DUBAI // Many people were up early on Wednesday to make the most of the four-day weekend and cooler weather.
The city’s parks and beaches were crowded as people enjoyed the first day of the four-day break. Eid Al Adha starts on Thursday.
Mother-of-three Nazia Sharif visited Al Barsha Park with her husband and children. The youngsters were happy to be able to play outside now the worst of the summer heat seems to be over.
“It’s been a long summer,” said the Pakistani. “It’s so nice to finally be able to get outside. I’m up early with the children anyway so even if it’s a holiday, we’re all awake.”
Her husband, Ali, a finance executive, said: “For me, I’m up at 5.30am so being able to get up at 7am is a late morning. When you have three children under seven you get used to every day being an early morning. At least now, we can take the kids outside. In the hot weather you just get sick of staying indoors.”
Helen Waterstone, a recruitment specialist from the UK, was wakeboarding off Jumeriah beach.
“My body clock is still in work mode so I woke up at 7am like a regular day anyway. It’s nice to be able to get on the water before all the jetskis and boats are out. It will be so busy at the beach over the next few days.”
Ms Waterstone and her friend Louise Richards, a primary school teacher, are regulars at kite beach where they practise their wakeboarding. “It’s one of the few activities you can do here even when it’s super hot in the summer, but it’s so nice to go out when the water isn’t too warm,” said the Briton.
Later in the day, as people prepared for family meals and celebrations at home, the emirate’s malls filled up with shoppers searching for last-minute outfits and gifts.
Iraqi student Razan Kurdi, 21, was trawling the stores at Mall of The Emirates along with her younger sister, Farah, for an outfit to wear to a family dinner.
“We have a huge family here and I haven’t had time to buy a new outfit. I have to get back to help my mum cook,” she said.
“The first two days of the holidays we usually spend as a family. At the weekend, we will do our own thing, but everyone is usually so busy that it’s a nice time to all sit down and be together.”
Engineer Mohammed Malibari and his family visited Dubai for the weekend from Doha. His wife and four young children stayed at the mall’s Kempinksi Hotel. “We wanted to be close to Ski Dubai because the kids love it here,” he said.
“It’s so easy for us to come here with the family as there are things on our doorstep when we walk out of the hotel.
“Eid for us is about being together whatever we do. It’s a special time, whether we see some movies, go to Ski Dubai or take the kids to the activity centres, there is so much to do here.”
mswan@thenational.ae