Thursday, May 2, 2013

An Elixir for the Heat

Ice Rink, Shopping Mall in Al Ain, UAE  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved




How do you find relief from the desert heat? The remedy is to head to the nearest shopping mall and ice skate beneath giant snow flakes!

Yes, the word elixir has an Arabic origin... al iksir, the philosopher's stone of alchemy, purported to cure whatever ails you, and even better,
to change base metals to gold!

In one sense, the UAE found its own version of the philosopher's stone...
its called oil.


9 comments:

  1. Pretty weird, an ice rink in a shopping mall in the middle of the desert! The two boys with the skating walkers enhance this other-worldly feel.

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  2. That's interesting. The skaters have frames. Never seen those before. Sort of cheating but if it means they can have some fun it's a great idea.

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  3. Fun time for those kids, awesome colors in this picture, it's wonderful!
    Léia

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  4. fascinating documentary of a crazy world, where you can skate and ski in tropical climates, and bathe outdoors in heated pools in the snowy alps ...

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  5. Isn't this as surreal as the Arabian Nights?
    But oil is not really a panacea.
    We need to source more reliable and more sustainable energy.
    Hey why not biogas? Since there are so many camels there.
    I can lend them my yaks too, if they need some extra help. :o)

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  6. I love the colors!
    Excellent eye and perfect framing.

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  7. Ha! Love this surreal shot--snowflakes in the desert!

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  8. Surprisingly enigmatic - an ice rink in the desert, a bit like using a camel to carry stuff to the North Pole...and I love the zimmer frames to aid the noobie skaters!

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