September 25, 2017

   There is just one big bus for our group of 42 here in Dubai. This morning the 6:30 a.m. temperature was 30C, sunny and there was a kind of mirage like a haze, caused by the humidity from the Persian Gulf.  The Dubai tour started at 9 a.m. Latitude of Dubai 25.27 North which is close to this degree in Nassau, Bahamas at 25.02 North and Monterrey, Mexico at 25.4 North. Dubai became a British colony in 1820.

  One United Arab Emirates Dirham equals about 0.33 of a Canadian Dollar or about 3 UAE Dirhams to one Canadian dollar. The UAE Dirham is valued against the American dollar and fluctuates when the American dollar changes value.  American dollars are accepted in the markets and at small businesses.  However, the change given is in Dirham.

    The ruler of Dubai is Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. He is also the Vice-President and the Prime Minister of UAE. He became ruler in 2006 after his older brother’s death.  He drives his own car with just one body guard accompanying him. He visits shopping centers and other public places without bodyguards.

   Our guide was Afifi and the driver was Sarfarus, both were the team that picked up the group at the airport last night. We all noticed that driving in Dubai looks like drivers stay in their proper lanes, the speeds are faster, very few motorcycles and nice new cars, with no dents or scrapes that were the norm in India. Afifi explained that to run a red-light costs 24 demerit points, $500 US fine, driving limitations and other deterrents. It is strongly encouraged in UAE to follow the rules. If a foreigner runs a red light, they are expelled from the country! Very few people receive their driver’s license on the first try. We have not even observed tailgating and there is hardly any honking, a nice change from India. The main road has six lanes in two directions with cars speeding by at 100 km per hour with at least two or three car length spaces between them. Most cars are white or a light gray.  Most of the city is very modern and clean.

  In the 1950s, the population was less than 50,000 in Dubai. However, once oil was discovered in the early 1970s, the fortunes of the emirates changed and seven emirates formed the federation known as the United Arab Emirates, with Abu Dhabi as the political capital and Dubai becoming the financial capital. Only a small percentage of the population is local Emiratis. The rest of the people come from all over the world. New buildings started to be erected in the late 1950s but, most of Dubai’s new buildings have been built since 2000.  There are still lots of cranes in the city center building high rise structures. Afifi said 25% of the world’s cranes are in the UAE, but that may not be accurate having seen the number of cranes there are in China last year. Dubai is hosting the World Trade Expo in 2020 and still needs to build more hotels for another 50,000 rooms.

   The original inhabitants of the region were migratory, staying in places until there was no more water then moving on.  They were called Bedouin, meaning of the desert.

  As we drove to the Dubai Museum, we passed lots of stores and restaurants bearing North American company names – Tim Hortons, Subway, Caribou Coffee, Applebees, GNC, Hardees, KFC, Starbucks, Tony Roma, Burger King, McDonalds, Seven Eleven as well as Tesla and Costa Coffee (which is British).  There is even a Lamborghini showroom in Dubai on Sheikh Zayed road! We saw a Second Cup café in the Mall of the Emirates later in the day.  We passed a new large steel structure known as “The Frame”.  There will be restaurants at the top and access through the two vertical columns supporting the structure.  There is not enough water from wells for the growing population so water is treated in desalination facilities to supply clean water.  That is not enough to keep the grass and bushes in public places green, so “gray water” is collected and used for watering plants.

   Being a desert country, the nomadic Bedouin tribes lived by water sources, oases, in tents and moved when the water dried up.  Camels can sense water from two kilometers away, so the camels would lead the people to water and falcons can sense animals.  If these elements combined then it would be a good place to camp for a while.  There were very few permanent settlements over the centuries in the desert area.

   First stop was the Dubai Museum.  It includes the original Al Fakaidi Fort that was an Arab fort built in 1787.  On ground level is a traditional wooden dhou (boat) and the entrance to the small fort.  Within the fort walls is a replica of a two-room hut. As you enter a covered porch you notice the sitting area has a “wind tower” above it, which shades and catches a breeze to keep the area cooler in the hot summer.  The sides are framed with date palm wood and loosely covered by a course woven fabric to provide shade. This summer house is known as Arish. The inner room is the living area with a bed and has sturdier mud and stone walls to provide a warm place in the winter. This winter house is known as Al Kaimah. Next you proceed via a gradually spiraling ramp, down to the actual museum which tells of life in the dessert and the culture of the Emirites region.

   The first boon in the Dubai/Deira area was in 1841. By 1908 in the Al Shindagha area there were 350 shops.  Pearl diving was a source of revenue for pearl traders who hired men who left their dhous, seasonally to dive down with just a nose clip, basket for collecting the pearls on a rope, leather finger protectors and a rope to follow back up. They could only stay down 2 or 3 minutes. It was dangerous work. The pay was 200 to 300 rupees annually compared to the 1500 rupees annually of the pearl traders.

By 1950 there was a boon in gold trade and then oil was discovered in Abu Dhabi in the 1960s and a few years later in Dubai, changing the fortunes of the Emirates.  Oil exports began in 1969. The United Arab Emirates was formed in 1971.  By 1990 the population of the federation was 550,000. The Dubai Museum was very interesting.  It had a lovely gift shop at the exit.  There are no hawkers of purses or jewelry or souvenirs here.

   When we returned to the bus, bottles of cold water were distributed and we proceeded to a canal side where12 to 15 of our group at a time boarded the little boats called Abras, which are the local water taxis.  The five minute ride across Dubai Creek took us to the Spice Market or Old Souk, in the Deira area of Dubai. There are many spice shops and the fragrance is enchanting. The spices come from India and China and other Asian countries. Some of the spices were: saffron, turmeric, star anise, ginger root, dried lemons and cinnamon sticks in several sizes.  Afifi also explained the medicinal properties of some of the spices. There are also places to buy traditional clothes and souvenirs.  The shopkeepers are eager to invite you into their air conditioned shops which are only 200 or 300 square feet. The shopkeepers are not nearly as aggressive as the Indian hawkers.   

   After a 30 minute wander here, we walked about 300 meters further and entered the covered open air Dubai City of Gold Souk. Here is the place to buy any kind of gold jewelry from about 400 little stores.  Here again the shopkeepers are eager to invite you into their shops.  Thirty minutes later we were being shepherded back to the bus for a drive along the street where the wealthy have their beachfront homes. These homes have modern wind towers built into them. There were several beautiful mosques and sometime during the tour we passed the Jumeirah Mosque, which is available for touring on Mondays.

   We were in the Al Ras area, driving along Sikkat Al Khail Road.  We passed the dry docks that were constructed between 1976 and 1983.  We saw the ship Queen Elizabeth 2 docked in Dubai Creek. It had been retired in November 2008 and docked in Dubai ever since waiting conversion to a hotel and conference center. We looked away from the water side and had a view of the Burj Khali built in 2010.  It is 160 storeys high spiraling up to a pointed top where there is an observation deck. Tickets need to be reserved in advance to get the view, on clear days, of almost 50 kilometers surrounding the structure. Currently Burj Khali is the tallest building in the world.  The beachfront homes are mostly two storeys as are the homes across the street. In the past the wealthy included more than one wind tower, called barjeel, into the design of their home in the Al Bastakiya area. The more barjeels, the wealthier the home owner.  Also the main doorways were tall, but the inner door was short so that when entering a house the men would be bending down and not face the women directly.

   The beautiful white sand beaches stretch along the coast for 72 kilometers.  The bus stopped by a public beach so that we could wade into the water of the Persian Gulf and enjoy the beach and water for half an hour. The brilliant white sand was quite warm against our bare feet.  The water was warm, perhaps 28C in the 1 p.m. sun. Even at the water’s edge, your feet sunk a bit into the sand, within two meters you were up to your knees in the warm water.  There was a paved walkway in the sand leading to a patio closer to the water to be used by wheelchairs or strollers. Close to the road there was a snack bar, with tables under umbrellas.  The unprotected concrete, baking in the sun, was hot enough to nearly burn your bare feet.  The sand was, relatively, much cooler.  There was a Turkish Marash Ice Cream cart selling vanilla, chocolate and strawberry flavours.  The seller gave a performance of ringing the overhead bells of the cart, then almost giving you your cone, but turning it upside down and “fumbling” it, before handing it over.  It was worth the $5 US for the delicious cone and performance.  The ice cream needed to be consume quickly due to the heat.

  It was almost 2 pm when we returned to the hotel.  The temperature was 36C and sunny.  We walked the 600 meters to the Mall of the Emirates. Here we found Ski Dubai, an indoor ski hill, complete with tow ropes and left chairs.  The temperature is -4C in the ski area.  People were downhill skiing on a gentle slope, bob sledding on a short course and visiting penguins. The mall has 560 stores many international, including from Louis Vuitton and Prada to H&M and Lego. There are more than seven dozen dining and cafe options. 

    When we left for the evening dinner cruise on the Dubai Creek, there was a notice that there will be a fire alarm system test tomorrow.  When we were in Agra, there also was a fire alarm system test.  We caught the end of rush hour traffic and took over an hour to get to the dhou (a traditional sailboat) for the cruise.  The trip back two hours later took less than 30 minutes.  Our group of 42 was the first to arrive. Everyone was chilled from the bus ride, even though most of the air conditioning vents were closed. We all headed to the upper covered open-air deck. The temperature was about 34C.  Within 10 minutes another group hurried on to the boat, not even pausing for the photographer to take pictures as they boarded the boat.  We leisurely cruised along the heritage shores where trading has happened for centuries, where tonight there were many dhous transporting people across the creek.  Here was where the diving villages were located.  We enjoyed a buffet of Arab foods including rice and lambs kebobs.  The breeze as we cruised along the creek made the evening heat comfortable.

   Total steps for the day  12761