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


Check out the most popular posts at Dubai Photo Story. Click here

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

Just another hotel?

While almost half of Dubai may have made its way to the famous Atlantis hotel since it opening in November, I can now claim my rightful place in the sun. I made it down to The Atlantis over the weekend for a small celebration and it turned out to be quite an experience.

The Atlantis have have been news for all the wrong reasons including it's multi million lauch party and then for this.

But my visit to the hotel certainly made me one of its strong fans. The place is simply out of the world. Loved it. Every bit.

Went back to Jumeirah this week and came across this small group of 'locals' having a chat.
The place was almost deserted and there were not too many other people besides these guys. As they sat against the background of a setting sun, I wondered what they were discussing. The future of Dubai? The recent bad press that Dubai has received? Their roles in the modern day Dubai? The 'real Dubai' that they may have never seen?

The tradition of fishing

Over the years in Dubai, I had never ever come across a local Emarati fisherman so it was quite an exciting sight to see this young Emarati fixing his nets on the beach. Dubai is steeped in the tradition of fishing and it was interesting to see that a lot of this tradition is still evident. The young man spent almost 4 hours all by himself weaving a net while his toddler played alongside in the sand. As I started talking to him, it was evident to me that this young man was well educated and well traveled.

But he was so passionate about his family's traditional occupation - fishing. He told about the boats that he keeps and a few interesting stories from his experiences.

Read more about UAE and fishing here

The Pier

The small boat was anchored at this pier in Garhoud. I found this picture very peaceful. The entire place was entirely deserted with this solitary boat bouncing about on the water. It was almost like time stood still.

Enjoying the weekend

Spotted these kids enjoying the weekend at a Dubai park. 

A mosque in Dubai

This is an old picture from my camera. I cannot remember where exactly I shot it. Many of my Muslim friends told that the way the moon is framed in the picture is supposed to be auspicious. I am not aware why it is but they all seemed to like it.

A game of Khatar

Somewhere along Al Khail Road, these Pakistani expatriate workers were enjoying a game of Khatar. Played somewhat like a board game, all this takes is a few pebbles and lines drawn in the sand. The objectives is to get one's stones on the other side of the square. (I hope I got that right!!)

I spent some time trying to follow the game but had to give up in a few minutes!.

A lamp post at the creek side

A solitary lamp post keeping watch over Dubai creek.

Dubai Dolphinarium

Went down to the Dubai Dolphinarium over the weekend. I just cannot believe how these beautiful dolphins can be trained to perform at the tricks!! and they seemed to be even enjoying themselves.

I know that in the past there has been some criticism about the project on the basis of the way the dolphins are treated. Do you have an opinion?

Abras

I know I have discussed abras in one of the early posts on this blog. But I could not resist sharing some of my recent ones!! I enjoy every bit of the ride on the abras and usually end up taking a few once I get to the pier. I guess an abra ride is the real experience of Dubai. On both sides of the creek one sees and experiences the hustle and bustle of traditional traders peddling their wares.

Cable cars in Dubai

When I first moved to Dubai, the sight of the cable cars always gave me a funny feeling. A cable car always brought back images of ski slopes and holiday resorts. So it was strange to find one in Dubai. Located on one side of Dubai Creek Park, the cable car set-up is a unique sight to most visitors to Dubai.

I didn't see any of the cable cars moving though. Does anyone know if this thing still works?