England

Arabian Desert
Desert Sunset
4x4

Camel Farm
Camel Ride
Shisha
Henna

Arab and Muslim Dress
Buffet Dinner
Belly Dancer

Arabian Desert Camel Ride

This was our Desert Safari Tour into the Arabian Desert. Dubai is actually in the desert, so you don't have far to travel to get there. On this tour, we rode in 4x4's over the sand dunes with a few stops along the way for photos. We stopped at a camel farm on the way to our dinner and belling dancing show. When we arrived at our destination, we were able to take a short camel ride, dress like Arab's or Muslim women, try shisha and henna.

Most tours start in the afternoon, somewhere between 2p-4p. This is due to the heat as Dubai sometimes gets as hot as 125F-130F during the summer months. While we were there in April, the temperature was already 95F-100F during the afternoon. After 4p, it starts to cool off a bit by the time the sun sets, it was very pleasant.

Arabian Desert: Some photos at one of our stops during our jeep outing.

Desert Sunset

4x4: These photos show the 4x4's going over the dunes as well as a rest stop.

Camel Farm

Camel Ride

Shisha: Smoking strongly sweet flavored tobacco through a water pipe. We had apple flavored tobacco which was very tasty and present to smell.

The history of shisha goes back to the northern parts of India which was part of Persia (now known as Iran). Tobacco used to be smoked in coconuts. Later, wealthy Persians gave hookah the appearance they have today; they were designed to smoke opium, and hashish. The hookah made its way from the Persian Kingdom to other parts of the Persian empire which also included India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, much of Middle Asia and Arab parts of Northern Africa.

Today the Hookah is a smoking pipe used worldwide. The term “shisha" is primarily used for water pipes in Egypt and the Arabic countries of the Persian Gulf (such as Bahrain, UAE, and Saudi Arabia). It is referred to as Argileh in Arab Mediterranean countries.

Henna: Henna body art is made by applying henna paste to the skin making a red-brown stain. Henna paste is made from dried leaves of the Henna plant.

The photos show Chris having henna applied and what it looks like when done. After about 30 minutes to an hour, the henna paste can be removed leaving an orang-ish colored stain on the skin. The final picture shows the brown color of the henna stain the next day. The henna will not wash off and lasts about a week.

Arab and Muslim Dress: According to Allah and the Qur’an, (the Muslim Bible) “one must lower their gaze and be modest”. Specifically, it says: "Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that will make for greater purity for them; and Allah is well acquainted with all that they do. And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; and that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what must ordinarily appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their chests and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers and family members.”

Buffet Dinner

Belly Dancer: After dinner, we were treated to a Belly Dancer. At the beginning of the show, they set fire to a wooden plank in the sand.

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