“It’s a special day today,” piped BB at breakfast this morning. “It’s Dubai’s birthday!” To be precise, it was the UAE’s National Day today, marking forty-one years since the UK’s treaty expired and the separate sheikdoms decided to form an independent union.
Across the emirates, there’s been a celebratory mood for several days now, with lots going on. Then this morning I looked at my phone to find an inspirational text from Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum – it’s not every day that happens!
Having spent more time living in Dubai than anywhere else, my children were quite excited about ‘Dubai’s birthday’ (especially as it means two days off school!). BB made this at a Lego exhibition we went to today.
People decorate their cars and homes with the UAE flag – this was the flag at BB’s school. All the children wore national colours, or national dress, on Thursday to celebrate
At LB’s school they’ve been learning about the UAE for a few weeks now. I love listening to the class counting in Arabic and naming the seven emirates. I also thought this camel he painted was rather cute!