Hatta- The Falaj

I am now in LOVE with dates, as I eat them everyday here in the Arabian Peninsula. As one of the only native fruits that grow here in the UAE, and they have a truly incredible story. The female Arabian Date Palm tree produces about 190 kg of dates each year. They are grown in a falaj, which is a interlocking system of canals that are used to get water to every tree on the farm. The way the water is channeled causes the trees to sometimes grow in interesting positions, as you can see in the pictures.

The Arabian Date Palm trees need about 70 liters of water every two days in the summertime to survive. The dates they produces are about 70% sugar and contain lots of nutrients, making them ideal for Muslims to use when breaking their fast during Ramadan.

Hatta

Last week, I took 60 fifth-grade students to Hatta, on the border of the United Arab Emirates and Oman.Hatta, an enclave of Dubai emirate, is in the middle of the Hajar Mountain range. It has amazing sand dunes and is basically isolated in the desert. Tiny Hatta was once an important source of tobacco, as well as a vital staging post on the trade route between Dubai and Oman.

We stayed at the Hatta Fort Hotel, and did lots of exploring through the Hajar mountains. Our explorations including finding Arabian toads, visiting a traditional falaj, or Arabian Date Palm Farm, and looking for fossils of ancient mollusks (also known as Gastropods) in the desert. We also had an Arabic themed dinner, in which we all dressed up in traditional garb. It was a truly amazing field trip, and I was reminded how wonderful our students actually are!

Dont worry, I do NOT dress like this all the time!

Me and the Hajar Mountains

Hard to see- but this is a small Arabian toad that just morphed from the Tadpole stage

Another good shot of the Hajar Mountains

Awesome Kiddos! :)

The Fish Souk

My friends and I visited the fish souk, where there is a weekly spread of every kind of fish you can imagine! Located in Diera, the fish souk According to GulfNews, 1400 tons of fish are sold in the UAE every year. We went around 5pm on a Friday evening, and bought some dried shark, octopus, and red snapper. We then made a delicious meal to celebrate making it out of the stinky and somewhat slimy fish market alive! :)