The Elusive Souq and Mysterious Emirati

Monday, October 6^th, 2014

Post by Kim

Yesterday, Adam and I went back to Dubai with the hopes of going up the Burj Khalifa for a view of the city, getting some books at Book World in the Dubai Mall, and seeing a traditional souq.  This time, we went with two of our good friends.  The Burj Khalifa/Dubai mall area was really crowded on that day, even more than the first time we went there.  It was so busy that all the Burj Khalifa tours were booked for the day until 11:55PM!  We gave up on the Burj Khalifa idea for now, but still came across many more interesting sights in the area.

At the Dubai mall, we got the books that I’ve been looking for and took more pictures.

 

We also came across displays in windows that further reinforce the absurd, lavish lifestyle that I’ve been telling you about in my previous posts.

Out of curiosity, we went into the store to check out the prices of the items.  At the front, there was a little white dress for an elementary-school aged girl; the price tag was 1,999 dirhams (or about 550 US dollars).

We then saw the following at another store, which was even more absurd; Adam, our friends, and I just about died laughing.

This little red Broon F8 car was on display next to a white one, and on the wall there was a list of features of the vehicles.  I took a picture but it didn’t really show well, but here are some of the features from my online research: Dual 12V/24V 15,000RPM 5 series DC Motor, Smart Safety Driving System, Bluetooth 4.0 Remote Control, 7-Inch Tablet PC with Smart, Ergonomically Structured Utrethane-Leather Bucket Seat, 4 Point Seat Belt, Voice/Visual Guidance System, 2 Channel Stereo Speakers, etc.  If you would like to look into this for any child you know, here’s a link to their website:  http://www.henes.co.kr/english/product_f8.html

Here's another funny picture showing how wealth is different in the UAE. They actually have ATMs that dispense gold!

Later that afternoon, while the sun began to set, we went outside to the Dubai Mall Fountain.  There was a water fountain/music show to come, so it was really crowded.  Adam took advantage of his height to take some pictures.  Here’s a panoramic image of the area; the base of the Burj Khalifa is the fourth main building from the left.

Here’s another picture that Adam took, which I really like.

 

Adam’s height might have helped him take some pictures in this crowd, but even he doesn’t beat the Burj Khalifa.

After this, we then went to go see the Madinat Jumeirah Souq.  So far in the UAE, I haven’t been able to find what I imagine a souq would look like – that is, some kind of outdoor Middle Eastern market right out of the Disney movie “Aladdin”.  In Al Ain, some places were labeled “Souq”, but they were simply what I would call a strip mall – oftentimes with goods that are not even traditionally Middle Eastern.  On the Dubai tourist map, this Madinat Jumeirah Souq was described as a “traditional souq”, so I thought that it might fulfill this fantasy of mine.  When we arrived and parked at an indoor modern parking lot, I knew that this elusive souq probably doesn’t exist in the UAE.  The souk was all indoors, and when we first came in, we saw nothing but western cafes and other more-western looking stores and restaurants.  The difference was in the architecture of the building, which was more Arabic-looking, with repetitive geometric shapes and patterns.

We continued looking around, outside the buildings, and watched beautiful sights such as these.  In the first picture, you’ll see another tall building on the left; this one is called the Burj Al Arab.

Just when we were about to give up, we saw another area of the souq that had very pretty, Middle Eastern-looking items.  Here I continued practicing my photography skills, if any.

 

The souq wasn’t quite what I had envisioned in that it was indoors and more modern-looking.  However, it certainly was beautiful.  This also underscores how our preconceived notions of things might not match reality, and we simply need to appreciate things for what they are.

As our visit to Dubai wrapped up, our friends, Adam and I discussed what we had seen/done in the UAE.  Our friends often described the feeling of seeing nothing but mall, after mall, after mall here.  Maybe this sightseeing was interspersed with beach going and mosque seeing, but in general, it’s all about malls and grand/luxurious buildings.  That’s when something dawned on me; something is different about the UAE in comparison with all other places we’ve been to in the world thus far.  The Emirati don’t seem to have a history or culture that they readily share to the rest of the world.  Instead, they want or import everything from abroad.  In their malls, they have Western clothing stores (with brand fashion names like Versace, Burberry, H and M, etc.).  Their restaurants are American chains (Cheesecake Factory,  Chilis, KFC, etc.) and imports from abroad (Italian and French cuisine, East and South Asian foods like Indian curries, Japanese Sushi, Southeast Asian noodles, etc.).  Even the Middle Eastern food is not described as “Emirati”; we’ve been to Lebanese, Turkish, Iranian restaurants – but no sign of Emirati cuisine.  Also, in the Madinat Jumeirah Souq, nothing was technically Emirati – our friend overheard another customer asking about the items, and everything was either Turkish, Palestinian, or from another Middle Eastern country.  Same with the camel market that we saw the other day; the people who were there selling were all Non-Emirati, Middle Easterners.

As I thought about this further, I realized and noticed that here, unlike all other places we’ve been to, there are little to no buildings/places of historical significance.  There are relatively few museums of history too, and I wondered why.  I suppose that this country is a relatively new country, so maybe there is not much to report.  Even then, though, wouldn't the Emirati people want to talk about their lifestyle, prior to fifty years ago or their discovery of oil in the country?  Maybe the country’s prior “poverty” or absence of modern things are not really things that they really want to boast about.

From being here, we are learning a lot from interacting directly with people from around the world – whether Tunisians, Egyptians, Jordanians, New Zealanders, South Africans, Irish, Filipinos, Indians, Canadians, or Americans, etc.  We learn about their personal histories, their background, and their feelings; we get to know them as people.  On the other hand, though, our interactions with the Emirati people are somewhat limited; they are a mystery to us.  In my case, I’ve barely spoken to them for concern of saying/doing something that might be considered offensive in their culture.  I don’t know how it is for all other ADEC teachers, but Adam says that his interactions with the Emirati administration and families are also limited.  Also, I think that the Emirati prefer to keep this glass pane between them and others, as it seems like they see all expats as servants.

I’d like to emphasize here that this distance that I am talking about is specific to the Emirati people, not the other Middle Eastern people.  Adam’s Tunisians and Egyptians colleagues have been very friendly and given us insight into their experiences; they also say that, back in their home country, the people don’t behave in the same manner that Emiratis do.  I think it is very easy to brush all Middle Eastern people in one stroke, especially in these times where in the Western media, all they talk about is ISIS and other crazies who in no way resemble most Muslims.

Anyway, these are my thoughts for now, and they may evolve further in time.  Please feel free to share any comments about my posts; I’d really like to know your thoughts as well.  Some readers have told me that they were going to write something, but had technical difficulties.  If that’s the case for you, please let me know by e-mail or Facebook so that I can try to figure out the issue.