Final project

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.