DSF 2013 presents a different side of Dubai at Heritage and Diving Village
The culture, cuisine, heritage, tradition and talent of the UAE are on full display at Dubai’s Heritage and Diving Village during this year’s Dubai Shopping Festival, bringing a touch of history to the month-long celebration of “Dubai at its Best”.
With DSF 2013 focusing on the city’s historic lifeline, the Dubai Creek, this old part of Dubai where the city started as a pearling and trading settlement is now presenting residents and visitors a facet of Dubai that is not available at the malls or the decked up cobbled boulevards surrounded by iconic high-rises.
Every evening during DSF 2013, stalls come to life at Heritage and Diving Village with Emirati women selling an array of delectable traditional snacks and dishes that they prepare on the spot. Old timers gather around a log fire at another corner done up like a makeshift Bedouin camp as they exchange pleasantries over traditional coffee. Blacksmiths smelt iron at another part of the venue to make sickles, tools, pots and pans, putting this traditional skill on display for guests just as model makers and other skilled artisans work away in their own stalls.
To round off the heritage experience, a group of men perform the UAE’s folk dances on a makeshift stage, twirling their sticks and traditional weapons with expert ease. Meanwhile, working away at his little stall made of sticks, an artist records scenes and sceneries of Dubai with his paints and brushes and makes portraits of visitors as curious and impressed children look on. Combined, all these activities make the Heritage and Diving Village a must-visit part of DSF 2013 that presents a refreshingly different side of Dubai.
Emirate: Dubai
Date: Jan 11, 2013
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