All about Emirati customs

DUBAI — Heil is Arabic for cardamom. And the smell of heil escaping from the saffron-infused Arabic coffee poured into the egg-holder-size cup, without any handles, is what hits first.

Typically, people sit on the floor on two red cushions in typical Syrian Bedouin print, one on top of the other, in the courtyard at the wind tower house that is the Shaikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding (SMCCU) in Bastakiya, old Dubai.

Students have a meal session with a guide at the Shaikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding in Dubai.— KT photos by Grace Guino

“Fahidi is more accurate a location though, than Bastakiya,” says Nasif Kayed, the Emirati host and general manager of the centre.

Every ritual at the meal is performed slowly and with care. The coffee is served with dates. And even the dates (“fruit of life”) come with an explanation. “In the old days, one could survive two months on just dates… no stomach pain. In Dubai alone, there are 50 types of dates, in the world, 320.”

As for the cardamom and saffron, it’s to honour guests. Nasif deserves credit for being a repository of limitless interesting nuggets about the Arab way of life, and for being able to share those with an audience of disparate cultural backgrounds with ease and humour.

The dates and coffee are just the beginning.

The meals at the SMCCU are part of the centre’s endeavour to educate and spread the truth about the Emirati way of life. Online travel portal Tripadvisor has good things to say about the SMCCU, with testimonials from folks who’ve visited. ‘Come for the food. Stay for the culture,’ is one of the centre’s taglines. Another is: ‘Open doors. Open minds’. One of the comments left on Tripadvisor reads: “This was a good opportunity to have an authentic Gulf-style meal and ask your embarrassing questions”.

The commentator is right about the open house, darbar format of these cultural meals — they encourage even what might be called ‘silly questions’. So amid chatter about food, and explanations on the social aspects of traditional sit-down-on-the floor buffets, including that the right way to dig into your meal is not with a fork but with three fingers of your right hand, if someone raises a question about how many wives Emirati men have, it is duly answered. There are no hushed whispers. For the record, 90 per cent apparently only have one.

The topics of conversation, the questions asked, are different each time, naturally — dependent on the nature and dynamics of the group settled down to eat. But there’s no doubting the variety of questions.

So while people help themselves to different kinds of chicken and mutton biryani, fish dishes and a beef stew, a hand might go up in the corner to know about the dress code of women. Why do women here have to wear abayas and burqas and be so covered up, someone asks. And the explanation was traced to some years ago when an expatriate lady in the mall chose to gad about in a bikini, which was perceived as disrespectful to the local custom. “Keep ‘em coming, keep ‘em coming,” Nasif tells the crowd. He wants more questions.

Once the crowd is told that the green leafy stuff in the big dish is Taboulleh, which Nasif explains is “parsley with cracked wheat and some tomatoes”, questions veer to health and educational policies in the Emirates. Anecdotes, questions, doubts, conversation all flow as freely as the date syrup on the loquaimat — the traditional doughnut-like desert. Every query is answered. Someone asks about the debtor’s prison. Another wants to know about maternity leave. Some ask about why the big fuss about public displays of affection. Nasif answers them all.

People take photographs. He shows them what an egal is — the rope on his head gear, traditionally used to tie the feet of camels so they won’t run far.

There is no dearth of trivia. There is everything to learn — and take away. They even provide aluminium boxes for you to carry home the leftover biryani and the dates. — nivriti@khaleejtimes.com

Activities

The SMCCU is a non-profit organisation that offers activities, which raise cultural awareness of the UAE and its traditions, customs, religion and culture amongst foreign residents and visitors. It aims to contribute to the improvement of cross-cultural understanding, integration and communication.

Its activities include:

Jumeirah Mosque visit

The SMCCU is the only institution in Dubai entrusted with showing non-Muslims around the Jumeirah Mosque on Jumeirah Beach Road, voted the fifth most popular tourist attraction in Dubai. Their weekly masjid visit is one of the best ways to learn about the religion, heritage and culture of the UAE. The visit is hosted by a registered tour guide, and offers an insight into the role of the mosque and its significance to the Emirati people. At the end of the session, visitors are encouraged to ask any questions they might have. Because of the SMCCU’s “Freedom to Ask” policy, no question is off limits. Public visits are held every Saturday through Thursday at 10am and last approximately 75 minutes.

Cultural meals

Situated in a traditional wind tower house in the historic Bastakiya neighbourhood in Bur Dubai, guests have the opportunity to experience traditional homemade Emirati food in the SMCCU’s courtyard whilst being treated to a cultural presentation by one of the trained members of staff. Breakfasts are held every Monday and Wednesday at 10am and lunches every Sunday and Tuesday at 1pm. They last for approximately 90 minutes. There is also a Cultural Dinner at 7pm every Tuesday, and a Cultural Brunch on Saturday at 10.30am.

Bastakiya walks

Bastakiya Heritage Tour (90 minutes): A 90-minute walk through Bastakiya and a visit to the Bastakiya Mosque.

Bastakiya Walking Tour (60 minutes): This tour includes a walk through Bastakiya.

Creekside Tour (120 minutes): A walk through Bastakiya and a visit to the Bastakiya Mosque and Textile Souq. Guests then board an abra, across Dubai Creek to Deira to visit the Gold Souq and Spice Souq.

For more information, contact the centre by phone on 043536666, email on smccu@cultures.ae or try its website at www.cultures.ae.

• UAE