RELIGION, ALCOHOL, TIME DIFFERENCE, CURRENCY, PHOTOGRAPHY...

 

RELIGION

 

Islam is the official religion of the U.A.E. and is widely practiced. The Islamic holy day is Friday. Muslims are required to pray (facing Mecca) five times a day, these times vary. Most people attend prayers at a mosque but it is not unusual to find people praying in shops, malls streets or other public places if they are not near a mosque. It is considered impolite to stare at people praying, stand directly in front of those praying or to walk over prayer mats. The Holy Month of Ramadan is a special occasion for Muslims and is the time for fasting between the hours of sunrise and sunset. In the evening the fast is broken with a feast called Iftar. The timing of Ramadan is not fixed in terms of a western calendar. In 2009 will be around the middle of August. During Ramadan all restaurants, cafes and bars are closed during the fasting hours and smoking, eating or drinking is prohibited in public places as a sign of respect.

ALCOHOL

In Dubai, it is legal for anyone over the age of 21 to purchase alcohol at licensed bars, restaurants and some clubs. While there are “off sales” within Dubai they are for residents only and require a permit. You can of course bring your quota of duty free into the county when you arrive. It is worth mentioning that not all restaurants serve alcohol and to be honest unless they are an integral part of a hotel, they will only serve soft drinks. There is a ZERO tolerance towards drink driving and anyone found driving while under the influence of alcohol faces a fine, imprisonment or deportation, or any combination of them.

TIME DIFFERENCE

The UAE time is four hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time).

There are no special summer daylight savings times.

 

TIPPING

Most restaurants appear to include a 15% service charge. If this is not included in you bill then a normal amount to tip would be 10 to 15%, but this is not obligatory. Taxi drivers usually expect a tip and an average tip would be to round off the nearest 5 or 10 dirham note. It is always handy to have some smaller denomination notes in your possession when catching a taxi

WATER

There are huge desalination plants in Dubai and the tap water is perfectly safe to drink. Having said that, most of the residents in Dubai feel more comfortable with bottled water. On a self catering holiday there is absolutely no problem using tap water for cooking.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Visitors to Dubai have many great photo opportunities and you will no doubt want to return home and show you friends and family the wonderful time you had. Please bear in mind that some local people may take exception to being photographed wearing national dress without their permission. Therefore it is better not to take direct photos of local people, especially women, wearing national dress.

DRESS CODE

Many people still think of Dubai as a conservative city where women have to cover their faces and wear long black robes (called abaya). Nothing could be further from the truth. There is no need for women to cover up, but it is not uncommon to see some local or visiting Arabs from other countries observe this tradition.

In Dubai there is not real restriction on dress code. The Emirate of Sharjah is more conservative and men and women should dress appropriately. However topless sunbathing is a definite no-no and any clothing which is extremely revealing should not be worn.

With the fantastic climate in Dubai, shorts and T-shirts are acceptable as are dresses or tops with “spaghetti” straps. Of course you must take into consideration that when entering places frequented by Muslims, it is courteous to dress a bit more modestly than when in your own country. The Holy Month of Ramadan must also be taken in to consideration and more modest dress should be worn.

During the months where the temperature drops (October to May) it is often necessary to wear a light jacket or sweater in the evening.

If you go on a tour which may include some religious sites or building, check with the tour operator to find out if there is any special clothing which should be taken with you. The same applies should you wish to visit the world famous Burj Al- Arab hotel for afternoon tea or have a meal there, they have a strict dress code, so well worth checking first.

CURRENCY

The currency in Dubai is the Emirati Dirham and is pegged to the US $. It is commonly referred to as either the AED or Dhs. when shown on price tags or menus. The dirham is made up of 100 fils and the coins are 5 fils, 10 fils, 25 fils and 50 fils while the denomination of notes is AED 5, AED 10, AED 20, AED 50, AED 100, AED 200, AED 500 and AED 1,000. It is better to have a selection of smaller denomination notes available for cheaper items and taxi fares.

BANKING AND MONEY EXCHANGE

Exchanging money or travelers cheques in Dubai is an easy process but be warned that individual banks operate different working hours. Most visitors use reputable money exchangers who are located through out Dubai and some of the major shopping malls. One tip is when you see a large queue at a money exchanger then it most likely offers a slightly better rate of exchange than its competitor. A lot of the major shops in the larger mall will even accept foreign currency, but make sure you get a good rate of exchange. Normally the money exchangers give a similar or better rate of exchange than the banks.

All the major credit cards are widely accepted in Dubai and many outlets still require a signature and chip and pin.

As in all major cities, ATM’s are available throughout Dubai and the other Emirates.

SHOPPING AND BUSINESS HOURS

These tend to vary quite a bit in Dubai but the “rule of thumb” for the main shopping malls are 10 am until 10 pm with the larger ones staying open until midnight at the weekends.

The majority of shops operating outside the main shopping malls are open from 9am to 1pm and then again from 4 pm until 8 or 9 pm. On September 1, 2006 the government changed the weekends to Friday and Saturday so you may find some of the smaller shops closed on Saturday.

Major supermarkets such as Spinneys, Choithrams and Safeway open from 8am to 10 pm 7 days per week.

Specialist activities and tourist attractions have varying hours of operation and it worth consulting them first to find out when they are open to any avoid disappointment.

DRUGS

BE WARNED, Dubai has a very strict policy of zero tolerance for drugs with penalties being extremely harsh for possession of the slightest amount of an illegal substance.

Certain medicines do require a prescription and some medications while available in you home country may banned in Dubai. Unless you can produce an official prescription or letter from you doctor do not bring them into the country. To be on the safe side if you take any prescription medicine take the prescription form with you. It is very infrequent that visitors are taken to task on this issue but when it happens the media tend to make it very news worthy.