parties

I fear that sometimes I may paint a dour portrait of the Emiratis--but there are some instances where they really shine. One tradition (I don't know exactly how far back this 'tradition' goes back--it could be as far as 100's (fires around tents) or as few as 10...I'll look into it) holds that when a girl is to be married her family lights up their home in a public display of festivity. Just down the block from our villa is currently a fantastic representation of that. You should notice that it's not just the exterior wall that's lit, but the entire (enormous) villa as well.

So it's

not doing much for their carbon footprint, but it is kind of fun!