By Team FoodeMag: Ramadan Mubarak to all of you! This is a very special time of the year – a bit of introspection and a sense of reflection of who we are and how we lead our lives. Do stay tuned for our daily Ramadan stories and share your stories with us using the hashtag #ramadanwithfoodemag. Our first story is about SMCCU’s cultural meal experience that we had with them very recently. Our video below captured Fathayah Younis, a presenter at SMCCU, as she shared her thoughts on Ramadan and the etiquettes for non-Muslims living and visiting the UAE. You can also book into their immersive Ramadan Iftar experiences where you will begin the journey of “breaking of fast” at SMCCU’s traditional houses in Al Fahidi Historic District, taste local Emirati dishes and learn more about the holy month of Ramadan and the tradition of fasting with their wonderful Emirati presenters. A tour around the sikkas of the historic district and a visit to the Al Farooq masjid will be followed by a tasting of local desserts and an open Q&A session. We bet this is one experience that you don’t want to miss!
Located at the Al Fahidi historic district, the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding (SMCCU) offers a range of cultural and culinary activities – from traditional Emirati cuisine to conversations in order to give both the expats and tourists an insight into the otherwise close Emirati culture. Their motto “Open Doors, Open Minds” does exactly that as we learnt in one of our cultural meal sessions at SMCCU. We not only had a taste of Emirati cuisine inside the traditional houses of SMCCU but also had an insightful post lunch interactive cultural conversation with our wonderful host Fathayah Younis. She took us through a captivating story about the bedouin coffee etiquettes still followed by the locals and enthralled us with the traditional costumes, the cultural differences between the UAE and the other Arab nations as well as cultural significance of the holy Quran. Signing up to one of the SMCCU’s programme is a must do for any Dubai or a UAE resident and anyone visiting.
The Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding opened its doors officially in 1998, where expatriates and tourists could learn about the Emirati culture and way of life. Due to some of the qualities of the welcoming, local population preferring a quiet, shy way of life and enjoying their habits and customs, an opening of the doorway was needed to bring the two together.
THE SMCCU is located in Villa No 26, in a beautifully restored wind tower house in the historic Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood in Bur Dubai
A Cultural meal for a private group under way. Cultural Breakfasts are available every Monday and Wednesday at 10:00am; Cultural Lunches every Sunday through Thursday at 1:00pm; Cultural Dinners every Tuesday at 7:00pm; Emirati Fuala (Afternoon Tea) every Tuesday and Friday at 4:30pm; Cultural Brunches (Morning Fuala) every Saturday at 10:30am
Fathayah Younis, presenter at SMCCU explains the local clothing etiquette and the use of ‘niqab’
For more info on RAMADAN CULTURAL IFTAR 2019:
The gathering for the Iftar Events will commence approximately 30 minutes before the call to prayer every evening. Program is daily from 7:00 pm until 9:00 pm except Fridays. Advanced booking is required.
Duration: 120 minutes.
Cultural Iftars at SMCCU start from 6th May 2019. For further details and bookings, contact SMCCU at [email protected]. Information on SMCCU’s other programmes are available in their website www.cultures.ae
Disclaimer: All images and videos have been taken by team FoodeMag.