Holiday Season

I return to Dubai once again at the end of a major Muslim holiday. When I first arrived in late September, it was the last day of Eid Al Fitr, a three-day holiday celebrating the breaking the fast at the end of Ramadan. This time I arrived for the last day of Eid Al Adha, a four-day festival celebrating the sacrifice and the end of the pilgrimage to Mecca. These occasions are marked by decorations in the green, white, red and black colors of the UAE national flag, including banners and festive strings of lights on many of the buildings.

As I was leaving the airport, I noticed a large crowd of families gathered at the airport carrying flowers and preparing to greet arriving travelers. I asked my cabdriver what was going on, and he told me they were there for the Hajj. The Hajj is the annual pilgrimage that Muslims make to Mecca, so these families were there to greet relatives who had made the pilgrimage and were returning from Saudi Arabia. I had seen some of these pilgrims earlier this month when I was in Heathrow, as they prepared to board a flight to Riyadh. They were easy to spot since they were wearing long white towels wrapped around their waist and upper body. I wondered what they would be wearing now but I didn't get a chance to see any of them coming out.

UAE National Day takes place tomorrow, December 2, and marks the formation in 1971 of the federation of the emirates which make up the UAE. Given the proximity this year to Eid Al Adha, the two holidays have been combined for a week-long break for public sector employees. The UAE was formed under the leadership of its first president, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who held this position until he died in 2004. The main road through Dubai is called Sheikh Zayed Road in his honor, with a huge portrait of him prominently displayed roadside. Driving by there today I noticed a new billboard with his picture, marking a national campaign in his honor called "Our Father Zayed."

One cannot help but notice, as soon as one turns on one's TV, that the world news is blaring about Dubai World's asking for a holiday on its debt repayment and the ramifications. As would be expected, the local media is downplaying these events and expressing complete confidence in Dubai's ability to weather the storm. Dubai World, which the government of Dubai made clear today is not its responsibility, is the commercial entity that includes Nakheel, the developer of the various island projects, including the Palm Jumeirah where yours truly now resides, as well as the Palm Deira, the Palm Jebel Ali and the World, which are under construction. Since Nakheel's name is all over the place where we live, we naturally had some concern that things might change in our island paradise, that we might come back to find foreclosure notices and service shutdowns. So far, all is well with no signs of distress. In fact, a nice albeit alcohol-free restaurant just opened next to the pool in our complex, with a terrific little gourmet market next door, which even sells newspapers! Life is good for now, as far as we can see.

On the other hand, Neal did notice several other lawyerly types on his flight back to Dubai, who were heard mentioning "ugly meetings" to come in the days ahead. Since lawyering must go on in bad times as well as boom, any downturn here may be good for the lawyer business.