Eid camping in Dibba by Razan Alzayani

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  Zahra Al Balooshi, matriarch of the family, makes khobz regag by a camping stove. Khobz regag, an Arabian Gulf tradition, is a thin, delicate home-made bread.

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  Khadeeja Adis, an employee of the family, makes a pot of fresh tea on the evening before Eid.

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  Mahra Abdullah Ibrahim, 5, watches Qassim Mohammad as he dances to music blasting from a car stereo at their campsite in Dibba. Qassim has been working for the family for 12 years. "I came to them as a young boy, and have only danced twice during Eid," he says.

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  Hamad Al-Jasmi, 16 films his step-brother Abdullah Ibrahim, 29, on a mobile phone as he perform stunts on a dune-buggy at the family campsite. The family has two dune buggies and enjoy riding and bringing them to the beach during the holidays.

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  Leah Mariano, centre, a housekeeper for a local family, washes dishes with her colleagues Elina Talaboc, right, and Khadeeja Adis. "It's very exciting to get out of Dubai even if camping is hard work," Leah says.

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  Anoud Al Jasmi, 20, on the left, and Bedour Al Jasmi, 18 browse photos on a mobile phone while camping in Dibba. The sisters relax there by day and then sleep at a hotel near by at night.

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  Yaqoub Al Balooshi sits under an awning with his step-granddaughter Shaikha Khalid Al Baloosh, 4, and his grandson Abdullah Khalil Ibrahim, 8. In the background, Shihab Khalid Shihab nuzzles up to his mother Zahra Al Balooshi. This extended family, originally from Dubai, have been camping by the Dibba beach every holiday since 2009.

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  Mariam Ibrahim, 31, smiles after lifting a cage of young parrots into the sunlight. Mariam and her extended family, originally from Dubai, have been camping by the Dibba beach every holiday since 2009.

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  Hamad Al Jasmi and his mother Zahra Al Balooshi relax in the sunshine on the evening before Eid while Qassim Mohammad, one of the family's employees, sets up a television.

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  The Family Beach campsite the day before Eid. Families gather here to camp during local celebrations such as Eid and National Day. Before, families were allowed to camp directly on the beach itself, but because of pollution and disruption of the beach area during festivities, Dibba Municipality no longer allows it.

Dibba, a quaint little town on the eastern coast, attracts hundreds of visitors, mostly families, during Eid and National Day celebrations.

For many years UAE residents and Emiratis used to pitch their tents along the beach, waking up to salty fresh ocean air mixed with the familiar scents of cardamom, saffron and coffee brewing in tents.  In recent years, however, Dibba Municipality has banned tents on the beach because of excessive litter, and suggested that visitors camp instead in the open space near by.

Despite this new regulation, hundreds of local families flocked to the area for Eid, among them Yaqoub Al Jasmi, his wife Zahra Al Balooshi and their extended family. For the past three years the 16-strong family and six of their domestic staff have driven down from Dubai to mark celebratory occasions in the open air. There is ample room to roam, run and drive their dune buggies yet still maintain their privacy within the confines of their campsite, which is no doubt why this place retains its popularity year after year.

* Razan Alzayani, staff photographer