Moving on with summer…We got back from Prague right smack in the middle of 120+ degree weather and Ramadan. Holidays are an interesting time to be an outsider. For locals, Ramadan is a time of festivity, family, special food, special traditions, visits and a great sense of community. Life goes at a slooow pace and most things are closed during the day. As it is the month of fasting, there is also no eating allowed in public places and all restraunts are closed. After sundown the feasting and visiting begin. Think thanksgiving dinner amounts of food every single day for a month.
Our friends were very welcoming during this time and we had many late night visits (people stay up eating and partying all.night.long) and shared in many wonderful traditions. It is a time when you feel very involved in the community and yet very much not part of it at all. Kind of confusing, I know.
Anyway- At the end of Ramadan is the Eid celebration. It is a fun couple days of visiting and everyone gets to dress up in special Eid dresses and the kids get little treats and money. We had a great time seeing friends and the girls LOVED dressing up and getting candy everywhere we went.
Also during Ramadan, some sweet friends from Texas had a 2 day layover in Dubai and we got to hang out with them and do something new! Until now, we have just admired the Burj Khalifa from the base, but this time we went up to the viewing deck on the 124th floor. The elevator was…highly uneventful. It goes so fast that it take less than a minute and the only way you know you are going so high is that your ears pop. The girls loved the lights and music though.
The views from the deck were hard to grasp. Everything just looked so…small.
We are glad we got to do it, but because Dubai is such a hazy and hot city in the summer, I think if we do it again we will wait for the cooler winter (the dust settles a bit and the views are a bit better, too.)
We also took them down to the old Gold Souq. It has been quite some time since I’ve been down there, but it was fun to go see again.
Well, that gets me caught up through August and the end of Ramadan! Next up…Sayla’s birthday festivities.
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