Since my last entry – back in July, I have indulged in one of the Friday bubbly brunches and can confess that it is an exercise in excess. A dozen or so of us went to celebrate a friend's birthday. We arrived at midday. I didn't get home until 1am the next morning!!
For photos, check this link:
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=46425&l=1f304&id=598031808
I’ve also been making the most of the three-day weekends and accessibility to the region, travelling to Yemen, India, Afghanistan and the neighbouring emirate of Fujairah, where the sea was silky like oil, which is probably what it was as we later read that tankers were dumping their oil in the waters nearby.
more photos:
Yemen http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=47459&l=6dba2&id=598031808
Kabul http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=43721&l=2928e&id=598031808
Random Abu Dhabi http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=37627&l=54ab4&id=598031808
So now, Ramadan has just finished - the Muslim holy month of fasting (and gorging) and we are all sitting a little easier at work as we can all now eat and drink at our desks!! Imagine, every time you want a sip of water or a cup of coffee as you dive into a particularly difficult editing job - you have to head off to the room of shame, where the shades are drawn and heathen non-believers snack and chat and moan about the restrictions.
It is actually illegal in the UAE for anyone to eat and drink in public during the day – including non Muslims. One of my colleagues was stopped by the police for smoking in his car.
All restaurants and cafes and shops were closed during the day, with most reopening about 7 and staying open until 2am.
The idea, which came from Prophet Mohammed, is that Muslims get a chance during Ramadan to understand what it’s like to have to go without food, and to engender greater empathy with people less well off than themselves. It is also around this time, Muslims believe, that the Quran was unveiled to Mohammed, so all in all, a very holy month indeed.
But of course, like all big holidays, it has been corrupted. Although there is a bit of giving - some of the sheikhs put up tents on their outside grounds where they hand out free food boxes at sunset for the labourers, mostly what you see is a lot of indulgence.
The streets are packed, and dangerous, at dusk, as everyone - starving and thirsty and no doubt grumpy from lack of energy - race home or to restaurants to break their fast.
Every hotel and restaurant has an iftar (fastbreaking) buffet and people gorge themselves and then go shopping in the mall until 1am. On the other side, you see the labourers working on construction sites throughout the day in 40-degree heat with no food or water. Then at dusk, they sit out in clusters on the grassy verges of the motorways sharing what food they have with their friends and colleagues.
On September 30, when Eid was announced - due to the sighting of the moon, the weather suddenly dropped a degree or two. It has been a noticeable change, not so much during the day, but at night. A couple of nights ago I went for a bike ride along the corniche - the beach, promenade that runs along the Gulf. It was humid, but not unbearable. The path was smooth, although quite busy with Pakistan and Indian strollers - many of whom did not seem to understand the meaning of the bike bell or were perhaps too aghast at two western women - one in cycling shorts, the other in a shoulder-bearing t-shirt - cycling towards them.
Sadly, this friend - my gym buddy - is going back to Canada next week. I think this is one of the first times I've ever had a friend leave before me. I will miss her.
