Where East meets West...

...and where our adventure began...

Since being in Dubai the work has been tough: long days, little sleep and a few lost weekends here and there but on the plus side it looks like we are going to be here for a little longer as we head into phase 2 of the project. We're not finished with you yet Dubai!

We have managed to get out and experience a lot of Dubai already - way too much to fit into one blog post anyway so I will start with a quick recollection of our first encounters:

We were initially interested in understanding the story of Dubai also for purposes of the project we were about to undertake so we went off in search of Dubai's culture: what is it? where does it come from? and what does it all mean? 

We already knew that Dubai is the fastest growing city in the world, home to a multicultural population of over 200 nationalities where East meets West fusing its own traditional approach with western capitalistic interests. Dubai's landscape for example presents the harmonious co-existence of traditional wind-towers and astounding skyscrapers or like in my photo below, the tall Rolex branded building behind the traditional fishing boats in the foreground. Dubai used to be a small pearl fishing and trading village at the mouth of the Dubai Creek so this is where we began; Bur Dubai (Old Dubai) and Deira, North of Dubai - home to the wonderful traditional markets called the Souqs. 

We first visited the Textile Souq where doors and window shutters are draped with beautiful traditional fabrics and where stairways are lined with traditional arabic shoes in all imaginable colours and sizes. While your eyes are a wander, you almost dare not look in fear of being seen and consequently having yet another pashmina draped over your shoulder as a local selling technique. I was fighting them off like daggers...

We then proceeded to the Dubai Creek where a Dhow, a traditional fishing boat, took us on a leisurely trip to the other side of the Creek for so much as 2 Dirhams (approx. €0.40) - clearly they haven't caught on with the tourist prices.. ;-)

Once on the other side of the Creek, the beautifully presented Spice Souq is bursting with colours and rich fragrances that have your senses overwhelmed. It was not long before we had filtered our way through the maze of narrow streets and alleyways leading to the glittering Gold Souq, the main attraction in the city of Gold a.k.a. Dubai, with every inch of the shop windows filled with various yellow gold jewellery all very over the top but I expected no less.

After the Gold Souq we walked along the Creek where I was fascinated by the traditional cargo boats and the way in which these were being loaded ready to be sent off to international seas. I couldn't believe my eyes, I think I managed to capture the character of Dubai in just one picture...

Just look at the way the goods are being stacked - there is the attention to detail...or rather the lack of it, there's definitely no safety checks here, and how does this survive international seas without falling overboard...it remains a mystery but I was amused as this is how things tend to go in Dubai. The culture of Dubai was however not completely clear to us yet...something was missing so we went on a research trip to the Museum of Islamatic Civilization in Sharjah to really get behind the scenes of Dubai. The museum was originally a Souq which was renovated to preserve its authenticity. 

We learnt a lot about arabic patterns and architecture as well the importance of Religion which plays a significant role in the culture of Dubai. Mosques can be found throughout the city and at sunset the call to prayer can be heard across the rooftops or even across the speakers in the airport as we have experienced. The layout of the Museum is in keeping with the Arab-Islamic elements used in designing buildings and its décor reflects the richness of Islamic heritage, culture and traditions. Considered as one of the architectural wonders, the second of its kind in the entire Arabian Gulf, its most attractive feature is the majestic central dome with its intricate mosaic depicting the night sky with all the signs of the zodiac. 

On another note, a fun fact of the day: this is how Arab men greet each other - the nose rub, as it represents the values of respect.

But enough about the culture of Dubai...back in the new Dubai it's a whole other story...