First stop: Abu Dhabi
For a taste of what's truly East meets West, look at Abu Dhabi.
Gucci, Porsche and Nokia exist alongside burkhas, daily public prayers and some of the grandest mosques you'll see anywhere.
Road signs and those of Pizza Hut are in Arabic, and some of the richest people in the world live and play here.
Religion and tradition are trying to hold the people together while the rest of the kingdom speeds towards modernisation, and it's a delicate balance because the rulers know that the only way they can survive among hostile neighbours is to reform the nation.
And nothing speaks more about this tension than the women of the land, who seem to fall into two camps: those who choose to hide their faces and ankles behind black veils, and those who flaunt whatever possessions and assets Allah has given them.
Which is the face of the Arab woman?
This morning, the media entourage went to visit the tomb of Sheikh Zayed, regarded as the man who founded the modern United Arab Emirates by bring seven small kingdoms together just over 34 years ago. Abu Dhabi is building a Grand Mosque just next to his remains.
The women among us were hustled out of the vehicle and told to wear a headscarf, take off our shoes and surrender our cameras. We, apparently, had to be separated from the men at the holy site and were not allowed near the tomb. We observed the ritual behind a veil in a tent.
Strangely enough, that gave me an idea of what it might be like to live in a sheikh's harem in the Arabic World. A woman is in that world but never really a part of it. And religion and theology trumps all else.
I wonder how long the place could stay the way it is before being taken over by faceless malls and buildings.
For now, swanky shiny office towers and million-dollar mansions speak for themselves and are a witness to the achievements of the Emirates, which have tolerated the Saudis' seizing of the fattest and best land in the Gulf.
It's quite a sight.
Gucci, Porsche and Nokia exist alongside burkhas, daily public prayers and some of the grandest mosques you'll see anywhere.
Road signs and those of Pizza Hut are in Arabic, and some of the richest people in the world live and play here.
Religion and tradition are trying to hold the people together while the rest of the kingdom speeds towards modernisation, and it's a delicate balance because the rulers know that the only way they can survive among hostile neighbours is to reform the nation.
And nothing speaks more about this tension than the women of the land, who seem to fall into two camps: those who choose to hide their faces and ankles behind black veils, and those who flaunt whatever possessions and assets Allah has given them.
Which is the face of the Arab woman?
This morning, the media entourage went to visit the tomb of Sheikh Zayed, regarded as the man who founded the modern United Arab Emirates by bring seven small kingdoms together just over 34 years ago. Abu Dhabi is building a Grand Mosque just next to his remains.
The women among us were hustled out of the vehicle and told to wear a headscarf, take off our shoes and surrender our cameras. We, apparently, had to be separated from the men at the holy site and were not allowed near the tomb. We observed the ritual behind a veil in a tent.
Strangely enough, that gave me an idea of what it might be like to live in a sheikh's harem in the Arabic World. A woman is in that world but never really a part of it. And religion and theology trumps all else.
I wonder how long the place could stay the way it is before being taken over by faceless malls and buildings.
For now, swanky shiny office towers and million-dollar mansions speak for themselves and are a witness to the achievements of the Emirates, which have tolerated the Saudis' seizing of the fattest and best land in the Gulf.
It's quite a sight.
posted by Jean.Chua at 8:04 AM
1 Comments:
pretty ironic how things turned out to be huh?
Some arab throw their burkhas and veil away once they set foot on anohter country.
But the whole thing worked for them, so, who are we to complain?
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