He then took the remaining material and shaped it into a date palm

Legend has it that after God had created man from the earth, he took the remaining material and shaped it into a date palm and placed it in the Garden of Paradise.

The Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera) is a palm that is cultivated all over the gulf for its fruit. These trees are believed to have originated in the Persian Gulf and have been cultivated ever since ancient times, from Mesopotamia to prehistoric Egypt.

The date palm tree is extremely popular for its fruit and is known to have several hundred other uses including lumber, mattresses, rope and baskets.

The date palm trees are popular across the city of Dubai and also seen extensively across the desert areas on the outskirts.

The local emaratis are very passionate about their date heritage. One local, Mohammad Atiq Al Hamili recently purchased 810 baskets of dates for $273,000 at the recently concluded Fourth Liwa Dates Festival.

Eden in the Arabian Desert?

Desert Flower
by James F. Harrington

You are like a garden oasis, blooming in the dry desert. Your heart is warmer than the center of the sun. Your soul glitters like moonlight!

I want to take you into my arms, rush to my white Arabian charger, and together we will ride into the dark blue indigo night!

We would gallop past golden minarets, through all of time, past all memories, untill we reach the peaceful, quiet serenity of Jannat.

There we would settle down, under the soothing, cool shade of jade colored olive trees. I would sing to thee my songs of love.

We would lay on a carpet that possessed magical qualities. Ripe fruit would be in abundance. We would be forever in paradise.

Copyright 1997 James F. Harrington

Al Shindaga Tunnel

The Al Shindaga tunnel is a tunnel that goes under the Dubai creek and connects the two neighbourhoods of Deira and Bur Dubai. Built in 1975, the tunnel was probably an engineering marvel of its time. It is still the only under water tunnel in UAE.