AA- Al-Ain (1.18.26)

Al Ain is a three hour drive south and inland from Abu Dhabi.  It is another of the seven emirates.  Our guide, Amanda, said that Al Ain is included in the tour because it seems more "authentic" than Abu Dhabi and Dubai.  The majority of people who live in Al Ain are Arabs, rather than guest workers.  

Al Ain is also steeped in history  Sheikh Zayed Bin Khalifa, who built the Jahili Fort in the 1890s, was the grandfather of the first president of the UAE. Sheikh Zayed united the always fractious tribes, so that UAE could be created.

 

Just as interesting as the fort was the display in the visitors center about the young Sheikh Zayed, who was a fearless warrior (seen here with falcon), and a European named Thesinger, who explored the "Empty Quarter" of Saudi Arabia with a couple of Arab friends.

There was also an old photo of Abu Dhabi in the years before oil, when it limped along on an economy fed by pearl diving and trading.

Al Ain is an oasis, with plenty of water.  We walked through the date farming areas around the old springs.  We watched a farmer climb up a date palm, barefoot, to show us how he harvested his dates.

I bought a box of dates from this sidewalk salesman.

Our tour group typically stopped for lunch at malls.  While other tour members searched for a McDonalds, Dave and I wandered around the mall, soaking in the local culture.  The Al Ain Mall had an inside skating rink!  The temperature was mild--60s--on this winter day, but the temperature soars into the high 120s during the summer.  Hardly the place for a skating rink!

We passed stores selling black abiyas, but also many dress stores.  We understand that the abiya gets tossed off as soon as a woman returns home, and she is then free to wear whatever she pleases (at least so long as non-family males are not around).

Arabs love jewelry, and every mall had two or three jewelry stores.  The gold necklaces cost tens of thousands of dollars.

I thought all black abiyas were the same, but each is individual, with a bit of embroidery on a sleeve or piping on  a neckline.  They are not even all black. When we asked one local guide why so many abiyas are black, she said, "Because black is slimming!"

I wandered through a store that looked like Pottery Barn.  A woman in black was studying the elegant home furnishings, beneath a sign advertising upcoming Ramadan.