Heritage Village

Tonight Chris, mom, Savannah and I went to Heritage Village. This is a traditional village located at the mouth of the Dubai Creek. The village gives a sneak peak into what life was like in the past with demonstrations on traditional crafts and cooking. While we were there we sampled a traditional Arabic dessert called Louqaimatt. This dumpling type dessert is made from flour, yeast, Zafaran, Cardamom, Rose Water, water and sugar. Traditionally, it was only enjoyed on special occasions like Ramadan or weddings but today is a very common dessert. It was pretty good...reminded us of doughnut holes. I personally thought they were better with the date syrup on them which made them a sweeter and added a little more flavor. After walking around the village we enjoyed dinner creekside, with fireworks in the background.

We also visited Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai (1912-1958) and grandfather to the present Ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The house dates back to 1896. Inside they had an exhibit, which we thought was going to be about the Sheikh, Dubai or the home but instead was our first Islamic presentation. They were handing out booklets and giving a presentation on Islam. Everyone was very kind and working very hard to dispel myths about Islam. While this is all very interesting it sort of reminded us of when the Jehovahs Witnesses go door to door back home.

Cultural Notes: English is very widely spoken in Dubai. Everyone seems to know some form of English and some is better than others but as you can see by the picture of the children's menu it doesn't always translate the same. I don't know many kids who would order "Big Bird" as their dinner selection!

We have also noticed how quiet restaurants seem to be. Beer, wine and liqueur can only be served in bars and restaurants that are attached to a hotel or that have obtained a license so while it is not hard to get a drink (with a 30% tax on it) there are many more restaurants that serve "mocktails", juices and coffees instead. It does seem to create a much quieter, laid back environment.