The Culture and Arabian Traditions of the Dubai Museum
The Dubai culture and that throughout the United Arab Emirates reflects the culture you will find at the wonderful Dubai Museum. Dubai itself is a very busy place with visitors coming in regularly from all over the world to conduct business and to vacation. Dubai is a Muslim city and reflects the traditions and influences of Islam, as well as, the cultures of Persian and Arabian ideology.
The Dubai Museum reflects those cultural traditions. Hospitality is one very important feature in the Dubai culture and you will definitely see it in the way visitors are treated in the museum and throughout Dubai. At the museum the tour guides are friendly and helpful reflecting the values of the Emirates. Many tour guides know more than one language other than their native tongue. They thankfully can go back and forth with ease when giving tours to groups where there is a mixture of languages spoken. They can quickly adapt to adjust to the needs of their group which reflects the importance of hospitality to them. Family and children are important to Muslims, so they will be patient and polite with yours.
The Dubai Museum is inside of the 19th century Al Fahidi Fort which was built around 1799. The museum is thought to be the oldest building still standing. Before becoming a museum, it was the house for rulers of Dubai and the seat of the government. Parts of the fort were built on in recent years and construction projects were completed in phases.
The interactive museum has many colorful dioramas which house the working models with life size displays. These models vividly depict life before the oil days. The museum was opened by the Ruler of Dubai in 1971 to help present the traditional way of life in the Emirate of Dubai. The museum covers about 4000 square meters and reflects the heritage of Dubai through its history and culture.
The heritage of the emirates and the history of Dubai are very important reasons for the existence of the Dubai Museum. That history is reflected in the exhibits throughout the museum. Since the Museum was originally a fort quite a lot of history from that remains as one of the exhibits of the museum. The Al Fahidi Fort was a square fort with towers on three corners. You will still see a reconstruction of the old city walls. It was built of coral rock and mortar. The fort itself reflects part of the history of Dubai and is part of their heritage. The main fort is a museum that holds many military items on display. Two cannons guard the main gate and proudly display the flags of Dubai and the United Arab Emirates.
Keeping in touch with their history and archeological findings is an important part of their heritage and helps remind the people of Dubai where they are headed. The people of Dubai have a plan and each step they take draws them closer to achieving that plan. In 2008, they launched the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum believed Dubai’s culture plays a critical role in achieving the vision for their strategic plans for 2021 to enhance their position as a global city with a creative and sustainable power by putting forth their culture, their heritage, their literature and their art. This will help to develop innovative and creative projects that aim to empower each area whether locally, regionally, or worldwide.
The people of Dubai are very concerned with their heritage as it reflects in their culture and the Arabian traditions. You will see this not only through the displays their selves, but in the way the staff at the museum interacts with visitors of the museum. The pictures hanging in many of the galleries in the museum show their heritage and history from the Creek, architecture, traditional Arab houses, gardens, and so much more.
The Dubai Museum has some of the most prestigious exhibits in all the world on display there.
The Quran itself prevents certain behaviors as unacceptable and is their guide as to how they conduct themselves each day. This reflects in the way they dress and interact with visitors. It is considered very important that they dress modestly, especially the woman. You probably will never find someone at the museum ever using curse words in your presence because this is not allowed.
They consider it very important to make visitors and strangers to feel welcome. This is conveyed throughout the museum and Dubai. Two very important virtues in the Dubai culture is courtesy and hospitality. Visitors are always made to feel welcome. Certain customs you will see observed is that men always stand when a woman enters the room. If someone from a a higher ranking enters the room they stand.
Men will probably not try to shake your hand if you’re are a woman because most Muslim woman prefer not to shake hands with people of the opposite sex. They consider it bad to point not only their fingers but their feet. If they offer you something to eat or drink it is considered rude to refuse. However, you should only eat with your right hand.
The people of Dubai do not make loud noisy distractions because it is considered to be rude. You should find people in the museum to be quiet and to move around respectfully. You will not see anyone there from Dubai pointing in your direction either. The staff will not interrupt you when you are speaking because it would not be respectful to do so and very insulting to do with a stranger or visitor.
