Westworld Alberta
Issue link: http://westworldmagazine.ama.ab.ca/i/40418
the precious gems, brought up by divers who made treacherous descents with little more than a nose clip, leather fi nger protec- tors and a five-kilogram stone to weigh them down. Today, the creek is quieter, but for wooden abras (rustic water taxis that carry people across) and the odd work boat. The maze of streets in the Dubai Souk on the west bank offers stands of inexpensive pash- minas and colourful Arab babouche shoes. It's also home to the textiles souk, where a dizzying array of shops pedals everything from bright silks to wildly printed jerseys. From here, we hop on an abra (25 cents) to the Spice Souk, where we encounter another slice of the Middle East of old. Great vats of spices, sea salts, dried herbs and loose-leaf teas greet us. The air wafts their collective musk. We circle the market once and then settle on the stall of an Iranian shopkeeper who charms us with his knowledge of Canadian geography and promises a big discount, "just for you." Grahaeme looks over a selection of pipes for smoking shisha, fl avoured tobacco, while I fi ll Ziplocs with cinnamon sticks, vanilla stalks, star anise, violet leaves, sun-dried limes and chamomile buds. The price rings up to $40, and we haggle it down by $10. But when Grahaeme's not looking, I slip the clerk another bill in exchange for a bottle of rose water tonic and a thick Egyptian kohl eyeliner, black as a desert night. IT'S 5 A.M. AND WE WAKE TO THE LYRICAL CALL to prayer. "Come to prayer / Come to success," sings the imam in Arabic over the loud- speaker from the nearby mosque. "A prayer is better than sleep." It's a fi tting start to the day since, after breakfast, we will be visiting the Grand Mosque for an hour of Islamic education ($3). The group organizing the excursion is the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding (SMCCU), a collection of Emirati volunteers whose aim is to intro- duce foreigners to Islam. Their "Open Doors, Open Minds" policy encourages dialogue, and they're quick to reassure us that there are no stupid questions. Islamic practice is strong in Dubai, as evidenced by the profusion of mosques (one every half-kilometre in residential areas), the scarcity of alcohol (consumption is only permitted in hotels and licensed residences) and the attire. While Western clothing is acceptable for visitors to Dubai, Emirati men wear the full-length, white kandura and women the black hair scarf and gown known as the abaya (not to be confused with the burqa, which is a face covering worn by some women, though the term is used erroneously in the West to describe the entire robe). There is an understated dignity to these clothes. Their clean lines evoke a modesty and equality between classes that is central to the Muslim faith, as we learn at the Grand Mosque from our two abaya-clad guides, who address the 60 or so foreigners gathered for the experience. In a series of elegant gestures, the guides take us through the steps of prayer: the wash- ing, verse recitation and poses that Muslims are required to practise fi ve times a day. Next, they explain the tenets of Islam, and it becomes clear how little the average West- erner knows about this religion. It's one in which charity plays such an important role that a mandated 2.5 per cent of each person's annual income is set aside for a cause of the individual's choosing. Guide Latifa Flook tells us that the month-long fast of Ramadan has many purposes, but among the most WESTWORLD >> SEPTEMBER 2011 35