Inventure Academy Feature Article: A Place To See, A Place To Be -DUBAI by Nandika Mishra 6C

A Place To See, A Place To Be

Contents:-

I’ll Guess It For Sure! (Introduction)

Chapter 1:- The Exact Location

Chapter 2:- Food, Clothing & Language

Chapter 3:- Bonus Page! The Arabic Alphabet

Chapter 4:- Religions, Traditions & Etymology

Chapter 5:- History & Festivals

Chapter 6:- Sights To See

Chapter 7:- Fun Facts

Credits

Glossary

For all highlighted words, go to glossary.

I’ll Guess It For Sure! :-

Ok, let’s start reading our, wondrous, fabulous book about - - - - - with…

A QUIZ?!

(Yeah. A quiz. With ONE question.)

Ok…?

Anyways, now we have question 1 (The only question):-

Q1. Which city is the world’s tallest building located in?

a) Paris

b) New York

c) Dubai

d) Mumbai

What’s the answer, you ask? Come on, I know you know it!

Still not figured it out? (If you have, then great job!) Well, then, maybe I’ll just keep you in the dark…

Just kidding!

The answer is c) Dubai. Here, my job is to give you a tour of Dubai using my own knowledge and experiences (because I’ve been there), and your job here is to sit back, maybe grab some soda and popcorn, and listen, as I start with chapter 1.

Chapter 1:- The Exact Location:-

So, I’ve just told you that the world’s tallest building is located in Dubai, which, as you have probably guessed, is going to be what the book’s about. I bet you’re wondering where it is now. Well, I’ll tell you.

Dubai’s exact location is at the southern area of the Arabian Gulf, the north eastern side of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Its latitude is 25˚ 15’ north and its longitude is 55˚ 16’ east.

Ok, one chapter up, a bunch more to go, so why don’t we move on to chapter 2?

Chapter 2:- Food, Clothing, Language & Dance:-

Ok, in this chapter, I am going to be selling to you exactly 3 things as we walk around the city. They are the

FOOD! the CLOTHING! and the LANGUAGE!

Anyways...

Ok, so first up are the luxurious delicacies of Dubai.

Traditional Food Of Dubai

The food of Dubai is basically an Emirati cuisine, which is a blend of many Middle Eastern and Asian cuisines. Dubai has a modern cosmopolitan diet, which means it features food from around the world, and, due to harsh desert conditions, traditional food uses a lot of meat, grain, dairy and vegetables but seafood has been the mainstay of Dubai for centuries. Finally, the popular beverages of Dubai are coffee and tea.

Now, what do you like better? Indian or Emirati clothing? Oh wait, I can’t ask you that, for you don’t even know what Emirati clothing looks like! Well, here’s your chance to see.

Women wear the Abaya (a long black robe) with a hijab (a headscarf which covers the neck and a part of the head). Some woman may add a niqab (covers the mouth and nose and leaves only the eyes). And some women pull their hijab over their face so that no part of their face is shown.

The Dishdasha

Men wear the dishdasha (a long white robe) and a keffiyeh, which is held in place by an aghal (a sort of black heavy duty hosepipe).

Hey, what’s your mother tongue? Can you speak it? Yes? No? Doesn’t matter. Today, we’re going to find out what the people of Dubai speak. Do you know? No. Of course not. Typical...

Just kidding!

But seriously, do you know what the language of Dubai is? Well, whether you know it or not, I’ll tell you. It is... (drumroll please)...

ARABIC!!

The word “Arabic” in Arabic.

That’s right; the national language of Dubai (according to the constitution) is Arabic, as well as English being widely spoken, and about ten other different regional languages being used.

Well, I guess that wraps up language, and this chapter! So let’s move on to the next one.

Chapter 3:- Bonus Page! The Arabic Alphabet:-

Yes, you heard me right, folks, I will be putting down the entire Arabic alphabet so that you can construct you own name in Arabic!

Here goes nothing...

And there you go! That’s the Arabic alphabet for you! (And for everybody else). But anyways, whether you like it or not, let’s move on to chapter 4.

Chapter 4:- Religions, Traditions & Etymology:-

We are different in many ways, including religions, traditions and etymology. So let’s find out how the people of Dubai are different from us in those 3 ways. So, what’s their religion?

Actually, the official religion of Dubai is Islamic, not something else you might have thought of, but followers of other religions (except Judaism) are tolerated.

No.2:- um...oh yeah! Traditions of Dubai.

Dubai is famously known as the entertainment capital of the Middle East, and that attracts many party lovers from all over the world. Even with Dubai offering all this, it still forbids the nationals that are Islam to indulge in any of the services provided.

Alcohol is not forbidden in Dubai, as long as it is confined within an area like a hotel, bar or nightclub, BUT it is illegal to drink in the street or in public places. Residents in Dubai are free to drink in their own homes as long as they have an alcohol licence given by the municipality.

Emiratis tend to dress in their traditional clothes. This is influenced by their Islamic belief, so expatriates and visitors are advised to dress appropriately; trousers or a dress should be worn to cover below the knee, when going around the city, especially at historical sites. However, they can wear what they want when they are in a hotel, bar or club and swim wear is tolerated by the pool or at the beach.

Normally tourist photography is acceptable and expected with all the beauty Dubai has to offer, but photographs of government buildings, military installations, ports and airports should not be taken, and, like anywhere, it is polite to ask permission before photographing people, especially an Emirati woman.

The most religious time of the year in Dubai, is the fast of Ramadan, which lasts approximately for one month. This is when Muslims fast during day-light hours to fulfil the fourth pillar of Islam. Tourists must be aware that during this period, eating, drinking and smoking is not permitted in public during the day, although some restaurants blackout their windows to allow people to consume in private. Also bars will not serve alcohol before 7pm and clubs are shut as no loud music is allowed.

The UAE is welcoming to foreigners who do not practice the religion of Islam, and they may freely follow their own religion as long as they do not publicly distribute their literature. This also applies to any other non-Muslim expatriates.

The government follows a policy of tolerance towards non-Muslims and Polytheist and in practice, interferes very little with their religious activities.

Ok, so do you know what etymology is? Maybe you do, maybe you don’t. Either way, we’ll be learning about the etymology of Dubai.

So, etymology basically means the origin of a word.

Actually, nobody knows the true etymology of Dubai, but there are many theories. One theory suggests that the word Dubai was used to describe the souk, and another theory states that the name came from a word meaning "money", as people from Dubai were believed to be rich due to the trading center of the location. According to Fedel Handhal, a scholar on the UAE's history and culture, the word Dubai may have come from the word Daba (a past tense derivative of Yadub, which means "to creep"), referring to the slow flow of Dubai Creek inland. The poet and scholar Ahmad Mohammad Obaid thought the same thing, but he used its other meaning, which is "baby locust", due to the abundant nature of locusts in the area before settlement.

Now that we’re done with all of that writing (phew!), let’s move on to chapter 5 which will hopefully not be that boring.

Chapter 5:- History & Festivals:-

Have you ever wondered how Dubai came to be? Well, I can tell you here and now.

Umayy

The first human settlement here was in about 3000 BC. At this time the area was inhabited by nomadic cattle herders. In the 3^rd century AD, the area came under the control of the Sassanid Empire. This lasted until the 7^th century, when the Umayyad Caliphate took control. They were the ones who introduced Islam.

Dubai became a separate Sheikdom in 1883 when the Al-Maktoum of the Bani Yas clan (originally from Abu Dhabi) took over. In 1996, oil was discovered in Dubai, which changed it into what it is today.

Now, we all have certain festivals wherever we live, right? Well, what are the festivals of Dubai? Let’s find out.

The major festivals of Dubai are:-

1. The Dubai Shopping Festival. Every year in January, the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) kicks off under the banner “One World…One Family”, and it brings with it a wide array of discounts, competitions, prizes, fireworks, fun and entertainment. By providing stunning discounts to shoppers, the DSF attracts tourists seeking extraordinary deals from all over the world. The DSF was launched in 1996 as an initiative by Dubai Government to promote trade exchange but it is expanding and developing year after year.

2. GITEX Technology Week. GITEX Technology Week is one of the largest IT exhibitions in the world and is held annually in Dubai to showcase the very latest in ICT and eServices.

Dubai organizes world class festivals throughout the year. These range from the Dubai International Film Festival, the Dubai Desert Classic for golf fans, the Dubai World Cup for racing fans, the Bride Show, the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships for tennis fans and the Dubai Rugby Sevens for rugby fans.

Music fans can enjoy the Dubai International Jazz Festival, while aviation fans look out for the Dubai Airshow.

Now for the next chapter.

Chapter 6:- Sights To See:-

Ok, there are WAY too many sights to see in Dubai, so I’m going to skip the introduction of this chapter, but as you know, it’s the chapter “Sights To See”.

Ok, here goes nothing (again)...

1. The Burj Khalifa, of course! Do you see that first picture, the left most one? That picture is from when I went to the 124^th floor of the Burj Khalifa, and there are 163 floors in it! And of course, don’t forget that it is the tallest building in the world, standing at 829.8 m!

2. The Dubai Mall. It’s an amazing mall that is bigger than any mall we have here, and has more than 1,200 shops. It comprises of the largest bookstore in the world, Kinokuniya, an aquarium that takes up practically half the first floor, a snow place, Ski Dubai, an ice rink that takes up another huge part of the first floor, a virtual world, Kidzania, a fountain show outside, a huge fountain inside, and a chocolate world!

3. The Dubai Museum. This museum has some amazing exhibits in it, such as aquariums, exhibits of the history of Dubai, real life exhibits of shops, and exhibits of weaponry. Oh, and that huge fish over there IS A REAL FISH.

4. The Atlantis Waterpark. It’s an awesome waterpark with rides so intense, you might get overwhelmed by them and not visit the place! But you should, as it has rides meant for people just about our age.

5. Ferrari World. So, this place is in Abu Dhabi, but I loved it when I went there. As you may have guessed, it’s a theme park whose theme is the Ferrari. It has Ferrari rides, Ferrari souvenirs, Ferrari everything!

6. The Souks. You will love going to these souks, where you can purchase almost everything, especially the spice souks, where you can smell that lovely aroma of a variety of spices in many shops...what could be better?

Phew, that was a lot of writing and pictures! I wish I could it make it longer and add more places, but sadly, we must move on to the next chapter.

Chapter 7:-Fun Facts:-

Ready for some fun facts?

The crime rate in Dubai is so low. Virtually it is 0% across Dubai. That is why this city is considered one of the safest cities on earth.

One has so many opportunities to become rich and wealthy in Dubai. The residents of Dubai are not supposed to pay their personal income tax. So the income tax is totally 0%. For this reason you can earn a lot of money and save it.

The world’s largest gold chain is in Dubai. It was made during DSF- 1999. A total 22 kg of gold was used and the length of the chain was 4.2 km. The total chain was bought by 9600 people, in bracelet size and necklace wear pieces.

There are ATMs in Dubai that dispense gold bars.

There is a golf course in Dubai that requires 4,000,000 gallons of water a day.

...and there are many more! But I’m going to save time and move on to the credits.

Credits:-

Thanks to my friends Purnima and Gauri for coming up with such amazing topic sentences.

Thanks to my history teacher Lizzy ma’am for inspiration for the front cover.

Thanks to Lavanya ma’am for helping me all the way through.

And finally, thanks to myself of course for writing this! Ok, no, I’m just kidding.

Glossary:-