Dubai · Uncategorized

44 and Going Strong…

jacquelineobyikocha

1449243578992[1]

The past few days have been filled with lovely fun to-do’s.

It’s UAE’s (United Arab Emirates ) 44th National Day which is celebrated on the 2nd December of each year and several days following.

This is to mark their formal nationalization from a British Protectorate to the unification of  their Seven Emirates which consists of Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm al-Quwain.

Very grand celebrations are held across the country to mark the event. They don’t do things in half measures!

There are several activities going on all over the Emirates to mark this auspicious event. Fireworks, Car Rallies and Dance Shows etc.

People are dressed up in apparels sporting the UAE national flag colours, homes, work places,  cars and streets are all flying the flag to celebrate this big day with joy and happiness.1449243683713[1]

Heritage Villages are set up all over the emirates in order to celebrate this event traditionally. Holidays are given from the National Day until two days later. Air Shows are conducted on Abu Dhabi and Ajman Corniche while Military Processions are held at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition for the Rulers of the Emirates, Members of the Federal National Exhibition and the Emir Citizens.

For a Nation which started out as an utter dessert, they have not done badly, as a matter of fact, they have done a fantastic job of things and yet their push and progress is relentless.

Having meandered from Abu Dhabi; the sedate big brother in the house, to living in Dubai; the bold, glitzy and glamorous brother, to Sharjah, Ajman and Ras al-Khaimah; the rest of the crew, it’s a World of so many differences and textures.

It has been a beautiful day filled with camaraderie. People from all walks of life and 100 Nationalities are milling about in the city of glitz and glam.

I have seen more smiles in the past 2 days than in the 4 months that I have been here.

I even met a gorgeous looking lady from Mongolia and a couple from Tajikistan..Didn’t expect that and it took my brain a while to zero into Tajikistan on the globe.

Here are a few snippets of what I caught.

I hope they work. They were a bit finicky earlier.

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

Advertisement

Published by jacquelineobyikocha

A wordsmith with a vivid imagination, an eager mind and a burning desire to carve out tales. As I journey with my muse to that land of all possibilities and self discovery, I hope my personal evolution will serve as a beacon of inspiration for anyone who chooses to stop by.

19 thoughts on “44 and Going Strong…”

  2. I love a parade! Your photos are so clear and good. I have some questions of course 🙂 Are you visiting or do you live there? Who is the person with the white robe and orange vest/sash? Are the costumed groups in the parade from local schools and organizations? Do you know about the Mexican dancers…they have the bright ruffled dance dresses and sombreros. I wonder if they are with the Ballet Folklorico in Mexico City? 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. We moved here from Houston in July so in essence we are living here at this point in time The man is part of the security officers and the white robe or Thobe as they call it is their traditional wear, the vest is just to identify him. They have cultural heritage groups here so my guess is that the people in the parade are workers and cultural groups. The parade was for two hours and represented so many Nations.

      Like

      Reply
  3. The Reading Cottage: The Platform For Books, Feature Articles, Book Reviews, Interview, Culture, Lifestyle , Entertainment says:

    Thanks for sharing this interesting article Jacqueline. I wish African leaders will read it to inspire them towards Africa’s development.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thank you Bernadette ( I hope its okay to call you by name). I guess I am and my thoughts are to keep an open mind so that I can get the best of wherever I find myself and it has helped a lot in my sojourns in life. Have a blessed day today 🙂

      Like

      Reply

  7. The videos played fine, thanks for sharing them. I’m always so impressed with how clean everything is there. I found it interesting that on the American float, along with the Statue of Liberty was Hollywood…hmmm 😉 Great post, so enjoyed learning something new today!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

I love it when you decorate my heart with your words..

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s