Home » United Arab Emirates » My fondest memory of Dubai

Manoj and I took a trip to the Middle East in December of 2001 to visit his family. We flew into Dubai and stayed there for about week, and flew from there to Muscat, Oman where his family lives. It was one of my first trips abroad and was absolutely fascinating! I didn't write travelogues per se, but emailed friends and family about my impressions while I was on the trip.

My fondest memory of Dubai

Jennifer Radcliffe
2005-11-11 11:20:54

Displayed times (last time: )

My fondest memory is of an evening during Ramadan. My boyfriend and I were wandering the streets behind the gold souq, and we just happened to be near a mosque a little after 5:30, right after the sun had set. The mosque was beautiful, not as ornate as others I'd seen, but it was wonderfully simple and in such a nice spot, right in the middle of the souqs. There were strings of white lights hanging down the building in a very symmetrical and orderly way... and there were endless pairs of leather sandals sitting outside, waiting patiently for their owner's retrieval. It was a lovely sight to behold. Then the surreal and strangely beautiful call to prayer began to be issued from the minaret of the mosque, calling for the faithful to stop their worldly tasks, face toward Mecca and pray. Soon men (apparently only men go to mosque) started to stream out of the mosque after praying. The warm glow of the lights with the soft, natural tones of the sandals and the whitewashed building, the cornflower colored sky in the background, the melodic call to prayer, men streaming out slowly.. all these elements combined to create a wonderfully timeless experience, and I felt so honored to have witnessed this moment. It was one which was so ordinary, but one that I will always remember.

I wanted so badly to take a photograph, and I asked a few people emerging from the mosque, to make sure it would be appropriate. While one man replied adamantly that it was ok, a handful of others asked me not to. I suppose it's better this way, it will always be a beautiful memory, tinged with nostalgia and wonder of this land and this people, so different from my own.