My what is Showing ?

Restaurant covered in Ramadan lights

The door man at our hotel apartment cheerfully told us tonight..." only 10 more days of fasting and Ramadan is over". Ramadan is flying by so fast. It has been quite the experience to be here and witness Ramadan in full swing.

It is still a challenge to remember not to eat, drink or hold Jeff's hand in public during daytime hours,  but honestly, it has not been as hard as I thought it would be. But that does not mean that you can get sloppy. The local authorities are serious about catching and cracking down on Ramadan offenders of the law.

An friend of mine received a 200 dirham ticket (@ $54.00 USD) ticket for chewing gum in public at the local grocery store last week. The officer handed her the ticket, gave her a stern talk about Ramadan rules, then walked her to the garbage can to have her spit out her gum. She said, "I am 48 and felt like I was 10 all over again".

Another acquaintance received a modesty ticket, the first week of Ramadan, for wearing a t-shirt that showed her nipples. The officer stopped her while she was walking and said, "do you know what is showing ma'am ?" "No what, is showing," she asked. The officer continued, " I can see them". "Them what " she asked ? "Them" he said, as he pointed at her chest, making a circle motion with his hand. She just wanted to hear the officer say the word...nipple, even though she knew exactly what officer was talking about when he said "them".  It was 5:00 in the morning, she was walking her dog at dawn, and failed to slip on her bra. Lesson learned - you have to always remember, someone could  be watching or be offended at any time of the day or night.
The ticket was 100 ($27.00 USD) dirham for each nipple, 200 ($54.00) dirham total.

If you learn one thing from living here, it is ...the majority of us living in this exciting city of Dubai, are visitors. It is their country, their laws and we need to observe them to stay out of trouble and in harmony with the locals. Enough said....
 
Ramadan is festive, fun and as the days go on, there seem to be more and more bright lights popping up all over the city. The people of Dubai are serious about their white, twinkling lights. They put all of us Christmas light lovers to shame. It reminds me of Christmas, but on overload, super steroids. The white twinkly lights hang off , around and on poles, hang on signs, they cover windows, there are strands and strands of lights covering entire homes and businesses, hanging from balconies and lining the roads and highways.




 Even the McDonald's close to our apartment is covered in lights. It is quite a sight to see and makes me so happy.

To see the businesses and restaurants like the one below, it makes you wonder - how do they get inside? The lights cover all the doors and windows. The buildings are encased in shiny lights.


The city of Dubai is all a glow, all lit up at night. A building next to our hotel apartment has so many lights, it is does not get dark at night. After two weeks, all I can think of while trying to go to sleep - please turn out the lights ! Please, please, if only for one hour .

Okay, I wont complain any more... I can endure a few bright lights....only 10 more days.

The last day of Ramadan is August 18, which heralds in a huge three day celebration. It is a National holiday. Workers are excused from work to celebrate. Dubai will be holding one big, massive party and we are all invited to participate, as long as we all behave, play by the rules and keep certain body parts covered. I think I can do just that and have fun at the same time.
Ramadan Kareem !