Food and drink
Rise and shine!
Attempting to break down the barriers between the UAE’s myriad cultures is the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding (04 353 6666; www.cultures.ae) with its cultural breakfast. In a shady courtyard in Bastakiya, Dubai, tourists and expats gather on comfy cushions to eat traditional Emirati food and find out about local culture and traditions. Myths are dispelled, misconceptions addressed and a greater appreciation for each other’s way of life achieved.
For breakfast, various plates and bowls are placed on plastic sheeting on the floor and filled with sweet dough balls (lugemat), fine noodles with egg (balaleet), cooked chickpeas, dates and Arabic bread. In public and in private, women are not allowed to serve while men are present – at meal times, as in life, it is the job of the man to ‘provide’. Opening doors, pulling out chairs and all those other manners associated with being an upstanding gent are part and parcel of everyday life.
Many customs date back 1,400 years, such as using the right hand to serve food, which was considered to be a sign of respect. Traditionally, people used their left hand for doing, shall we say, less hygienic tasks, so the right hand was considered the cleaner of the two – washing wasn’t as regular an occurrence as it is today.
It’s a date
There’s a saying: ‘If you have dates and water for breakfast every day for a week, you will be free of sickness for the rest of your life.’ Unlikely, yes, but dates have been a staple part of the diet here in the Middle East for centuries, mainly due to their high nutritional value. With more than a hundred different varieties to choose from, they’re rich in natural fibres and contain nutrients like calcium, iron and potassium. Their nicotinic content makes them an excellent cure for intestinal disturbances (they’re great for ‘keeping you regular’). Traditionally offered with coffee to welcome guests, freshly ripened dates with syrup (batheeth) are normally eaten for breakfast, especially during Ramadan when they’re used to break the fast.
Fancy a cuppa?
Forget Starbucks – Arabic coffee (or gahwa saada) of the home-roasted variety is flavoured with saffron and cardamom and served in small ceramic cups. Tradition dictates that the cup is filled only a quarter full, to encourage guests to ask for more. The youngest male in the room will serve the coffee, offering guests a top-up three times before standing to the side and waiting for guests to either ask for more (by holding out their cup) or signal that they are finished (by holding out their cup and shaking it).
Weddings
A match made in heaven
Common goals, humour, taste, religion, education, background… these are all things we look for in a prospective partner. What many of us lack (or even ask for) is the help of our family to find Mr or Mrs Right. For young Emiratis, it is customary to marry within a network of family friends and acquiantances, and women traditionally rely on members of their family (or family friends) to suggest a partner who they feel would be a good match. If there is an initial attraction after the first meeting, the couple will become engaged, and it is during this period that they will really get to know each other, using the time to iron out any potential conflicts and make decisions about their future together.
Money well spent
Weddings are big business in the Middle East and it’s normal for celebrations to last an entire week. For Emirati couples, the wedding is paid for by the husband through a dowry (an amount of money given to the bride which she uses to buy everything she needs for the wedding – dress, jewellery, henna, fragrances – or she can save it and spend how she wishes). Recently, the Marriage Fund (which provides marriage grants and sponsors group weddings for Emiratis), urged couples to set ‘reasonable budgets’ for dowries as some grooms were being asked to give amounts exceeding Dhs150,000. The late Sheikh Zayed limited this amount to Dhs20,000, but many families still set their own dowry amounts.
The man and the myth
Most people are aware that Muslim men may have multiple marriages – four to be precise. What may be perceived as greedy is actually a concept based on ‘the continuation of society’ (in other words, a method of safeguarding the family against the impact of illness or even death), and in order to have more than one wife, a man must first get the approval from spouse number one and be able to provide equally for all subsequent partners.
Learn the lingo
There are a variety of Arabic language institutes across the UAE, offering intensive courses for different levels…
Abu Dhabi
Knowledge Sun Institution (02 556 2347; www.knowledgesun.net)
The Mother Tongue Arabic Language Centre (02 639 3838; www.mothertongue.ae)
Dubai
The Arabic Language Centre (04 308 6036)
Eton Institute of Languages (04 365 2771; www.eton.ac)
Fashion
For many expats, Emirati women who wear abayas are shrouded in mystery – we see figures dressed head to toe in floating black fabric and, more often than not, fail to connect the image with the person underneath.
Made from light, silky material, the aim of the abaya is to protect the modesty of the wearer (like a baggy shirt or track pants), and for the UAE climate, it’s the perfect cool cover-up. In much the same way that peer pressure dictates our fashion choices or more accurately, brand choices (if you were ever given Dunlop trainers instead of Nike, you’ll know what we mean), there are certain abaya stores a style-conscious Emirati won’t set foot in. Arabesque in Abu Dhabi Mall (02 644 4355) isn’t one of them. Owned by French designer Judith Duriez, who perfected her tailoring skills whilst working at famed fashion house Chanel, Arabesque offers a style seal of approval; in the same way that Ralph Lauren’s polo-playing horseman or the Burberry check is a sign that you’re part of a certain fashion elite, the same is true of Arabesque’s much sought after logo.
Dishadasha, or kandura: A single-piece, full-body outer garment that looks like a long shirt or gown. It is almost exclusively white in colour
Kafiah: A skullcap that forms a cushion for the headgear
Sifrah: A straight-cut cloth that is placed evenly over the head and shoulders. Also known as a gotra
Agaal: Black rings made from cloth that are put on the forehead to keep the Sifrah in place
Bisht: A long dark robe that goes over the kandoura; worn on special occasions such as weddings and festivals
Asaa: A slim wooden cane that is an accessory during traditional folk dancing
The sweet smell of… incense
In the past, Emirati women created their own perfumes (and some still do), but today, traditional incense can be purchased from Arabic perfume shops.
Uses for fragrances…
1 Welcoming guests to the house as a sign of hospitality, incense was traditionally placed on burning charcoal to create a fresh fragrance at the entrance of the house.
2 At wedding celebrations, where the bride dabs a mixture of different kinds of perfumes on her ears and hands.
3 As a treatment for pain and disease and to treat infections and wounds. Traditionally, incense was also burned if there was an illness in the house, in the belief that the scent would expel evil. Today, herbs and special incense are still burned when people suffer from certain respiratory illnesses to make breathing easier.
4 To give a scent to clothing. Traditionally women would use a certain type of incense called dokhoun, which was comprised of a paste made of musk and amber formed into a small round shape, to scent their clothing. They would place them on bamboo hangers to keep their clothes smelling fresh after washing. Today, although a variety of perfumes can be purchased from any beauty shop, people in the gulf still use dokhoun as it’s considered as an integral part of their identity.
A good sport
Abu Dhabi academics recently declared that the preservation of traditional Emirati sports like falconry; dhow, camel and horse racing and saluki hunting (perhaps the oldest known breed of domesticated dog), is imperative to the safeguarding of UAE national identity. Emerging from traditional Bedouin culture, these activities were once closely tied to the community’s survival. As hunting is now banned by law in all GCC states to preserve Arabian wildlife, the practices have evolved into recreational sports such as racing competitions and beauty contests – the annual Al Dhafra Festival (www.aldhafrafestival.ae) attracts breeders from across the region to compete in finding the cutest camel.
Take a trek around the capital’s culture trail…
Al Maqtaa Fort
This 200-year-old fort traditionally served as a watch house against invading bandits.
Emirates Heritage Village
Located just past Marina Mall, this cosy hamlet of thatched huts is a reconstruction of a Bedouin desert encampment and features an old well, a goat enclosure, an archaeological site, several workshops and a spice shop.
Entrance is free. (02 681 4455).
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Mosque (Grand Mosque)
Undoubtedly, the most imposing (and beautiful) landmark in Abu Dhabi.
Free guided tours start daily, 10am, except for Fridays.
Qasr Al Hosn
The historic Qasr Al Hosn Palace, or White Fort, lies next to Abu Dhabi’s Cultural Foundation. Built in 1761, the palace was the official residence of the ruling Al Nahyan family until 1966.
Currently closed for refurbishment.
Women’s Handicraft Centre
Arabic oils, incense, local dress and handmade crafts are all on display at the Women’s Handicraft Centre on Karama Street, Al Mushrif and for a small fee, female visitors can try the traditional art of henna body painting.
(02 447 6645).
