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Tourists come to terms with local customs in Ramadan

ABU DHABI — At 11am, behind closed curtains, most guests at a hotel here were still having breakfast.

The majority of foreigners who come to spend their holiday in Abu Dhabi during Ramadan tend to join in the night time feasts and festivals and generally remain concerned with the holy month's restrictions.

Cajus and Marketa Diedrich, a young couple from Germany and Chech Republic, are here for the second time in UAE during Ramadan, the first time being in 2004.

“Actually, we are here for both business and pleasure,” revealed Cajus, adding: “For business purposes, it is the wrong time to come because too many people are on holiday and the working hours are reduced.”

Cajus and Marketa were planning one week of business in Abu Dhabi and another week of holiday in Fujairah, where they hope to do some diving.

From the leisure point of you of their trip, the couple said they had a mixed experience. “Europeans are too spoiled. When they come to a beach they like to relax with a cocktail, but even the beach bars are closed during Ramadan,” Cajus told Khaleej Times. While he agreed that Islamic and Arabic customs should be maintained, he also felt that too many places remain closed, even inside the hotels.

Natasha Abdi, a Russian, is among the few sunbathers on the Meridien beach. She too is spending her second Ramadan here, but she is actually living in Abu Dhabi. “My husband, who is a Muslim, has got a job here and we came to Abu Dhabi last year," she told Khaleej Times. "I have even tried fasting, but it's very hard.”

According to the Meridien management, the hotel occupancy has gone up to 80 per cent, but only a handful of guests are actually on the beach. “It is so quiet, you can actually feel it's Ramadan,” said Natasha.

Further down the Corniche, at Sheraton Hotel, about 60 people had made it to the beach by noon. Even though the hotel has no special offers for tourists during Ramadan, it will have a special package for Eid.

The occupancy increased in the last week to over 85 per cent.

Verena and Uve Gehrig, a couple from Germany, are first timers in UAE. “We didn't choose to come here in Ramadan, it just happened that we both got our holidays now and we wanted to come to a hot, sunny place,” said Verena, adding that the lack of day time cafes and bars doesn't trouble them: “We don't know how different it would be in other times, but we are quite happy here in Ramadan.”

Linda Coper and her friend Diane Morton are also in Abu Dhabi for the first time. They were among the very few visitors at Abu Dhabi Mall during day time. “It really feels odd and a little bit frustrating to go out shopping, and to have nowhere to sit down for a cup of coffee, ” they both admitted.

“But we really enjoy going out to hotel tents at night for shishas and light meals," they said.

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