Astonishingly, after the orientation on the first day, I was told not to come in the next day as there'd be nothing to do - and after that I would have about twenty days straight. It takes about 45 minutes, probably 50, to get from the hotel to the work place and we'll be doing 11 hour days once we are there I think, so I don't feel bad about skiving.
I got up late, went to the gym and then set out for Souq Waqif. Unfortunately, the whole thing is much more lively at precisely the time I was not there - I went in the midday heat and only mad dogs and Crones do that.
I found that the souq has stables for camels and horses. I guess that at the busy times they are part of the entertainment. I looked at the camels for a while.
And spent an age with the horses.
Next I went to the Falcon Souq which was all closed up. I was able to check out the little museum at the Falcon Hospital - but I'll save the bird stuff for another post.
I would have to while away a couple of hours if I were to see some falcons so I went to a cafe and ordered hibiscus tea. I had my sketchpad and decided to sketch one of the horses I had seen.
While I was doing this, the waiter asked if he could photograph me - I was suddenly a tourist attraction in a foreign city!
Great post, photos and horsie sketch! Ha - love it that the waiter took your photo. I'm glad some of the camels had shade to rest in. I found the locations on Google maps xxx