Beniyas Square?
I saw my first blooming flame tree about a week ago. This happens as the seasons begin to turn. Dubai has four seasons: warm, hot, unbearable, and summer, and we're moving right along in the general direction of summer, as indicated by the blooming flame trees.
Today, I had lunch with a friend at the DNATA office near the Clock Tower, an excellent meal for about €2.60. Then I proceeded to what the sign says is Beniyas Square. Most people call it Nasr Square, but most streets and squares in the UAE have at least two names, just like the songs in Through the Looking Glass.
In English-speaking countries, most of the inhabitants speak English and most signs are in English, but in the larger cities, there are always neighbourhoods with other alphabets and ideographs. I wandered through several such cities, through neighbourhoods where the signs were all in Cyrillic letters, or all in Arabic letters, or all in Chinese characters (but, of course, once I left those neighbourhoods, the signs returned to 100% English).
In the UAE, though, the majority of the inhabitants are not Citizens, though I strongly suspect it to be the case that the majority use the Arabic alphabet (but complete transparency is as common in the Gulf as snow, so we'll never know the alphabet used by the majority of UAE residents; the Arabic alphabet is used by all Arabs, as well as by all Iranians and by Muslims from the sub-Continent, and I believe these three groups together comprise the majority of UAE residents).
But in Beniyas Square, I saw at least three alphabets and additional ideographs mixed together. There are a lot of Chinese establishments, with signs in Arabic, Chinese, and English. Some have also added Cyrillic, if they expect to deal with Slavic customers.
I found shops filled entirely with imports from China, as one now does throughout the world. And, between those shops, a small Syrian juice and schwarma stand, where I had a very refreshing glass of freshly squeezed orange juice, a glass badly needed after walking too far in the heat with an overweight backpack containing my purchases from several of the Beniyas shops.
Today, I had lunch with a friend at the DNATA office near the Clock Tower, an excellent meal for about €2.60. Then I proceeded to what the sign says is Beniyas Square. Most people call it Nasr Square, but most streets and squares in the UAE have at least two names, just like the songs in Through the Looking Glass.
In English-speaking countries, most of the inhabitants speak English and most signs are in English, but in the larger cities, there are always neighbourhoods with other alphabets and ideographs. I wandered through several such cities, through neighbourhoods where the signs were all in Cyrillic letters, or all in Arabic letters, or all in Chinese characters (but, of course, once I left those neighbourhoods, the signs returned to 100% English).
In the UAE, though, the majority of the inhabitants are not Citizens, though I strongly suspect it to be the case that the majority use the Arabic alphabet (but complete transparency is as common in the Gulf as snow, so we'll never know the alphabet used by the majority of UAE residents; the Arabic alphabet is used by all Arabs, as well as by all Iranians and by Muslims from the sub-Continent, and I believe these three groups together comprise the majority of UAE residents).
But in Beniyas Square, I saw at least three alphabets and additional ideographs mixed together. There are a lot of Chinese establishments, with signs in Arabic, Chinese, and English. Some have also added Cyrillic, if they expect to deal with Slavic customers.
I found shops filled entirely with imports from China, as one now does throughout the world. And, between those shops, a small Syrian juice and schwarma stand, where I had a very refreshing glass of freshly squeezed orange juice, a glass badly needed after walking too far in the heat with an overweight backpack containing my purchases from several of the Beniyas shops.
posted by Dubai@Random at 11:06 pm
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