Learning about Islam at the Bastakiya

I was able to take a tour at the Sheikh Mohammad Center for Cultural Understandng. This tour covered the Bastakiya, the origins of Dubai city and a detailed tour of a mosque. The tour guide was amazing and answered all of our crazy question about both the Islamic religion and Muslim traditions. I feel like every time I visit a new country I become completely fascinated by the religion of the country and the impact this has on the cultural norms in a country.. I feel so lucky to have experience so many different religions and traditions. The old Bastakiya district was one of the central locations in old Dubai and it was restored. It is filled with traditional courtyard houses and classic wind towers, which offer a charming glimpse of how Dubai once looked. 

On my first visit to the Bastakiya during the day at the creek we
found a camel just hanging out, bizarre

One of the most district feature of all of the buildings in the Baskakiya are the wind towers. In the past, the city was famous for its wind towers. These wind towers were not just decorative. They were the only means of cooling houses in the days before electricity. The wind tower is called a barjeel . The number of barjeels in a house in the past indicated the wealth of the owner.

The doors of the houses in the past were related to cultural behaviors. For example the main door of the house is large whereas the inner door is short. The is because when men enter the house they should bend down not facing women directly.

I was very interested in the dress of the Muslim women. I learned that the wearing on an Abaya and the head dress is by choice by the women, and is related to the idea of modesty. I found it very interesting that during the last women's movement the women deiced to start dressing this way as they used to wear a shirt with a long skirt and did not cover their head.  It was explained that woman want to be valued for who they are personally rather than their dress. I find it very interesting that women in many western countries used the freedom of women to flaunt their bodies more and wear less clothing rather than more. The only place an Abaya and a head dress must be worn is in a mosque, however most Emirati women were them while in public. I also learned that the Abaya and head dress is only worn in public and women wear their choice of clothing underneath.

In the Muslim culture men are you are able to have up to have up to four wives. During our tour we were told that in the UAE 88% of men have one wife, 10% have two or more wives and 2% have 4 wives. I was very surprised by this fact and thought more men would have multiple wives. The multiple wives law is said to come from the idea of caring for others and meeting communal needs rather than the need to fulfill personal and sexual needs.

During the tour of the mosque we learned about the layout of the mosque, gender differences in the mosque, prayer times, call to prayer and the Qu'ran.

The mosque

Abaya #2

The Muslim is called to prayer five times a day. This call to prayer is called Adhan. The muezzin, a man appointed to call to prayer, uses a loud speaker which carries the voice for the people nearby. You would not believe the number of times I heard call to prayer. Prayer times are determined by the position of the sun in the sky.

Pray times displayed

Here is just one of the places I heard the call to prayer

At the end of the tour we enjoyed both Arabic coffee and dates. I have never been a fan of dates but after my experience in Dubai I think I may be looking for dates more often. However this may be untrue since I think I was spoiled with good dates here and may not be able to find these at home.