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Ramadan, Iftar and Cultural Understanding

September 7, 2010

Posted by Kanga

Thursday evening we joined 9 of our Twitter friends and others at the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding for a dinner and cultural exchange. The purpose of the centre is to help visitors (both tourists and residents) better understand Emirati culture.

First a little explanation for those who might not be aware – Ramadan is a month long fasting experience that occurs once a year. During daylight hours, muslims refrain from eating and drinking. At sunset, the call to prayer sounds and the fast is broken with a meal called iftar. The fast is usually broken with water and a date (the fruit – either dried or fresh), then prayers are said and a full meal is eaten.

Here are some of our friends, Mita, Lin, Dru, Maddy, Mohammed, and Khalid.

Here is the food. Biryani, Fareed (aka Thaleed), Harees, Vegetable Magooga, and salad. It smelled delicious! Tasted delicious, too.

After dinner, we ladies covered in abayas and sheylas. Men were offered the option of wearing kanduras, but I don’t think any took the opportunity. Then we were off to the mosque.

Once inside the mosque, Nasif, a volunteer at the centre, explained what goes on inside and the basic tenets of Islam in a very pleasant and humorous way.

The whole point of this is one of cross cultural communication, to dispel myths and misunderstandings.

Along with dessert, we got a little fashion information. This is a type of veil called a niqab. (This is what all the fuss is about in France and a few other countries that assume if a woman is veiled she is oppressed. Wearing a veil is not required by Islam and is discouraged by the UAE government, as in, if a woman wants a government job, she cannot wear a veil. In the UAE, women wear them for their own individual reasons.)

And this is what is called a burqa (burka) in the UAE. It is a leather face guard designed to shade the eyes and face from the desert sun. It is usually worn by the older generation.

The volunteer staff were very open and answered any question frankly. It was a very pleasant evening. If anyone ever comes to visit us (hint) we will make a point of taking them to the centre.

Then we all had camel shaped chocolates (yum) and went home.

Posted in clothing, culture, Dubai, Ramadan | 2 Comments »

Bull Butting Again

April 30, 2010

We went to Fujairah for the bull butting contest again, one last time before the heat and humidity get unbearable. The crowd was smaller and most of the spectators were gathered in the shade of the two large trees. I suspect we aren’t the only ones who will be taking a break from the sport until next winter.

I couldn’t pass up taking a picture of this grandfatherly figure. This is technically inside the arena. It is very dangerous, not just from the bulls, but from the panicked spectators who run frantically any time a bull heads into the crowd (and they do).

We spent a few minutes on the beach. The sand is dark. It is almost chocolate brown when it is wet. I resisted the urge to collect this shell and settled for a picture. Takes up so much less space that way.

There was a family near us and their daughters (approx. 10 yrs old) were swimming in the surf wearing full length dresses and head scarves. They were having a blast.

Fujairah’s known for its roundabout sculptures, large art works in the middle of roundabouts. (Previously posted pictures here) Unfortunately, these pictures were taken at dusk from a moving car, but you get the idea. The guy sitting on its leg is a nice touch.

After this it was off to Al Meshwar restaurant for great food, then a two hour drive back home dodging the dangerous drivers. A day well spent.

Posted in beach, bull butting, clothing, Fujairah, sea shells | Leave a Comment »

Jumeirah Beach Residence Sights

April 24, 2009

This probably seems like an innocuous picture to you. Nothing out of the ordinary. However, if you live in a Muslim country and are aware of local customs and standards, you would know that there is too much skin showing in this picture. These tourists are apparently unaware of where they are vacationing. Yes, Dubai is very liberal, especially in areas predominately populated by tourists, but I still find scenes like this odd.

The wind was gusting so hard that it was blowing most of the water out of this fountain.

This “old” hotel is being torn down. No wrecking ball, just a large jackhammer slowly nibbling away at it. Keep in mind that this country was formed in 1971, so old is not necessarily old here. This hotel was probably the best at one time, but it is sitting on prime beach property and is behind the times, so down it comes. Everything is made of cement here, so this is a tangle of rebar and cement chunks. I don’t know if they don’t know about explosive demolition or if there is some reason not to do it that way.