Dubai decks up to welcome Eid Al Fitr

DUBAI: Step out of your house and go to the closest market place, or mall, or creek, or anywhere else you go when not shuttling between home and office. There's a likelihood that you will talk aloud to yourself about how the lights and decorations have suddenly changed the ambience.

With the holy month of Ramadan nearly over and Eid Al Fitr just round the corner, the decorations and festivities will only gain momentum. If it's your first Eid in Dubai, then you will probably compare the decorations to Christmas or Diwali, such is the scale of celebration.

'This will be my first Eid in Dubai. I want to see the grandeur that I have heard of at home,' said Jose Mathew, an Indian from Kerala working with a real-estate company in Dubai.

Jose plans to visit Jumeirah with his friends on Eid. 'I will visit the mosque, then hunt for a nice place to eat.'

Waheed, a tailor in Al Nahda, Dubai, has just purchased a star, some confetti and paper streamers to decorate his shop. The corner plot, barely 120 sq. ft in area, will be cleaned up, and all garments and unstitched cloth will be arranged in neat piles.

'My daughter decorated the shop every year. This year she has gone to Lahore to be with her grandparents,' he said as his eyes nearly welled up.

Less than a kilometre away, at Carrefour Express, shopping attendants are busy making a list of the items they would need to decorate the whole floor.

Adam, the floor manager, is busy on a tablet PC, surrounded by three Filipinas listening in rapt attention.

'It's the usual drill here. We order for supplies a week in advance. The actual decoration takes less than a day. The staff works in shifts and work is done in no time,' says the Philippines national.

The story in shopping malls is no different. White snowflakes, crystals, stars and crescent moons can be seen hanging from the ceilings. The water fountains have new lights and even escalator walls have “Eid Mubarak” stickers on them.

“We believe in simple decoration, nothing flashy. It’s important to keep it subtle,” says Neha as she carefully aligns an “Eid Mubarak” sticker on the glass doors of her shop while a colleague stands behind her at a distance and guides her. Neha, who works at a bakery in Sahara Mall in Sharjah, has two hours to finish decorating the two shops of her employer in the mall.

Out on the streets, stars and crescent moons can be seen on the sidewalks, glowing bright blue, pink and green. Lights twirled around building pillars are a common sight.

The umpteen mini-lawns scattered all across Dubai, especially in busy areas, have been freshly manicured and are decked up with lights.

The famous dhows of Dubai creek, which are already covered with bright lights all through the year, are now even brighter.

“We are already booked for Eid,” says Ibrahim over phone when asked about a booking. Such is the rush that rates have shot up nearly three times.

“We have a different menu, special entertainment and even the tour packages have been revised,” he said as he hung up.

Other dhow cruises had more or less the same story to tell.

Which is the best Eid decoration that you have come across? Tell us at talktous@khaleejtimes.ae

• UAE