UNITED ARAB EMIRATE

THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATE

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           Also called the Emirates or the UAE, is a country situated in Southwest Asia, bordering the Golf of Oman and the Persian Gulf. The UAE is a federation of seven emirates which are Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm al-Quwain. The capital is Abu Dhabi.  Each federation is governed by a hereditary emir, with a single national president.  The president is chosen by the seven emirs, one of them gets to be the president.  UAE is considered as the world’s sixth-largest oil reserves and has one of the most developed economies in West Asia.  Their official language is Arabic and their religion is Islam.  Human rights are legally protected by their constitution.  There is equality, liberty and freedom of speech and religion.  The UAE has a multicultural society.  There are same ethnic groups like the Iranians, Indians and Pakistanis.  Muslims are called to prayer five times a day. Their weekend is Friday-Saturday, as a compromise to Friday’s holiness to Muslims. Most men prefer to wear a white tunic (kandura) and most women wear a black garment covering most parts of the body (abaya).  The UAE people have adopted most of their foods from the countries around them.  Like in most of the cultures around the world, rice is one of their main side dishes and for centuries seafood has been the mainstay of their diet.  They also eat meat.  Lamb and mutton (is the meat of an adult sheep) are the more favored meats, then goat and beef.  They don’t eat pork but it’s offered at some hotels and also they may sell it at specific supermarkets.  Their popular beverages are coffee and tea which can be drunk with cardamom, saffron or mint for a different flavor.  Alcohol is only served in hotel restaurants and bars (but not in Sharjah).  Alcohol is also sold only on specific stores.  One of the UAE dishes include:  Machboos, is a popular dish mainly made from a mixture of spices, rice and meat (could be chicken, goat, lamb, camel, beef, fish and shrimp.  The spices for this dish are generally black pepper, cloves, cardamom, saffron, cinnamon, black lime, bay leaves and nutmeg.  They can also add almonds, pine nuts, onions and raisins. It can be garnished with home made tomato sauce.  There are many ways to cook the meat for this dish.  One of the ancient techniques is barbecued in a deep hole in the ground which is covered while the meat is being cooked.  Another way is to grill the meat on flat stones that are placed on top of burning embers and the other way is to cook the meat in a pressure cooker. Machboos is also kwon as kabsa in other Arabian countries.  Harees, is also a popular dish made out of wheat meat or chicken.  Al Jabab or Raqaq is a type of unleavened flatbread usually made from whole-wheat flour and baked on a hot iron griddle called a tava. Another type is a thin flatbread that is fried and puffs up while cooked.  Football is the most popular sport in the UAE. Other popular sports include Cricket and Camel Racing.

United Arab Emirates. (2012, june 25). Retrieved from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UnitedArabEmirates