XVA Gallery

Yesterday, a group of us decided to visit XVA in Dubai. XVA gallery is located in old Bastakiya quarter. The exhibitions include contemporary paintings, sculptures and modern art. An oxymoron if anything, because one would expect historic art and architecture in keeping with the surroundings. It was interesting nonetheless. There was a shaded vegetarian cafe and waitresses in fishnet stockings to cater to the tourists :P.

I ordered an eggplant sandwich which comprised of eggplant fried in breadcrumbs with fresh sliced cucumbers and tomatoes layered with babaganoush, tomato puree and olive oil dressing. It was a little bland but once in a while it's nice to experience what veggies actually taste like minus the spices and flavoring. Next to the gallery was quaint little spice store and the Persian owner spoke to me in Urdu and offered discounts.



After walking around for a bit, I went to see a high-school friend at Mall of the Emirates. This is hands-down my favorite mall so far :). It has EVERYTHING (brands for the rich and famous- BCBG, Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs and brands for the relatively poor/working class lil ole me- H&M, Aldo and Zara) under one roof... Best of all, it has Aunty Anne's Pretzels! Awww... sniff.

I also watched a mall performance supported by the Maktoum foundation (which tries really hard to promote "culture" in the UAE). It was mediocre but I snapped a few shots before my camera died. The female roles were played by men dressed as women (because women don't perform in public). A little disturbing but I guess cross-dressing is acceptable?