DUBAI // Fireworks displays, shopping festivals and cooling temperatures make staying in the UAE for the Eid holidays even more attractive this year.
In Dubai and Abu Dhabi, there are scores of events being held in shopping malls and tourist destinations for the family.
And temperatures have cooled to 34°C over coastal areas, making parks and beaches a more realistic option for many.
“This year I’m finding a lot of people are spending the holidays in the country and not leaving,” said Premjit Bangara, travel manager at Sharaf Travel, in Dubai.
“There is a big shopping festival with many events planned, so there are plenty of attractions to keep people in the country.
“Something we’re seeing this year is that people are bringing their families over from the subcontinent to spend Eid here.”
The biggest celebrations this year should be at the Eid in Dubai shopping festival, which started on September 25 and will run until October 11.
Most shopping centres will be open until 2am during the Eid week.
Many have staged special events to mark the occasion.
Ibn Battuta Mall has a comedy circus, which began on Thursday and will end on October 11, running between 4pm and 6.30pm.
There will be performances by the Ten Tenors from Sunday at 5pm, 8pm and 9.30pm.
Festival City will have traditional Emirati Yulla dancers every day until Tuesday. Mercato Mall will have a somewhat exotic range of live music performances, from Sunday at 5.30pm, 7pm and 8.30pm. It will include flamenco, a Michael Jackson tribute act, and a “ballerina doll”.
The temperature in the UAE is expected to reach about 34°C to 38°C on the coast, 35°C to 41°C inland, and 24°C to 30°C in the mountains, the weather bureau says.
Humidity is expected to reach a maximum of 70 to 90 per cent on the coast, 60 to 85 per cent inland and 55 to 75 per cent in the mountains.
A weather bureau forecaster said the temperature range was such that spending a significant amount of time outside during the day was not necessarily dangerous.
“At noon, yes it will be relatively hot,” the forecaster said. “But up until 11am or after 3pm, the temperature is more tolerable, because humidity isn’t that high.”
Malls in Abu Dhabi have their own range of activities planned. Alice, of the classic children’s story Alice in Wonderland will hit the ice this weekend at Marina Mall.
The Wonderland Show on Ice takes place daily at 5pm, 7pm and 9pm, until October 10, and is free.
World Trade Centre Mall will feature another classic character, Aladdin, in a play that runs tomorrow, Sunday and Monday on the first floor.
A Fantasy World of Aladdin runs daily at 7pm, 8.10pm and 9.30pm. The mall’s ground level will have Arabian characters, games stations and crafts for children from 6pm to 10pm.
Al Ain Zoo is open from 10am to 10pm, and is also celebrating Asian month during October, featuring cultural shows from China, India, Pakistan, the Philippines and Malaysia. Shows run at 4pm and 9pm on weekends, and zoo tickets are priced at Dh20 for adults and Dh10 for children aged three to 12.
Alberto Gianan, 38, a Filipino expatriate in Abu Dhabi who works in human resources, said he and his friends were going to Umm Al Quwain and then to Dubai. They went last year and loved it because of the “weather and sunsets”.
“It’s a nice place, that’s why we want to go back,” Mr Gianan said.
mcroucher@thenational.ae
lcarroll@thenational.ae
