Interview Report

For every nation there are special kinds of sports that are invented for entertainment and recreation. These activities often reflect the spirit of the people and they honour the nation’s customs and traditions. The environment produces sports and activities and gives them their own distinctive flavour based on these customs, traditions and even folklore. The United Arab Emirates has many popular activities that were a part of this heritage and are now part of our popular culture.

To learn about the past I spoke to one of my neighbours. He was so happy to talk about the old days which were a very beautiful and unforgettable time of his life. His name is Mohammed Alali. He is a 70 years old man from Umm Al Quwain. Mohammed started by saying that it is a great honour when young people ask him about the old days and how our grandfathers used to live and enjoy their activities in the past. He said that he spent most of his life fishing because it was one of the best sources of income in the old days and even nowadays. He said that before fishing he used to dive for pearls. At the encouragement of his grandfather diving for pearls became his hobby from the time he was a child.  His grandfather would tell him how beautiful the pearls are and how they need strong men to extract them from the sea. He went on to tell me about how sad he was when Japan began to manufacture pearls. He realised how it affected the economy because the natural pearls were so expensive compared to the manufactured pearls. I asked Mohammed if he tried any other sports. He explained when he used to travel with the sheikhs from Umm Al Quwain to Falaj Almualla it could take 3 to 5 days by camel. Because of these long journeys he learned to hunt with falcons both as a sport and a source of food. Fishing, pearl diving and falcon hunting are activities deeply rooted in our national heritage which many people still enjoy today.