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10 features Emirates

01.09.2006
Author: Tatiana Kholodkevich
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Buying property abroad inevitably makes a person a deep dive into the lifestyle and traditions of a country. The new location is inevitably accompanied by stress, which is now called "culture shock." We were surprised by everything from unusual food and ending with the mentality of the population.
In comparison with many other countries of the world, adaptation in the UAE is not so problematic. The Emirates is a young formation, open to modern trends so much that Islam failed to preserve social foundations and norms. Nevertheless, the dominant religion largely determines the character and lifestyle in this new El Dorado, while its new inhabitants bring with them numerous national and cultural features that, like spicy seasonings to the main dish, give the country a special uniqueness and penetrate into all spheres of everyday life.
Making a decision to buy a property in the UAE will be the beginning of the most interesting adventure even for a person who has traveled a lot. We have selected for you 10 of the most striking features that a newly minted property owner will certainly have to face.

1. Climate
Even in the Far North, summer is not expected as much as in the UAE – winter! Even the native inhabitants of the country flee from the summer months, preferring the coolness of England or the soft breeze of the Cote d'Azur. This year, a law was passed prohibiting the work of builders in the hottest time of the day. Indeed, for people from northern latitudes, the ability of a person to engage in physical labor at +50 C and 80-100% humidity is fundamentally incomprehensible.
Accordingly, there can be no question of staying outdoors: tennis and golf, safari and motorsport, fishing and diving, picnics and walks in the park are postponed until mid-autumn. However, do not be so upset if circumstances force you to be in the Emirates in the summer: traffic on the roads is less intense, and traffic jams are becoming rare, besides, in the hot months, the government of Dubai opens a shopping festival, which means discounts of up to 70% in shopping malls, special offers from restaurants, hotels and spas.

2. Cultural diversity
Representatives of all nationalities that one can imagine live in the Emirates. Every culture contributes to the life and style of the country, because Irish pubs, Italian pizzerias, Lebanese bakeries, Iranian and Palestinian cultural clubs, Russian shops organically coexist here – and all this against the background of mosques and Arab villas. Often the conversation begins with the question "Where are you from?", turns into a discussion of cultural peculiarities and ends with a conversation about mutual acquaintances. The local population is tolerant of foreigners, and in general, the UAE can be attributed to very friendly countries.

3. Language
The official language of the Emirates is Arabic, business correspondence is conducted in it and most of the documents in state institutions are executed in it.
However, for business and life in the UAE, it is enough to learn English, which is the working language of the country. It is not customary here to compete in the degree of purity of the English language, the main thing is to achieve understanding with the interlocutor. Rather, an advanced graduate of the language faculty will remain misunderstood, whose ornate grammatical constructions and rich vocabulary will only confuse those who only need to know a few hundred simple expressions - sellers, gardeners, gas station attendants…

4. Religion
The Emirates is an Islamic federation characterized by extreme liberality towards other religions, except that there is no synagogue here. There are many Christians living in the UAE, who, for example, can attend both Catholic and Orthodox services in Dubai.
Islam regulates all aspects of the life of Arabs who can observe traditions more or less carefully: some Arabs will not greet a woman with a handshake, explaining that they have no right to touch someone else's wife, while others will be happy to keep you company in a bar.
Europeans are invariably surprised by the presence of separate queues for men and women in institutions. Women avoid unnecessary attention, besides, their turn always moves faster, because the ratio of men and women in the UAE is ten to one!
As a rule, Arabs observe prayer time, so it would be a big mistake to settle near a mosque: the first prayer begins at 5 am, followed by four more. Do not be surprised when an Arab colleague takes a rug in the office and goes to pray in another room. You may face problems if you are caught harassing an Arab woman, trying to start and maintain a conversation with her, or, worse, touching her, openly or secretly photographing her.
Although clothing is democratic in the Emirates, you should not abuse the tolerance of the owners: too open a dress for women can cause harassment or cause discontent and abuse - the day will be spoiled.
Such advice can be continued, all of them will be conditioned primarily by common sense, which is based on respect for religion and etiquette of the country that has opened its doors to us.

5. Work schedule
Government institutions in the Emirates have a work schedule closely related to Muslim traditions: they work from 07:00 to 14:00, their days off are Thursday and Friday.
Until recently, private companies operated either in the European style (from 09:00 to 18:00 with an hour break for lunch), or in Arabic (from 09:00 to 13:00, then a break until 16:00 and resumption of work until 19:00). Most of them also worked on Thursday, although some of them had their working hours shortened.
However, in July 2006, the decree of the ruler of the UAE was issued on the unification of the work schedule of companies, so that from September 1, all firms are required to switch to the European style of work, as well as provide employees with two days off - Friday and Saturday. This innovation makes international cooperation more convenient and allows employees to fully recover after a busy working week - one day was clearly not enough!
Thursday evening is a celebration of the end of the week, when Emirati residents meet with friends, go dancing and have fun. On this night, the traffic on the streets will dissipate only in the morning. On Friday, many turn off their mobile phones, because in Europe they do not know that this is a holy Muslim day and the only full-fledged day off when they want to relax and not talk about business.

6. Holidays
There are few public holidays in the UAE, but the holy month of Ramadan, which is tied to the lunar cycle, deserves special attention. This is a sad time for Europeans: restaurants and cafes open after sunset, rarely where alcohol is sold, Europeans are recommended to dress more modestly. It is also forbidden to eat and smoke in full view of Muslims, even in your own car or on the terrace, not to mention the street! At this time, the number of accidents increases, which is most likely due to the weakening of the attention of Muslims who abstain from food and water throughout the day.
Catholic Christmas and New Year are celebrated: many Europeans take a short vacation at this time if they receive the support of the company's management.

7. Transport
In the Emirates, you should immediately think about buying a car, since public transport is poorly developed, and a trip on it will not give pleasure to a European. However, the government is working towards improving the transport system - for example, a subway is being built in Dubai, where, by the way, "women's cars" will also be organized. It is worth noting the low cost of taxi services, besides they practically do not have to wait - this is every fifth car.
Mirrored and dense tinting of car windows is allowed only to Arab women who hide their face behind it. It is better for everyone else to tint the windows within the norm (35%) to avoid fines and problems with the traffic police.
The Emirates is probably the only country in which diesel fuel is more expensive than gasoline. This is explained by taking into account the consumption per number of kilometers.
The quality of roads never ceases to amaze even after several years of living here - as well as the carelessness of drivers. You should be extremely careful on the roads - and do not forget that driving after a glass of beer can end in deportation!

8. Real estate
All real estate transactions in the UAE are carried out through agencies, the conclusion of a transaction directly between the buyer and the seller is excluded. In addition, the developer's prices will not be lower than the cost of a similar object from the agency, so it makes no sense to act directly.
Residential real estate has a high level of quality and comfort, a swimming pool and a gym on the territory of a house or villa are not uncommon. You will be pleasantly surprised by the number of bathrooms assigned to each room.

9. Domestic help
As a rule, there is a maid's room in the house, which is called "maid" in the English manner. Indeed, in this climate it is impossible to do without regular care of the house. You can put a servant in the house, and in this case her salary will be no more than $ 300 per month, the services of a permanent nanny will cost the same, you will pay half as much to the incoming gardener.
The real invention of the Arabs can be considered the position of "office boy". These employees carry out small tasks in the office – clean, serve coffee, copy, deliver documents. Thus, employees are not distracted by activities that are not part of their direct duties.

10. Food products
In supermarkets, you can find any product that you may need. There are specialized counters of Japanese, Chinese and other food. In a separate room, you can choose pork products. In addition, there are two Russian stores with a wide assortment in Dubai. Alcohol for a home bar can be bought in liquor stores ata license that is quite easy to issue. Alcohol is sold without a license in the Emirate of Ajman.

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