By Jay B. Hilotin, Chief Reporter XPRESS www.gulfnews.com
DUBAI ; Here are two ways to end your fast in style this Ramadan – a visit to the world’s highest viewing platform or a chicken shawarma in the sky while cruising at 36,000 feet.
A visit to At The Top, Burj Khalifa, the highest public viewing platform with unrivalled vistas of the world below, offers visitors free premium dates (from La Ronda) and mineral water (from Masafi) to end the fast from Wednesday (August 11) till September 9.
Top of the world
Nestled on the 124th level of the tallest man-made structure on earth, the towering experience allows sweeping 360-degree views of the city, including the scenic sunset and the vast Arabian desert expanse, while reflecting on spiritual values.
Most visitors who have booked iftar-time visits are tourists who bought their entry tickets online, a Burj Khalifa spokesperson said.
At The Top, Dubai’s must-visit tourist attraction, welcomes several thousand visitors daily.
When booked online, an entry ticket costs Dh100, but if one pays at the door the price is Dh400.
A check by XPRESS revealed that online bookings for August 12, Thursday, were already sold out (for visits from 5pm to 6.30pm) while the 7.30pm to 11pm trips remained open.
The spokesperson said the observation deck has had an “overwhelming” public response, but declined to say when At The Top reopened following reported kinks with one of its high-speed lifts.
“We are on target with the 1.2 million visitors for the first 12 months of operation,” the spokesperson said. Two levels below is At.mosphere, the world’s highest lounge and grill at Level 122, which is set to open later this year to provide guests with a ‘meal in the sky’.
Meanwhile, Emirates airline said it has come up with a special offer for passengers observing the dawn-till-dusk fast.
For flights departing close to iftar, Emirates will provide small snack boxes at the boarding gates of Emirates’ Terminal 3. The snack boxes, containing vegetable calzone, namoura dessert, dates, water and a laban drink, will serve as a quick snack so that passengers can end their fast immediately.
The captain will inform passengers about the iftar time, based on the aircraft’s location at the time the sun goes down.
The larger in-flight iftar boxes will comprise an array of traditional Arabic dishes including hummus with crudités, Arabic bread, chicken shawarma, pistachio baklava, dates, banana, laban, calzone, dried apricots and prunes and roasted almonds.
