A different Dubai

If you had to ask people to draw a picture of Dubai, most of them will probably visualise one of these two. Most would think of Dubai as a city full of tall skyscrapers, glitzy malls and expensive cars. A few may think of Dubai as a desert full of sand dunes, camels and bedouins smoking sheesha.

The picture above is one that most would not associate with Dubai. I hadn't seen so much of natural greenery in Dubai before so was pleasantly surprised. This was shot in Margham where most of the desert safari companies do the dune bashing. Right across the desert where the 4x4s take on the dunes, is this beautiful patch of greenery. There are several farmhouses here and you can have a fantastic peek into the daily routine of the local farming population.  

Dawar Shami

Dawar Shami is a traditional pully system that was used for pulling boats out of the sea. While one end of the boat would be tied to the boat, the other end would be fixed to the Dawar Shami. Strong men would then rotate the lever to pull the boats out. This can be viewed at the Al Fahidi Fort in Bur Dubai.

For information on Al Fahidi fort, click here

Al Khawaneej

As is my habit over a weekend, I set out to explore a new part of Dubai I hadn't visited before. As I drove eastward down the D89, Al Khawaneej seemed like an interesting place for a pit stop.

The pictures above are of the main roundabout in Al Khawaneej.

A mosque in Jumeirah

This beautiful mosque is located at the junction of Al Abaari Street and Al Wasl Road in Jumeirah 3

I was once told about this very famous 'Jumeirah Mosque' by a visiting releative from Canada. And having lived for a few years here, I must conceed that I had never heard of it yet. So when she landed here, the first thing we did was to go out and visit the famous Jumeirah mosque.

But this post is about the 'other mosque' in Jumeirah. I think this mosque is extremely beautiful and is probably the best design in terms of its architecture. This mosque is located at beach road in Jumeirah. Surprisingly I have not had a post about the Jumeirah mosque yet.

My other post on a mosque.

The art of making a Mushaltat

Corniche by night

I happened to be in Sharjah the other day and got the opportunity to capture a picture of Buheirah Corniche by night. Almost the entire Corniche is lined with small stretches of lawn and rows of date palms. This makes an ideal setting for families to come out in the evenings and spend time together.

This area is very popular with local families who come out with their chairs and tables and spend time together

Also read Al Qasba

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.

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.