Al Safa Park is a gorgeous manmade oasis in the center of Dubai, where it’s so nice to spend time on your own or with other people. It soothes, calms, brings positive thoughts.
Under the feet there is a thick soft carpet of endless green lawns. The palm alleys are pleasantly chill. The fluffy crowns of trees protect from the burning sun.

In the center of the park there is an aviary, an enclosed reserve for ducks, cranes and other feathered. In the center of the reserve there is a pond. Large turtles are warming their shells on its bank. The never-ending loud twittering is all around: in the bushes, under the tree crowns, among the grass.

I unfreeze. Taking out my telephoto lenses and start making pictures with the bird kind. I sneak by the duck family with two tiny ducklings. Later I’ll try to catch up with a timid hoopoe. I am waiting for it to fluff up its famous crest. I move on to a pair of rollers, small birds with the bright blue feathering.

The sun is going down. There are no long-lasting sunsets in Arabia, in 30 minutes it’s already dark. I go up the highest hill, hoping to film a beautiful panoramic view from its top. I get even luckier: behind the hill I see a noisy stream that goes into a waterfall and then into a wide channel heading in the direction of the bay.

Along the channel there are bright spots of flower beds. Bridges cross the channel. On the sides there are cozy Eastern pavilions surrounded by ornamental walls.