Mini Manila

Often referred to as Mini Manila, Satwa is home to thousands of Filipino expatriates in Dubai. As one walks through the narrow lanes of the locality, one cannot help but notice the popularity of Satwa as a preferred area for residence among the community.

There are about 280,000 to 400,000 Filipino expatriates in UAE mostly located within Dubai. And within Dubai, you may get a feeling that almost all of the Filipino community lives in Satwa! Al Hudaiba Street in Satwa is also referred to among the Filipino community as Dubai's 'Little Quiapo' after Manila's busiest commercial district.


So the next time you feel like a Daing na bangus, a chicken apritada or a helping of Bulalo, head down to Satwa to get the real Filipino experience.

Souq Khan Murjan

Wafi City has always been one of my favourite malls in Dubai and I have covered a musical event at the mall earlier (click here) A recent addition to Wafi City is the new Souq Khan Murjan

I was at the mall last weekend and had the opportunity to visit the souq. Its another world as you step out from Dubai's modern glitzy mall and into a magical and authentic souq.

The souq is made up of various quarters including Moroccan, Syrian, Egyptian and turkish quarters each offering its own traditional ware including gem stones, rugs and carpets and beautifully carved furniture. The souq is made up of several alleys and passageways and its very easy to get lost around the place and live a truly arabian experience.

Summer time... just another time

Am I pushing it too hard?

This is probably my third post this month talking about the arrival of summer ;-) These yellow flowers are also very popular at this time of the year. I just love the sight of these beautiful flowers. I am not sure what these flowers are called but I think these are commonly referred to as ice cream flowers.

Spotted these along Wasel Road in Jumeirah.

Date Palms - Getting ready for the summer

A few days back I blogged about the arrival of the summer in Dubai.

One of the other activities that also signal the arrival of the summer is the cleaning of the date trees that happens at about this time each year. The date palm trees are cleaned by the municipality workers probably in anticipation of a good crop. The photo above shows one such worker perched on top of a tree somewhere in Jumeirah chopping off dried palms and other waste.

You may also want to visit my other post on 'dates' here

Edited on 26th May

Moryati adds: In Arabic, what he is doing is called 'tas'eef', to keep the trunk trimmed and clean. Not only it makes the palm look nice and presentable, cutting those layers short and not allowing them to grow excessivly helps prolong the palm's life. Parasites and other contiminents tend to gether in between those extensions and could eat away thru the palm's body.

Hi Moryati: Thanks for the additional and important info on the subject

Traditional Lamps

One of the things that you notice about Dubai is the array of traditional lamps that one sees. Here are a few I saw the other day. Hopefully I will be able to put together a comprehensive series of lamps soon.

Summer time

The summer is here. Unofficially.

The summer flowers are in full bloom. And the shower now has water at 2 temperatures. Hot and Very Hot. So now I have to store water in a bucket so that I can have my daily dose of a cold water bath!.

The govt. is yet to announce the staggered work hours for the construction workers. That I guess confirms the official arrival of the summer in Dubai

A 'Bachelor' in Dubai

The term bachelor has been discussed on several occasion on so many blogs. Yet I am tempted to discuss it here.

The term itself is probably unique to the Middle East which has such a high ratio of an expat population. The term bachelor is commonly used to refer to a single male resident. This does not in any way reflect his marital status. It only confirms that he lives alone here while the rest of his family resides in his country of origin.

This young man is an example of a 'bachelor' in Dubai. He spent most of the Friday afternoon sitting on this step and watching the people pass by.

The hand carts of Bur Dubai

For a city known for its skyscrapers, glitz and modernity, the term hand-carts may seem a bit out of place. I spotted these handcarts during one of my many trips to the Bur Dubai souq. Bur Dubai still manages to hold on to the old world charm.
These hand cards are usually used by the local trading community to transport goods from the creek to the shops and surrounding areas.

The only Hindu temple in Dubai

I understand that this is the only Hindu temple in UAE? Located in Bur Dubai, the Shiva and Krishna Temple caters to the religious needs of the vast Hindu community in Dubai. While the temple performs marriage ceremonies among the Hindus, interestingly the marriages cannot be registered in the country.

It's strange to see the temple located on the first floor of a building. I found out that this was a pre-condition to having a temple in Dubai i.e the premises should not be located on firm ground. Can anyone confirm this?


For directions to the temple click here

Read about the only Gurudwara in Dubai here

Edited
ps: Refer to comment by Harsha for more info on the topic


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The Al Fahidi fort ...contd

Here are some more pictures as a continuation of the last post.

The Al Fahidi fort

I've been in Dubai for several years now but must concede that I had never been to the famous Al Fahidi fort since my arrival in Dubai. I had passed by the fort on a number of occasions and had always wanted to stop and visit the site.

This weekend was a good time to go down to Bur Dubai and visit the fort.


Built in 1799, the structure is probably one of the oldest in the city. Built with the primary objective of protecting the city from attacks via the sea, the structure lies on the banks of the Dubai creek, close to the abra stations. The fort now houses the Dubai museum which was opened in 1971 and provides a fascinating peek into Dubai's history and culture.

The fort has an underground gallery of artifacts depicting Dubai's history and traditions.

Check out some more pics here

Peaceful

The last time I was at Dubai Media City (DMC), I wrote about it here.

I happened to be back at DMC this morning and spotted this structure right in the middle of the water pond. The reflection in the water was beautiful. It was also as if time stood still here. While the hustle and bustle of DMC was evident all across the place, one felt a sense of peace here.

Nice.

In a trance....

Spotted this kid off the beach. He seemed to be in a trance, almost possessed. He did his maneuvers like an ace.

Deserved a perfect 10!!!

This begs an explanation!!!!

This 'begs' an explanation!!!!

Thanks to CG, I was lead to this important document released by the Ministry of Health (MOH)

This is an extremely important release from the ministry given the gravity of the situation and risk posed by 'begs'.

For more read here