In countries with a hot climate there is often a culture of long periods of leisure time during the day. These hours are generally spent with people of the same gender, which influences the kinds of activity that take place. The time is spent relaxing and talking, and creating and confirming relationships. Today, new forms of technology have greatly expanded the kinds of leisure activity open to Emiratis, but cultural norms remain. Wanting to be alone, and the whole notion of individualism, is anathema to Emiratis, and solitary pursuits such as reading books have been slow to catch on.
Vast areas are dedicated to retail space in the UAE—probably rather more than sustained demand really justifies, given the arrival of online shopping—and almost all the global designer brands have opened stores. Malls are sometimes themed to attract tourists, such as the Ibn Battuta Mall, with its decor reflecting parts of the world that the famous medieval, Arab explorer Ibn Battuta once visited. Malls also offer expensive lotteries and giveaways to lure shoppers.
Bartering still takes place in the souks, which in Dubai go by the name of what they sell: “gold souk,” “spice souk,” “perfume souk,” and “textile souk.” Arabic textiles and perfumes can make distinctive gifts. For made-in-the-UAE products, try Al Foah organic dates (from Al Ain), camel milk soap (from Dubai’s camel soap factory) or Al Nassma camel chocolate (made in Abu Dhabi); these are available at most souvenir stores.
Many important cultural artifacts are kept in private households, to be appreciated by their owners and his guests. But there are also a growing number of public spaces exhibiting items from the UAE’s heritage.
Although the UAE has in the past been more associated with malls than museums, the country is now making a concerted effort to expand its cultural offering. It now boasts forty-seven museums across the Emirates. In Dubai, two museums tell the story of the Emirate’s pre-unification history: Dubai Museum, which is housed in the oldest building in Dubai, the Al Fahidi Fort, and the newly opened Etihad Museum. There are also a plethora of small niche museums such as the coffee museum, the women’s museum, and the camel museum. Dubai’s “Museum of the Future,” a first of its kind technological museum, is scheduled to open in 2019, and in Abu Dhabi, the Norman Foster-designed Zayed National Museum which will focus on local history is expected to open in the next decade. The capital’s Heritage Village is also a good location to get a snapshot of the UAE’s past.
The museums take a modern approach to science that is somewhat at odds with the worldview of the more conservative religious thinkers, which makes an interesting contrast. Most cultural attractions designate a day for women and children only, charge low entrance fees, and open reduced hours on Friday.
From any of the UAE’s downtown hotels, you can book a “desert safari,” where dinner is served and music is played in a traditional desert camp setting. Some of these bear no resemblance to Emirati heritage, with alcohol and international food served, and belly dancing (which comes from Egypt) offered as entertainment. Platinum Heritage Tours in Dubai offers more authentically Emirati pastimes such as falconry, camel riding, astronomy, and camel and lamb meat cooked bedu-style, in underground sand ovens.
Most Emirates have cultural foundations that put on re-creations of the past and its expression, often focusing on the spoken word accompanied by music or dance. But these aren’t generally marketed to tourists. Qasr Al Sultan, a fort-like structure that opened in 2017 near the new Dubai Parks and Resorts theme parks, offers holidaymakers dazzlingly colorful dinner-shows that purport to tell the story of the UAE.
Whatever type of food you prefer, however unusual, you can be sure to find it somewhere in the UAE. Restaurants include five-star hotel-based operations in the larger cities, which can be very expensive as tax and service charges of up to 20 percent are added onto the bills. Only in hotel facilities are customers served alcohol. Many restaurants offer free delivery, given that their premises may not be set up for conservative family dining. There are also restaurants providing low-cost cuisines to particular ethnic communities of migrant workers; these can be quite basic eateries where the customers are all men.
All across the Middle East, men gather to discuss the day’s events, politics, and life in general with their fellows. In the UAE, customarily the place they meet in is a majlis, or traditional coffeehouse. But nowadays it’s just as likely to be the local Starbucks where electronic gadgets have replaced traditional games and discussion.
Nightclubs are tolerated in the UAE for the tax they generate. Many clubs attract crossborder visitors from Saudi Arabia, in addition to international jetsetters who have made Dubai one of the most fashionable places to visit. Illicit appetites may also be satisfied, and overly friendly ladies eager to strike up a conversation with men at the bar are likely to expect payment for their efforts.
Soccer is hugely popular with Emiratis, who follow English, Italian, and Spanish football leagues with great interest. The UAE also has its own domestic league, which is keenly contested. The executives of local teams are quite generous in salaries and so can attract international stars such as Diego Maradona, who manages Fujairah’s team. The UAE has also emerged as major financiers of soccer, with Emirates Airlines sponsoring of Arsenal FC and Paris Saint-Germain, and Abu Dhabi royals investing heavily in Manchester City.
Sports bodies provide high-quality facilities and large cash payments to entice leading international stars to compete in the UAE in a variety of sports.
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which is the last race of the F1 season, is the biggest event on the UAE’s sporting calendar and draws in a variety of high profile stars. Other sporting events include Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge (off-road motor racing), the Dubai Tennis Championships, Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, and various international cricket and rugby events.
Camel racing in the UAE is of course steeped in history, but it is also not without controversy. In 2005, the UAE government introduced strict new regulations aimed at protecting the camel jockeys after repeated allegations of child labor and human trafficking. Subsequently, more than a thousand young people formerly in the camel-racing world have been repatriated, mostly to South Asia. They have been replaced by robo-jockeys: mechanical devices perched on the backs of the camels that communicate between the camel owner and robo-jockeys by radio.
DISABILITY
Until recently, much stigma has been attached to those with special needs, leading families in the UAE to hide them away from the public eye. But the government has been keen to address this. Efforts have been made to make public spaces more accessible to those with physical disabilities, particularly in Dubai, and in 2019, Abu Dhabi is hosting the Special Olympics, a global competition for those with intellectual disabilities.
It is something of a cliché to observe that the desert is full of life, but you’d need the company of an expert to gain full appreciation of this fact. Some visitors might enjoy moonlit picnics and the romance of the night sky, which, away from the bright city lights, can be exceptionally clear in the desert and enable them to see shooting stars, planets, and satellites normally impossible to see. The best time of year to visit the desert is in December, or January, after the annual rains, when previously dormant, plants turn a lush green, and small butterflies can be spotted flying between them. Its easy to wonder whether the intricate patterns of trails left behind of the dung beetles on the sand dunes could have been the inspiration behind the henna patterns that Emirati women still proudly decorate themselves with today.
Birds are particularly plentiful in the skies over the UAE, with perhaps the most striking being falcons, buzzards, vultures, and owls. A good spot for seeing them is in the gardens of the Mercure Hotel on the Jebel Hafeet, the Emirate’s highest peak, in Al Ain. Parakeets, common mynah birds, and hoopoes are regular garden visitors, and close to the sea you can spot terns, ospreys, and flamingos. Goats wander the mountains of Fujairah and Ras al Khaimah, and foxes, and camels frequent the desert. The Al Wathba Wetland Reserve in Abu Dhabi is the best place to see the UAE’s native plant life flourishing, as well as a host of migratory birds.
One of the most popular forms of entertainment among adventurous souls is to chase up and down sand dunes in a four-by-four car. The dunes can be hair-raisingly steep. Many enjoy risking their vehicle against the force of gravity, to find out quite how acute an angle their cars can manage without toppling over into the sand.
