Bedouins in the Mall

Bedouins in the Mall,

Bedouins or 'people from the desert'.....

First, you have to realize that barely 20% of UAE inhabitants are true 'natives', whereas Indians by far make up the largest minority group of 50% in the UAE.  Add to that a sizeable community of other Arabs and Europeans.  You can easily state that UAE is truly a multi-ethnic & cultural country.

The native population of the UAE have their origins, not surprisingly, from the desert......they used to be nomadic, herding their flock of sheep to green pastures all over the desert, and slowly but surely they have become rather more semi-nomadic, settling down along the coastline. 

Ofcourse in this modern era, you can count on your fingers the numbers of UAE Bedouins who are still dwelling around in the desert. The UAE government with its nearly unlimited treasure cove of money is doing a good job of taking care of their 'citizens', ...e.g.: free healthcare, free schooling, fee housing....you dig it, lots of benefits, thus the Bedouin's don't need to roam around the desert anymore....cushy.

UAE's citizens are proud of their heritage and it shows, whenever and wherever possible they display their culture, music for the masses to admire.

Which brings our household to this blogpost  

As we were wandering around in the one of so many countless shopping malls of the UAE, we were treated to a Bedouin drum session.

Don't ask me now what it was about, but it sure was fascinating to watch, .....the systematic, repetitive drumbeats got us enthralled and if one closes their eyes for a moment, they can easily imagine themselves out there in the desert, experiencing Bedouin's folklore music at its finest.

I'm telling you, nothing beats a drum session like that...!!