The culture of Dubai, an
emirate
An emirate is a territory ruled by an emir, a title used by monarchs or high officeholders in the Muslim world. From a historical point of view, an emirate is a political-religious unit smaller than a caliphate. It can be considered equivalen ...
of the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...
. Simultaneously, increasing globalization and the
settling of various immigrant groups have transformed the city into a
melting pot of different nationalities and have given rise to a cosmopolitan culture that is in sync with other
global cities. The UAE culture mainly revolves around the religion of Islam and traditional Arab culture. The influence of Islamic and Arab culture on its architecture, music, attire, cuisine, and lifestyle are very prominent as well. Five times every day, Muslims are called to prayer from the
minarets of mosques which are scattered around the country. Since 2006, the weekend has been Friday-Saturday, as a compromise between Friday's holiness to Muslims and the Western weekend of Saturday-Sunday. In 2005, 84% of the population of metropolitan Dubai was foreign-born, about half of them from India.
["Country and Metropolitan Stats in Brief]
MPI Data Hub The city's cultural imprint as a small, ethnically homogenous pearling community was changed with the arrival of other ethnic groups and nationals—first by the Iranians in the early 1900s, and later by Indians and Pakistanis in the 1960s.
History
Laid-back attitude
Due to the touristic approach of many Dubaites in the entrepreneurial sector and the high standard of living, Dubai's culture has gradually evolved towards one of luxury, opulence, and lavishness with high regard for leisure-related extravagance. A combination of local prosperity and visions of a Dubaian tourist Mecca by successive Dubaian rulers have resulted in numerous forms of infrastructure that caters to self-indulgence, coziness, and a pleasurable sense of living the high-life.
Prosperity
The process of urbanizing Dubai with futuristic architecture has led to derivative terms iconizing Dubai as the world center of pioneering, ultramodern and cutting-edge buildings. This design has been described by some publishers as a blueprint of state-of-the-art aesthetic contours along with record-breaking ornamental features and technology, which is a model to be followed by other nations. The present participle "Dubaizing" and other Dubai suffixed lemmas have become neologisms in other regions indicating prosperity.
[Dubaization of Istanbul: insights from the knowledge-based urban development journey of an emerging local economy, T Yigitcanlar, M Bulu - Environment and Planning A, 2014]
Art
See also
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Culture Village
The Culture Village (aka Jaddaf Waterfront) is a multi-purpose development project located in Al Jaddaf, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, along the shoreline of the Dubai Creek on a plot of land. When completed the village will include a harbour, cu ...
*
Dubai Culture and Arts Authority
The Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) is an authority under Government of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, which works in preservation of the cultural heritage and support of cultural scene in Dubai.
History
Established in 2008 by M ...
*
DUCTAC
Dubai Community Theatre & Arts Centre (DUCTAC) is a non-profit community center based in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, hosting events program, courses and art exhibitions. Founded in 2006, the DUCTAC was located in the Mall of the Emira ...
References
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