As known to everyone, Dubai is located in the United Arab Emirates, yet it is very important to know that each emirate has its own history and atmosphere regardless the new changes after the year 1971.
Dubai's history can be traced to the pre-Islamic era when the Sassanid had it as part of the Persian empire, but then gave it up after their loss in wars against the Arabs. Yazdegerd III was the last member of the Sassanid dynasty who lost a 14-years struggle against the Arab invasion to Persia. As a result, everything that was under Persian control in the year 651 was set free, including Dubai.
In the year 1883, Dubai was ruled by the Al Maktoom family who arrived to it from Abu Dhbai and they were part of the Falasi tribe. Dubai consisted of sand dunes and a creek that divides it into Br-Dubai & Br-Deira, inhabitated by some few number of families that belong to the same one tribe who lived in tents and some simple houses made of palm trees. The ruler owned two small forts, one in Br-Dubai and the other one in Br-Deira.
An old picture showing the Arabs neigbhourhood in Shandagha, Dubai's Creek.
A picture showing the Al Maktoom fort in Br-Dubai.
In the year 1886, came a wave of Persian immigrants who left their homelands in Persia after refusing to pay anymore taxes to Nassirddein I of the Qajar dynasty that ruled Persia before the Pahlavis. Those Persian immigrants were named as the Bastakis, and Evazis.
The history of those Persian immigrants is full of historical events. They originated from centre Persia (cities of Yazd and also Shiraz), but they ran away to the Zagros mountains running away from the Shiite Safavids (dynasty that ruled Persia in the year 1501 AD) after being tortured by a number of huge massacres to force them convert from Sunni to Shiite Islam. They then established new small simple cities in the southern region of Persia but most of them left and immigrated to Dubai, Bahrein, and Kuwait all scattered here and there for a new better life away from the political pressure in Persia.
Check the link below for more info of the Bastakis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bastak
In the year 1886 AD, when the Bastakis arrived to Dubai, they took permission from Al Maktoom family to live in Dubai. They were given a piece of land to build their own houses (neigbhourhood). They named it Bastakiya after their hometown in Persia. There was approx. 50-60 xonaye badgir (wind tower houses) that only half of it survived after the Arabs decided to demolish it and build something else on it, and this is where the UNESCO interrupted and urged to stop such actions and recommended to turn it into opened museum since it carrys a very special and unique art of Persian architecture.
The Persian neigbhourbood of Bastakiya in Br-Dubai.
Inside the Persian houses of Xoneye Badgir of Bastakiya neigbhourhood
Another two photos showing the Balkon, and art of windows.
Untill the year 1970 the society of Dubai was divided into two sectors. The Arabs 30% of total population, and the Persians 70% of total population. Later on Dubai had other Arabs moving to live in it.
Arabs of Dubai were divided into two groups, the 1st were nomad living in the desert, and the other group were fishers used to go to the sea for months seeking for fish and pearls. The Arabs had tribical principals and style of living. Old women wore Burka, ladies are not allowed to leave their houses often much unless she is with a "me7rem" a person from her family. Men work all day to earn a living to support their families. Slavery existed between in the Arab society of Dubai. In Arabs weddings, men dance Ayyala and Liwa (both borrowed from Africa). Women are not allowed to dance, yet they ask the ones with bad reputation to do so. Women wears clothes with some art also borrowed from India, which they named Mokhawar, and they also have the Talli. Their life in general was simple and influenced by religion. Some local Arab families of Dubai are Falasi, bin Humaidan, Al Tayer, bin Lahij, bawardi, bin dalmook, Bin Selayyem, Bin hareb, Bodoor, Habtour and others.
Persians of Dubai were Sunni. Being non-Arabs, they had their own, traditions, heritage, culture, style of life, and language (Persian), which also had different dialects. Persians can easily be pointed in Dubai by looking at them. Tend to be tall, light skinned, some with coloured eyes, pointed noses, and they have an accent when they speak Arabic. They call themselves Xodmooni (x = kh خ), its a Persian word for "Family". In their weddings they have many traditions and folk dances such as Zengerdoon, Desmal (Desmal means the piece of cloth "mendeel", in this dance all men and women form a circle, hold each other's hands, each holding two desmals and singing a famous song and dancing around the circle with their children in the middle of the circle danding as well). There is also Qaval, and Pa Boland dances. Persians of Dubai are well known for being well educated, they used to send their kids to Persian schools in India to study Persian literature, English language, mathematics, and science. In general they are very smart merchants. They built the first two markets in Dubai (Suk Nayef, built by Farooq Bastaki) and (Suk Murshed, built by Mohammed Xaja (Khaja)) .. They built the first school (Ahmadiya School, built by Mohammed Zeinal), they built the first tunnel on Dubai's Creek to connect Br-Dubai with Br-Deira, sponsored by Ahmed Geladari. They built the first hotel (Jebel Ali Hotel, built by Yousef & Younes Baqer Bastaki). All business in Dubai was managed and owned by them, and they taught and supported their Arab mates how to start and establish a business. Ahmed Geladari helped the famous Arab merchant of Habtour family and the last now has his own empire. Some famous Persian families in Dubai are Falaknaz, Geladari, Bastaki, Boxash, Axond, Gergash, Xouri (Khoori), Awar, Kazem, Jouni, Fikri, Xaja (Khaja), Siddiqui, Badri, Evazi etc.
There is also a population of Africans in Dubai, but as I mentioned above, they used to work as slaves for the Arabs, but then set free.
Arabs and Persians of Dubai lived together on this land together, shared same sweet and bitter events of life. After the formation of UAE, and developments, Dubai was obviously is under Arabic control. As a result, the Persians of Dubai almost lost their whole identity after being Arabised in an indirect way, yet they still are referred as the Ajams (Persians), and they still practise few of their traditions in their weddings, but they are not allowed to practise their traditions in any national events, and speak Farsi is not so welcomed by the Arabs here nor using Persian names is welcomed too. The Persian neigbhourhood is being referred now as the "Arabic" neigbhourhood, and its architecture as an "Arabiab" architecture. There was some sort of way to try claiming that Persians of Dubai are originally Arabs (some sort of way to Arabize them), and the Persians chose to not protest for the sake of unity and avoiding any sectarian conflicts.
Dubai also has a number of Indians who lived here long time ago (100 years), and I dont think anyone knows this fact, nor all the facts mentioned above. I just thought I would like to share some very interesting facts of The History of Dubai.
And by the way, I am a Persian local citizen of Dubai from the Bastakiya, who's seeking to revive and gain back some of what is left from my lovely background. It makes me feel down and jealous to see Arab locals in the Emirates are free to show and express their tradition freely, where as Im chained from practising mine for the sake of the "loyality" to Arabism and nationalistic Arabic regimes that I dont belong to in race or heritage or culture, though I consider myself part of the whole Arabic region being an Arabophonic and a local citizen of a city ruled by Arabs, but I am also a human being from different backgrounds and I want to practise my culture freely like others do.
PS: Sorry for discussing an unrelated topic, but as you say in Lubnani "fashet khele2". Sorry Again.
The History of Dubai -
25th March 2006
Re: The History of Dubai -
26th March 2006
