To friends and family,
Kent and I are in Dubai this week on an apartment hunting trip, (my first trip here, but Kent has been here a few times already doing work). Anyway, I thought now would be as good a time as any to start up my newsletters again and share our experiences. I am sending you what I wrote up a couple of days ago about our Sabbath day here in Dubai, for those who might be interested in reading it. I'll send more later letters later that you can read or delete as you desire. If I'm sending this to you, it's because I think in the past I used to send you newsletters, or you had asked me to let you know what Dubai is like. If you would prefer to be left of the "distribution list" let me know, as I know we all have way too much email to filter through these days so my feelings won't be hurt.
So, here is the first installment. ~Karen
Fridays are the Sabbath here in U.A.E. (United Arab Emirates), so it is the day everyone goes to church. I remembered that little fact late Thursday night and realized that we hadn't found out how to get to the church yet. But, Friday morning we finally found a phone number where we could reach someone to find out how to get to the church and attended the Dubai Ward, which met at 1:00 pm. (the Branch meets at 9:00 so we are going to go there this Friday before we leave to go back to Seattle)
We caught a taxi to the church....about 15 minutes away. It was held in a big house in an area with other homes...kind of like where attended in Shanghai. I don't remember seeing a sign for the church or anything once we got there. It just had a house number and you could see other members walking in, so that's how you knew you were in the right place. (I haven't seen signs of any other kinds of churches here either so it's not unusual. The Mosques are very prominent though, so you know what they are!) The people at church were very friendly and many came up to us and introduced themselves. There were a lot of Philipinos in the ward...probably 1/4 of the ward. So I'm guessing there must be an area in the ward boundaries that a lot of them tend to live. The dividing line for the ward/branch is a road called Sheikh/Zayed Road. If you live between the road and the beach you are in the ward, if you live on the inland side of the road you are in the branch. If we stayed in the place we are now, we would be in the ward since it is just a few blocks from the beach. There are at least a couple of families we met today that live on the Palm Jumeirah. That is the place they built islands in the shape of a palm tree and each "branch" of the tree is a street with houses or apartment buildings on each side.
On the way to the church we also drove by the Burj Al Arab...the big "7 star" hotel you may have heard about or seen on the internet.
After church we walked back out to the road to get a taxi, but to get to a main road where there would be taxis was quite a walk. We were only about half way there after 10 minutes of walking (in 100 temps, mind you), when a church member stopped and picked us up and gave us a ride to the main road. They dropped us off at a bus stop where there would be room for a taxi to pull over and pick us up, because taxis can't just stop in the road as there aren't any places to pull over. It is just roadway next to a curb with the sidewalk...no parking or stopping places on the main roadways.
The bus stop had an air-conditioned waiting area (a glass "room"...about 5x20 foot long) on the sidewalk with a sliding door to get in and out of, where you could wait. This is the only place I've seen in the world that has air-conditioned bus stops! In Seattle they have covered bus stops so you can keep out of the rain, but here you have to keep out of the heat!!! Kent told me to wait inside while he waited to see a taxi coming, waved one down, then I ran out to get in with him.
So that was our adventure going to church today. We just stayed in our hotel room the rest of the day until it was time to go out and get something to eat. You have to wait until after 6:40 pm because it is Ramadan right now and you can't eat out in public until after sunset. Ramadan is the month of fasting for the Muslims where they don't eat or drink anything during the daylight hours. It is in commemoration of the revelation of the Koran. It is also a time for inner reflection, devotion to God, and self-control as they abstain from foods, drinks, cigarettes and unclean thoughts (or activities) between dawn and dusk. Muslims think of it as a kind of tune-up for their spiritual likes. I've heard there are as many meanings of Ramadan as there are Muslims. After sunset the fast is broken with an Iftar feast. Usually families and/or friends get together to break the fast together. The date or timing of Ramadan is determined by the moon, so it is different every year...usually about 11 days earlier each year. This year it is from Aug. 22 to Sept. 19.
Non Muslims can eat in their homes/offices as long as they aren't visable to the public so as to offend them. Like if you carry a water bottle out with you, you should keep it in your purse or a bag so those fasting won't be offended. Kent thinks it's silly that they have to have their cafeteria at their office all papered up so that they can't be seen eating in there. I just figure, this is their country, and they can make the rules as they want. At the end of Ramadan they will have a three-day celebration and holiday called Eid Al Fitr, the feast of the breaking of the fast. This holiday has similar connotations to Muslims as Christmas for Christians.
Well that's your cultural lesson for today. Sorry this turned out to be so long. I decided I will probably start writing long detailed letters like this again to put in my journal...I did that in Shangahi. So if you don't have/want time to read them all, I won't feel bad.
Guess I should go read my scriptures now...as it is Sunday...I mean Friday.
Have a good weekend!
Love, Karen
No comments:
Post a Comment