I have talked with Mr. Mused on
sports now and before and asked him some questions. Concerning my first
question which was “what traditional sports were played in the UAE in the
past?”, he said that people in the UAE before used to do sports such as camel racing,
horse riding, falconry, hunting with dogs, sailing and boat racing.
Mr. Mused mentioned that there
have been changes to sports in the UAE. Despite the fact that there have been a
massive advancement in a variety of aspects in the country (especially after
the oil was discovered and the union was established), people still go to the
desert to enjoy different types of sports and activities besides doing modern
activities. The UAE pays a great attention to the traditional activities and
organizes competitions to revive them. Such competitions are organized
nationally and internationally on an annual basis.
Then he continued to talk about chivalry.
He said that chivalry is closely related to the unique culture and traditions
of the UAE. It represents the lifestyle of people in the desert. Horse races
used to be done in the past to bring celebrate social occasions. UAE nationals
are known for this sport, and they have an excellent reputation in this field.
The ruling family (Sheikhs) supports this sport and they are known for their
interest in this field.
The UAE has a lot of horse stalls
and stables that were designed to match the international standards. They also
have a lot of Arabic horses that are known for their endurance, intelligence
and being tamed by humans. They are also appropriate for long endurance races.
Horse related sports have been improved from the past until now.
People in the past used to go
fishing, pearling and diving. Those marine activities were a part of people’s
life before. Marine and water sports are important in the UAE. Because of the
country’s geographical place that stands on the Arabic Gulf, a good environment
is created to practice water sports. Other reasons that encourage doing these
sports include the suitable weather and warm water. The UAE now is the best
place to enjoy various water sports and host other activities such as Volvo
ocean race and Formula 1 boat race. Those sports now attract a lot of people
from all over the world to visit the UAE. Other water sports that are available
now are swimming, snorkeling, rowing and diving. The difference between those
sports now and before is that people before used to do them for entertainment,
but they are done on a professional level.
The most water common activities
are the sailing races. In the past, sailors used to run racing activities at
the sea. They used to sail back an forth in the middle of the sea. They also
used to reward the winner with simple things. Losers were normally assigned
tasks to do such as cooking the fish or cleaning the boats. Nowadays, those
races are mostly run as championships. In the past, local boat riders of the
local area used to compete together, but now the UAE coastal areas welcome boat
riders from all over the world.
