Dubai is the second largest of the seven Emirates that comprises the United Arab
Emirates (with Abu Dhabi as the capital). It is divided by the Dubai Creek into
two main areas, Deira Dubai and Bur Dubai (or Dubai Side). Dubai has a sub-tropical,
arid climate and sunny blue skies and high temperatures can be expected most of
the year. Rainfall is infrequent and irregular, falling mainly in winter -
November to March. Temperatures range from a low of around 10 deg. C (50 deg.
F), to a high of 48 deg. C (118 deg. F) in summer. The mean daily maximum is 24
deg. C (75 deg F) in January, rising to 41 deg. C (106 deg. F) in July. During
the winter there are occasional sandstorm (the wind is known as the "Shamal"),
when the sand is whipped off the desert. More surprisingly, winter mornings can
be foggy, although the sun invariably burns the cloud away by mid-morning. The
summer humidity can be a killer, approaching 100%.
Islam is the official religion of the U.A.E (with a large number of Mosques
dotted throughout the city), and Arabic is the official language. However, other
forms of faith or religion are also permitted as there are numerous Catholic
Churches in the country with the Saint Michael's Church in Sharjah and Saint
Mary's Church in Dubai being well attended by Filipino Expatriates and other
nationalities as well.
Dubai is packed with quality, little street restaurants who offer good food at
reasonable prices (Tip: just don't convert the value to Philippine Peso).
There's a wide variety of food being served due to a large number of expatriates
which is composed of around 80 nationalities. International fastfood companies,
fine dining restaurants and coffee shops can also be found, but if you're
looking for great Filipino foods, there's numerous restaurants here mostly
located in Karama area (where a large number of Filipino Expatriates lives) like
Tagpuan, Goldilocks (offers Filipino, Chinese and Thai foods), Delmon (famous for it's Goto) and Bulwagang
Pilipino, plus Barrio Fiesta in Deira.
There are various Filipino sports club in the country with almost 30 clubs in
Dubai under the auspices of the Labour Office and among them are Church-based
groups. There's also Filipino clubs in other parts of the country with around 20
in Abu Dhabi and some in Sharjah, Al Ain and Ras Al Khaimah. The active groups
includes dancing, computer clubs, basketball, tennis, bowling and dart with a
very strong following from the Filipino community. The Filipino community here
are also staging events all year round which includes functions, cultural shows
and fund raising campaign that benefits some non profit organization in the
Philippines like the Bantay Bata Foundation. Some sporting activities includes
Filipino actors coming here to play basketball and bowling which commands a
significant following among Filipino sports enthusiasts. May 6 - 7, 1999 was
very memorable to most Filipino sports fan across the country as the UAE hosted
the 3rd Philippine Friendship Games in Dubai, the biggest sports event for
Filipinos in the Gulf Region.
The Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines
through its Dubai Office of the Labor Attache' / OWWA and in coordination with
Filipino Community Organizations, is presently conducting skills training and
skills upgrading programs and projects being held at the Dubai Filipino Workers
Resource Center. This is in compliance with the provisions of RA 8042 and in
cognizance of the need to conceptualize and implement programs and projects that
will directly benefit Overseas Filipino Workers wanting to acquire new skills or
desiring to upgrade their skills. Some of the programs and projects includes: PC
Assembly, Computer Basic Lessons, Photography, STAAD III (Structural Analysis
and Design), Ballroom Dance Clinic, Meat Processing & Food Preservation and
Dressmaking & Design.
The Filipino's love for music can be identified through numerous Filipino clubs in
most of the Hotels in Dubai as well as in Abu Dhabi. Filipino bands are the most
sought after bands as they gather numerous crowds of different nationalities.
Every year, they are staging the Pinoy Battle of the Bands and concerts by
famous Filipino Artists like Gary Valenciano, Side A band, Francis M,
Eraserheads, Pops Fernandez and many more. Working here is not easy as other people think so but
Filipinos still finds sometime to relax from a hard day's work thru some
sporting activities and of course listening to live music and spend some of
their hard earned Dirhams (local currency) by a little form of enjoyment. During
Thursday and Friday here (this is the weekend for Muslim people), Filipino clubs
are packed with not only Filipinos but other nationalities as well as some
Pinoys usually bring their friends along with them and enjoy the sounds of
Filipino music. Though the cost of liquors in the clubs are a little bit of
costly, still it won't stop Pinoys from enjoying themselves.
The so-called Pinoy club scene started in the UAE in the early 1980's, and
gained tremendous popularity in the late 1990's. This can be attributed to the
growing number of Filipinos in the UAE with more than 100,000 already. Nowadays,
visit any three or five-star hotels and you will find out that the resident band
in the restaurant or bars are Pinoys. In the last three years or so, some of the
hotel bars even replaced their foreign performers with Pinoys. In most cases,
they even converted the whole venue into a Pinoy club or bar. Pinoy bands
attract not only their "kabayans" to their shows, foreigners are also
regular customers in Pinoy Gigs. The appeal of Pinoys' brand of music and sound
transcends cultures or nationalities. Filipino bands guarantee the profit for
the owner of the restaurant or bar because they attract a large audience. As
show bands, they can perform a variety of songs which appeal to all kinds of
people.
Below are some of the
old and latest happenings in the area with new Filipino movies being shown and
live concerts and shows by top Filipino Singers and comedian.
Here are some of the most commonly used terms in
Arabic with its meaning in English. The spelling of Arabic words might not be
all correct as most Arabic-English dictionaries available in the market here are
using different spellings.
Assalam Alaikom - May Peace be with you
Alaikom Assalam - And also with you
Shukrun - Thank You
Afwan - You're Welcome
Mafi Mushkila - No Problem
Mafi Maloum - I Don't Know
Aiwa - Yes
La - No
Kheif-fahlak - How Are You
Tamam - Good / Excellent
Alhamdulillah - Thank God
Zen - Fine
Sabah Al Khair - Good Morning (Reply - Sabah Al Noor)
Masaa Al Khair - Good Evening
Shu Esmak - What's Your Name
Shuhadah - What is This?
Mabrook - Congratulations
Habibi - My Love
Aasif - Sorry
Inshallah - If God's Will
Kaam - How Much?
Kaam Aadad - How Many?
Baagoulak - Listen
Taala - Come Here
Yaalah - Quickly
Hamaarah - Crazy
Bukraa - Tomorrow
Shurtah - Police
Sidaah - Straight
Kalas - Finish
