past few days and were very excited to experience it. 

The surrounding areas were beautiful!  Vibrant flowers and rugged mountains.  I was voicing my surprise to Villyamummy and Villyadaddy, because when I thought about my trip to UAE, I expected to see masses of rolling desert sand, not massive mountains of tough rock.  The variety in the landscape here brings together such a nice assortment of colours, shapes and textures… just beautiful!

We decided it was time for a break so Villyadaddy made arrangements for THE BEST platter of Arabic meats:  skewers, kababs and bbq lamb, chicken and beef served with humus, fresh pita, salad and villyamummy’s delicious rice… as you guessed, this led to a food coma! 

A few hours later we were back at it again and headed to Roj’s hometown, Fujairah.  We visited the church, saw his old home that Roj grew up in, stopped by the second largest mosque in the UAE to take a few photos (it was stunning!) and then grabbed dinner.

It was our last night with Villyadaddy and Villyamummy, so they treated us to a special delicacy!  They selected a fresh fish from the market and then brought it to the neighbouring store where they marinated it and grilled it to perfection.  We brought home the finished product and polished that baby off!  Eating a whole grilled fish like this was fairly new for me, but it was so  fresh and so delicious! Definitely one for the books.

Shortly after dinner we said our goodbyes to Villyamummy and Villyadaddy.  It was sad to drive away to come back to Dubai, but goodbyes are always tough, and I know we will see each other again in the next few years for the next big event.