What attracts in Dubai
The flavor of Arabia and the cosmopolitan lifestyle.
Clean and sparsely populated sandy beaches.
Sun all year round.
Atmosphere of hospitality and friendliness.
Absence of crime.
Paradise for shopping lovers.
How to get there
By plane – 4.5 hours charter flights from Riga.
96 airlines connect Dubai with 136 cities around the world.
Convenient procedure for passport control, baggage claim and customs clearance, friendly staff.
The newest terminal Sheikh Rashid, opened in 2001
Where to stay
Lots of brand new hotels with excellent restaurants and excellent conditions for recreation, sports and entertainment.
A choice of holiday destinations in the city, on the coast, in the mountains or in the desert.
Hotel apartments for long stays.
Entertainment
Excellent restaurants with cuisine from around the world.
Variety of nightlife – bars, discos and clubs.
Amusement parks, zoo, beaches and family parks.
Ground Handling
Reception is provided by companies with extensive international experience, multilingual staff, qualified drivers and comfortable transport.
Modern air-conditioned buses, numerous taxis, inexpensive car rentals.
Excellent freeways and highways, wide boulevards.
First-class conditions for mooring and servicing cruise ships.
Tours and excursions
A wide range of standard and individual tours: city tours, shopping, trips to the desert, to the east coast, to the mountains, to neighboring emirates, etc.
Walks on cars, boats and sailing dhows.
Special offers for lovers of golf, water sports, fishing, ornithology and archeology.
Arabian exotic
Desert safari, driving through the dunes and wadis (dried riverbeds) in off-road jeeps. See Countryvv for labor market in United Arab Emirates.
Skiing from the dunes.
Arab kebabs in the desert and a traditional belly dance in the moonlight.
Camel and horse racing, falconry.
Sailing dhows on Dubai Creek or the Gulf.
Explore the old town – traditional markets, dhow dockyards and Arabic architecture.
An abundance of subjects for photography: magnificent palaces and mosques, brightly dressed children, herds of camels and goats, ancient wind towers, Belouin villages, oases, palm trees, picturesque dunes and spectacular sunsets.
Sports
All kinds of water sports: sailing, fishing, windsurfing, water skiing, jet skiing and scuba diving.
Golf – four world-class grass courses, two more are under construction.
Variety of other sports: squash, tennis, horseback riding, cycling, ice skating, gun and archery, bowling and go-karting.
Shopping
Duty-free and open market in Dubai promises many bargains.
Traditional souvenirs – coffee pots, carpets, silver and copper items, jewelry, inlaid furniture and much more.
One of the largest gold trading centers in the world at the lowest prices.
A wide selection of products from world companies at the most affordable prices: audio and video equipment, cameras, watches, clothes from famous fashion designers, perfumes. Dubai
Duty Free is an internationally award-winning duty free complex at the airport.
Culture and traditions
Islam
Islam and its enduring values are at the heart of Dubai’s living traditions. It is a source of strength and inspiration for its inhabitants, manifesting itself in all aspects of daily life.
Ramadan
is the holy month when Muslims celebrate the revelation of the Quran. The onset of Ramadan is not fixed according to the Gregorian calendar and is shifted back by 11 days every year. In 2004, Ramadan will begin around October 14th. This is the month of fasting, when Muslims refrain from eating, drinking and smoking from dawn to dusk. Visitors, as a sign of respect for local customs, should also not eat, drink or smoke in public places during daylight hours. These rules do not apply to hotels.
Religious holidays
Eid al-Fitr – comes after the end of Ramadan and lasts three days. The celebration begins after the morning prayer with the exchange of gifts.
Eid al-adha – the feast of sacrifice – marks the end of the hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca, which every Muslim must make at least once in his life, lasts four days.
Traditional Arab clothing
The national clothing worn in Dubai and other Gulf countries is adapted to the heat and conforms to the requirements of the religion. Men wear a long, spacious dress “kandura” or “dishdasha” made of thin white cotton or silk, and in winter – from a denser and darker material.
A “gafia” or “taqiyya” is put on the head – a white lace cap, and on it is a large “gutra” scarf made of white cotton, and for winter – of red and white woolen fabric – which holds a double black woolen plait on top – “hiccup”.
Women wear a long-sleeved dress elaborately embroidered with gold, silver, or colored threads, also called “kandura”. On top of the dress and trousers (“sirval”), “saub” is usually put on, all this is completely covered with a black cape “abaya”. The woman’s hair must be covered, and a thin veil – “gishwa” can hide her face.
Hospitality
Courtesy and hospitality are the most revered virtues of the Arabs. Guests will be touched by the sincere warmth and friendliness of the locals.
Treating freshly ground Arabic coffee with cardamom is a sign of respect for the guest. Coffee is poured from traditional long-nosed dalla coffee pots into small bowls. It is considered polite to drink one, two or three cups and then shake the bowl as a sign of satisfaction.
Family life
The family is the most important institution in Arab life. Along with the husband, wife and children, it includes the spouses’ parents, their siblings and cousins, and more distant relatives. Relationships within the family are extremely strong; its senior members enjoy the greatest attention and respect.
Marriages are negotiated between families, while the bride and groom must agree to a future union. A wedding is an important event lasting several days, with festive fun, music and dancing. In Islamic society, women are highly respected, occupying a key place in the family. They have equal opportunities to receive education as men, and the number of working women is growing in the country.
Traditional Sports
Among the many traditional activities, falconry has a special place and is still enjoyed in Dubai. This is a unique union of a man and a bird, and you can often see people with a falcon on their hands here.
There are many fans of such an old sport as camel racing, the winners of which receive solid prizes.
Through the centuries, the Arabs carried the love of horses. This tradition lives on in the 21st century: equestrianism in Dubai has developed rapidly. It is no coincidence that the Dubai World Cup is held here – the most expensive horse race in the world.
In 2001, the UAE Horse Breeders’ Cup was established – a competition for Arabian horses bred in the country.
