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Published: November 13th 2011
Dubai is an odd place.
I arrived there in late October 2011, and since then have gone to Jordan and Jerusalem (blogs to come). My best friend lives in Dubai so I made it my first stop in what I hope will be a seven-month exploration of the Middle East. Israel/Palestine, Oman, Lebanon, Egypt, and Turkey are also on the agenda.
But back to Dubai--the hottest tourist destination in the Gulf.
A modern concrete jungle: buildings and skyscrapers everywhere, but the nice kind that reflect the ocean and sky in their tainted windows. The place looks like a scene out of The Jetsons—with only the aerocars missing. It’s hard to think that Dubai didn't even have a fresh water system five decades ago.
There are ways to escape Dubai’s overwhelming malls and hotels. I was lucky that B (my friend in Dubai) and her husband were there to show me a different side of the city. They live near the Dubai Marina, which is set to be the word's largest man-made marina upon completion. The neighborhood is relatively quiet and the beach is free. Big plus! For shell collectors, there are all kinds of gems to be
found here.
Through them, I was introduced to the Deira neighborhood and the emirates’ vibrate art scene. The former is where one can really see the perks of Dubai’s diverse expat community. The neighborhood looks a little rundown and cluttered but is filled with restaurants serving DELICIOUS and CHEAP food. And so many options: Palestinian, Lebanese, Kurdish, Iraqi, Iranian, Thai, Indian, etc. We feasted on some yummy Syrian dishes.
The art scene, on the other hand, is much more glamorous and upscale. There’s always some kind of gallery exhibit, auction, or party. Admittedly, I couldn’t quite grasp the point of political art, or other genres that focus on message/meaning rather than just aesthetics, in the context of auction houses. I went to a Christie’s pre-auction exhibit. The place was filled with art collectors, admirers, and critics. No one I talked to seemed all that socially conscious whereas many of the art pieces dealt with questions of identity, society, and politics. A lot of good art gone wasted. But alternatives to auction houses also exist in Dubai. For example, there’s “Traffic,” an interactive gallery that features many emerging artists from the region.
A lack of political freedoms balanced
with extensive social freedoms creates an interesting dynamic. Any critique of the government can lead to imprisonment and yet, expats I talked to lauded Dubai as a peaceful haven in an otherwise tumultuous Middle East. “There’s no violent conflict here,” they would say. They would add that Dubai is also very multicultural, with people from different ethnic groups eating, working, and shopping together. True to a certain extent. But I can’t buy the utopia that Dubai markets itself to be. One can easily see the ugly side of capitalism in the emirates; exposed rather than hidden in ghettos. In Dubai, hundreds of thousands of migrant workers brought from rural India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and the Philippines are everywhere. They sleep in labor camps at night but can be spotted on buildings, roads, and in private homes during the day (even when it’s 120 degrees F. outside). Yet, many locals and tourists have seemingly become desensitized to their existence. They might as well be invisible.
Sharjah
Sharjah is the third largest of the seven emirates and arguably the most conservative. Its lackluster buildings and dusty roads are a sharp contrast to the glitz and glamour of Dubai. But
Mosque
SharjahSharjah is definitely worth a day trip...if not two!
Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al-Qasimi III, Sharjah's current ruler, is set on promoting arts and culture in the sheikhdom through exhibits, theater, and artist residency programs. Most exciting for me, the emirate now has around 17 museums.
I visited the Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilization. The building's golden dome is easily visible on the waterfront side of Sharjah's historical center. It has collections of coins, scientific instruments, artifacts, calligraphy, etc., and best of all, informative captions! I could actually learn about the objects I was seeing.
Of course, sprinkled in there is a bit of propaganda on the UAE's greatness. But who cares. I'm content with learning how a centuries-old rosewater distilling instrument actually extracted oil from rose petals!
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Two Thumbs Up!
Crazy good insights here. I have to share this post on my Facebook because we were just talking about the same thing there this past week. Awesome. Keep up the great work.