SEGA Republic is a high-adrenaline indoor theme park for the whole family. Conveniently located at The Dubai Mall, the 76,000 sq ft park has five themed zones featuring 9 thrilling attractions and more than 150 games, from cutting-edge motion simulators and virtual experiences to one of the region’s largest assortment of redemption games. Developed by Emaar Retail in association with Japan-based SEGA Corporation, one of the global leaders in high-tech entertainment, SEGA Republic brings you a thrilling, unforgettable experience that’s sure to have you coming back for more.

Thrilling? Yes. Unforgettable? Yes. Coming back for more? We’ll have to see…

The park is split up into five themed zones. Here’s a look at some (we didn’t go on all, thought we’d save a few for our next visit) of the rides we went on.

Speed Zone

Filled with some great racing simulators, speed junkies (and we know Dubai is full of them…) will love this zone! Lets hope they don’t try any of this on Shk Zayed Rd.

Storm-G: A high speed bob sled ride (along the lines of Wipeout) that twists and turns 360°!

Outrun 2 SP: Classic Outrun, head to head against 4 other players.

Oh dear… well, it is a soft launch. Lesson to be learned folks, say NO to Windows.

Redemption Zone

You earn points for every game played in this zone (higher the score, higher the points) which can then be redeemed for gifts, sega merchandise, etc… fair warning though, you’ll need to rack up a LOT of points to get anything decent. By the end of the night, I won about 50 odd points which I could redeem for… BUBBLEGUM!

Adventure Zone

Def my favourite zone, there’s an indoor rollercoaster ride, rock climbing wall and three brilliant simulators Wild Jungle, Wild Wing and Let’s Go Jungle.

Sports Zone

Simulators for almost every single sport you can think of – Virtual Bowling, Ping Pong, Golf, Football, Bill Bow (interesting hybrid between Billiards and Bowling) and a life size snowboard half-pipe simulator.

Cyberpop Zone

Didn’t get a chance to take any photos of this zone. It had a couple of arcade games like House of the Dead and some photo sticker machines… nothing too exciting.

Catboy and the crew from Dubai 92 also visited Sega Republic yesterday. Here are some of the rides that tried out:

Click here to see HD version.

I enjoyed my time at Sega Republic, while I have my doubts on it’s long term appeal (once you’ve done all the rides, there’s not much to make you come back) overall, it’s entertaining, will score you big brownie points with your kids and is a welcome indoor reprieve from the summer heat!

For more info on rides, ticket prices and opening hours visit http://www.segarepublic.com.

click to see larger image

This comic (quote verbatim from Etisalat’s VP) was inspired by Etisalat’s recent denial that it’s Blackberry ‘patch’ was not spyware… this, after the fact that local media The National, Gulf News; international media BBC, Financial Times and Blackberry themselves have slammed the update as spyware. If all this is news to you, a recap of the entire issue can be found on Fake Plastic Souks

Here’s the issue… Etisalat still thinks it’s Dubai circa 1990, where the golden rule in the book was ‘Deny everything and it will go away’. Not anymore. Two decades later, everything you say can and will be used against you by local media (who have the freedom to critise), by social networking (who, irrespective of being proxy blocked, will find a way to critise you) and by your very own customers.

While I may not be a Blackberry subscriber, I sympathise and fume along with every Etisalat Blackberry owner out there. We’ve had to put up with a lot of crap from Etisalat over the years from excessive prices, rubbish customer service, drops in performance… but to outright lie to your customers, in the face of hard evidence, is a first and will probably be the last for Etisalat.

Domestically, Etisalat will lose customers. du have a great Blackberry offer at the moment which makes switching a no brainer. I’m not sure how many of the 145,000 subscribers will switch but if you are an frustrated Etisalat customer, it’s time to stop complaining and hit them where it hurts… revenue. Internationally, Etisalat’s reputation is in tatters. This issue will come back to haunt them in every new expansion, tieup or link with global partners.

Well done Etisalat, in a span on two weeks you’ve successfully managed to rip the last remaining thread you had holding your customers… trust.

The House of Illusions Dinner show, hosted by Dubai Festival City, brings together a brilliant ensemble cast that fuses magic, comedy and live entertainment under a Spiegeltent (a large travelling tent made up of wood and canvas). Managed to catch the show last Wednesday and the verdict? I absolutely loved it, my four friends who were with me enjoyed it, and judging by all the happy faces around, I’d say everyone who attended the show also enjoyed it! It’s high on entertainment value, with lots of audience participation and well paced without any dull moment. I’d definitely recommend sitting right up close to the stage.

Now I’ve been debating on whether I should writeup on the illusions that were performed, but I think that would probably spoil it for anyone who hasn’t seen it so far… part of the reason I enjoyed it was because I hadn’t read up on the event and didn’t know what to expect. So instead, I’m going to let the pictures do the talking here and give you a small synopsis of the artists you’ll be watching.

Romany serves as hostess/emcee for the evening and while not scouring the audience for willing participants also performs some illusions on stage.

Main illusionist for the evening, Van Buren flawlessly performs some old school tricks that’ll leave you wondering if he’s made a pact with the dark side.

While James Harrington doesn’t perform on stage, he wanders about from table to table performing (up close, so there’s no cheating) some amazing card and vanishing money tricks… it’s safe to say, you probably wouldn’t invite him over for your next poker game!

Wrapping it up is Arabian Breeze who provide the background music, effects and live Arabic fusion music.

Van Buren attempting to levitate his assistant

Calling out for some audience participation

Everyone’s favourite spinning plate on a stick trick

The House of Illusion Dinner show takes place at Dubai Festival City, running from Tuesday to Friday (6pm and 9pm) and on Saturday (3pm and 6pm) all the way up to August 14th (so no excuses for missing this!). You have a choice of two seating categories (both include a three course dinner): Outer circle costing AED 150, Inner AED 250 while children (between 3-12) get in for AED 50. Alternatively, you can listen to Catboy@Breakfast on Dubai 92, from 8:30am onwards, for your chance to win tickets to the event.

For more info on the House of Illusion Dinner show visit http://www.festivalcentre.com/house-of-illusions/ or contact them on 04 208 5271.

Ihlara Valley

T minus 8hrs: Our first stop was the Ihlara Valley, a 16km long gorge with a depth of about 110 metres, filled with old cave churches and a stream that runs straight through valley. There are four approaches to the valley – the first starts from the southern tip at Ihlara village, second from the eastern side at Belisirma village, third from the north end at Selime village or fourth from the western peak at the Ihlara Valley Touristic Centre.

The most popular route is to start from Ihlara village and trek about 4-5 hours to Belisirma village, you’ll get to see most of the churches and a bit of wildlife along the way. The stream runs right through the valley so you can take a quick dip from any point.

Since we were short on time we started at the Tourist Centre taking the quickest route down using the stairs. Now climbing down those 360 odd steps may seem easy at first, but after you’ve been trekking around the valley for about 2 hours or so climbing up 360 steps was a killer!

Derinkuyu Underground City

T minus 5hrs: The underground cities of Capaddocia were built by early 8th-7th BC settlers and were used through the centuries to protect villagers and livestock from the neighbouring raiders. Of the 36 underground cities in Capaddocia, Derinkuyu is the deepest decending down 8 floors to a depth of 85m… this is not your average underground bunker folks, this is a self sustainable city complete with storage rooms, stables, cellars, churches and wineries (mans gotta party, raiders or not), that could shelter anywhere from 20,000 to 50,000 people!

The guy at the entrance said we were lucky, there were no other tourists below so we’d have the whole place to ourselves… lucky huh? This was probably the only time in travel history where we actually wanted to bump into other travellers! There was an eerie, uneasy silence to the place and at one point I could’ve sworn I saw something that looked like a white human form through my viewfinder. I half expected to see those crawlers from the movie Descent come up through the ventilation shafts.

Uchisar Castle

T minus 2hrs: It’s not everyday you get to see a castle (or fortress depending on who to talk to) carved out entirely from rock! Most of the rooms are blocked and inaccessible, due to erosion, though thats not the main draw of Uchisar Castle. The highest point in Capaddocia, most people climb up to the roof for some brilliant panoramic views of the region.

T minus zero: So by the time we reached back to Anatolian House (7:05pm), we found out that our bus had left just a minute before… great. Thankfully there was a second bus that would arrive in 45 minutes or so. We did end up catching our flight (barely) to Istanbul and vowed to return back to Capaddocia for some more escapades.

It’s pretty easy to block these adverts, simply log on to your Google AdSense account, click on the AdSense Setup tab, select Competitive Ad Filter and paste in the URLs you’d like to block. Simple right? Not really… these websites have gotten smarter and have bought a number of domains (with minor variations in the domain name) so for every site you block a new one pops up the very next week.

So I’m compiling a list, which will be continually updated, for anybody out there looking to block these websites. Simply copy-paste the entire block to your Ad Filter list and your site should be spam free!

Updated 07th July 09:
2-dubai-friends.com
2arab-friend.com
2arab-friends.com
4arab-friend.com
2dubai-friend.com
2dubai-friend.net
2dubai-friends.com
2dubai-friends.net
arab2friends.com
arabmatchmaking.com
arabiapass.com
asianeuro.com
dubai2friend.net
dubaifriends2.com
dubaifriendship1.com
dubaifriendship1.net
dubaisearcher.net
dubaisearchers.net
dubaitwofriends.com
filipinaheart.com
frienddubai.com
friends-dubai.com
friends2dubai.com
friends2dubai.net
halalfriends.net
maktoobarab.com
maktoobarab.net
maktoobmarriage.com
maktoobmarriage.net
muslim-connection.com
muslimconnection.com
singlemuslim.com
wulongforlife.com

Contributors:
Thanks @nikhilsoneja, chris

If you spot an banner that you think should be added to this list, post a comment and I’ll update the list.

Goreme Valley

Göreme Town

Anatolian Houses – Cave Hotel

There’s no shortage of places to stay in Göreme Town, the more unique ones being cave hotels that have been carved out from the surrounding rock. Göreme Town has options for the budget minded (Rock Valley Pension, Guven Cave Hotel) and well-to-do traveller (Kismet Cave House, Anatolian Houses).

Top tip for travellers to Göreme – forget the tours and packaged itineraries… the best way to explore Göreme, and for that matter the rest of Capaddocia, is to pick up a good road map and rent a car. Tours to the museum are rushed and cramped during peak hours. By renting a car you can avoid the crowds and have the freedom to detour off to some of the more quirkier side attractions (UFO Museum) in the area.

Fred Flintstone never had it this good

Göreme Open Air Museum

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Göreme Open Air Museum, situated 1.5km away from Göreme Town, is a collection of cave churches and monasteries adorned with Byzantine frescoes dating back to the 10th-12th century.

St. Barbara Chapel

There are 10 churches in total – St. Basil’s Church (Basil Kilise), Apple Church (Elmali Kilise), St. Barbara Chapel (Azize Barbara Kilisesi), Snake Church, Dark Church (Karanlik Kilise), St. Catherine Chapel, Sandal Church (Carikli Kilise), Buckle Church (Tokali Kilise) and the Nunnery (Kizlar Monastary). You read more about these churches here.

The churches differ in architecture and fresco style, if you’re pressed for time then make sure you visit the St. Barbara Chapel, the Apple Church, the Nunnery and the Dark Church. The Dark Church is named so for the lack of sunlight entering in, which in turn has helped preserving the original artwork. There is an extra charge for visiting the Dark Church, but its worth every Turkish Lira.

Elmali Kilise (Apple Church)

Elmali Kilise (Apple Church)

Karanlik Kelise (Dark Church) Frescoes

Karanlik Kelise (Dark Church) Fresco

Kizlar Monastary, Goreme Open Air Museum

Cappadocia Landscape

For most travelers, Turkey starts and ends at Istanbul, which is a shame. As beautiful as Istanbul is, there’s an entire mainland, untouched by commercial tourism, just waiting to be explored. Cappadocia, located in the province of Nevsehir, is just one of these places.

Cappadocia’s otherworldly landscape was formed centuries ago after volcanic dust, ash and lava settled in surrounding lakes. Eventually these lakes dried up and over time the sediment left behind slowly eroded away. It’s defining peaks, valleys and mushroom like ‘fairy chimneys’ were formed later after a series of earthquakes ripped through the region. The result is a landscape unlike anything you’ve ever seen around the world.

Goreme

Fairy Chimneys

Settlers, around the 7th century, carved out their homes, churches, monasteries and even underground cities out of these rock formations which, to date, have been preserved in their entirety thanks in part to the Turkish government.

In the next few posts, we stroll through Goreme National Park, trek the Ihlara Valley, climb Uchisar Fortress and visit the Derinkuyu Underground City!