The island of Abu Dhabi was all but abandoned during the summer, when most of the population retreated to the oases of Al Ain or Liwa, but during the winter, housing on Abu Dhabi was predominantly barasti shelters, which, like the more substantial arish, were made with palm fronds. These also furnished the residents with mats for flooring.
"During winter," wrote Mohammed al Fahim in his 1995 book From Rags to Riches, "they were also fastened around the perimeter of the shelter to keep the cold shamal winds out and the warmth in. "We made do with very little, using the same things for a variety of purposes. "The woven palm mats, for example, were used for sitting, sleeping and insulating the tent. "Sometimes they were even fashioned into roofs for the huts."
When the men fished, it was the job of the women to look after the household and to fetch water from communal wells, carrying it in goatskin bags or clay urns and, whenever they were near an oasis, it was the women who climbed "the tall palm trees every day to gather dates for food". Food was scarce, recalled al Fahim, "but the women were very efficient at making the supplies last as long as they could. The fare consisted mostly of rice, fish, yoghurt and dates". The rice, imported through Dubai, came from India, the fish from the waters of the Gulf and the yoghurt from goat or camel milk.
Although some dates were grown locally, "Abu Dhabi island itself was barren at the time except for the occasional bush or shrub" and dates "had to be shipped in from Bahrain to meet our needs". Fruit and vegetables were scarce and meat rarely featured on the menu; animals were kept primarily for their milk. Dates, therefore - with a high calorific value and containing a range of minerals, including potassium, iron, phosphorous, magnesium, copper and calcium - played a vital role in the diet.
