DAY 3 Stepping out

Day 3: I cant believe that it is day three here already, time seems to have flowing past since Monday, when I sat in the office contemplating how slowly time can actually go when you are in an unfamiliar place and out of your comfort zone. I have since not ventured to far into the city as I have pretty much either been in the Hotel or at work. So im looking forward to the weekend, where I will be able to explore this interesting place further. I did manage to head out to a little place not far from my hotel called the Irish Village, with two work colleagues, which was right by the Dubai tennis Club, which is hosting the Dubai Championships. Now this is quite exciting as most of the best players from around the world will be there… and I might just have the opportunity to go and watch Fed dominate… yes there are all gonna be there.. Fed, Nadal, Murray.. etc and the Ladies too. So here is to hoping that I will be able to get tickets, because the weekend matches seem to be sold out already. So I might go on one of the days after work… Dubai…it seems to be such an interesting place… the more I learn about it the more interesting it becomes. The plus about working with environmentalist, is that they always have a craving for the outdoors, so I have already been invited into the desert and for a birding weekend. So there are definitely many things to look forward too… The one thing that his very noticeable and especially in the areas I have been is that there are Mosques everywhere and the sound the call to pray happen 5 times a day.. the first one is at 5 O clock in the morning… hectic and there is one right outside my hotel room. Here is some more info on Islam; the five pillars and when they prayer… · Faith ( shahada): The first pillar is the profession of faith, which is the belief that ‘there is no God but Allah and Mohammed is the Prophet of God’. · Prayer ( salah or salat): The second pillar lays out the obligatory prayers to be performed by devout Muslims five times a day. As the sun rises for each new day, the faithful are called to prayer by a muezzin (or nowadays often by a tape recording) with the following declaration of faith, known as the ‘ Shahadah’: ‘God is most great. I testify that there is no God but Allah and that Mohammed is the Prophet of God. Come to the prayer. Come to the salvation. Prayer is better than sleep. God is most great. There is no God but God.’ Each phrase is repeated. (The reference to sleep is used only in the first call to prayer.) Prayer times are at dawn ( fajr), noon ( dhuhr), mid-afternoon ( asir), sunset ( maghreb) and nightfall ( isha). The times of the dawn and sunset prayers are traditionally the earliest and latest times at which you can see the difference between a black thread and a white thread, using only natural light. All newspapers publish the prayer times to be observed on that day. The duration of prayers varies with the prayer leader (Imam) but is usually between ten minutes and half an hour. You can pray anywhere, but Friday noon prayers must be performed in a mosque. Muslims wash before praying to show a willingness to be purified. Non-Muslims aren’t expected to do anything in particular during prayer times, although you shouldn’t watch or pass close in front of anyone who is praying or step on his prayer mat. · Charity ( zakat): The third pillar of the Muslim faith involves the (obligatory) donation of a 40th (i.e. 2.5 per cent) of the value of your assets annually – a sort of ‘alms tax’. Fortunately, this doesn’t apply to non-Muslims. · Fasting ( sawm): The fourth pillar concerns the Ramadan Fast, when Muslims must fast during the hours of daylight for the whole of this Holy month. The fast is an act of self-purification and a test of strength, patience and inner knowledge. Muslims must refrain from drinking, eating, smoking and all other physical pleasures, including sexual activity. Eid Al-Fitr (‘the big festival’), is the festival of the breaking of the fast, when the whole community celebrates, families visiting each other and children wearing new clothes. Non-Muslims usually join in and enjoy the fun. This is also an occasion for people to pay their respects to the ruler and any notable families that they do business with or are in regular contact with. Coffee and sweets are served, and the host and his family and friends are wished ‘ Eid mubarraq’ (‘congratulations on the occasion of the festival). The Eid Al-Fitr is also a time when people pay money or donate food to a charity called Sadaqah Al-Fitr, which provides food for the needy. · Pilgrimage ( Hajj or Haj): The fifth and final pillar of Islam declares that it’s incumbent on every Muslim who can afford it to make a pilgrimage to Mecca, at least once in his life. The reward for doing so is impressive: forgiveness for all sins. The Haj is an annual event, which takes place in the 12th month ( Dhul-Hijah) of the Muslim calendar. It’s a well-organised event, although such is the demand to make the pilgrimage that quotas have had to be enforced on each country. I will be posting more interesting insights on Islam and Arab culture as I learn more…

The Mosque outside my hotel room at night