The unprecedented heat, which settled this year in European countries, caused many inhabitants of our continent to reconsider their vacation plans. Sighing in the heat, Europeans forgot about their careers and business and went to travel agencies, whose advertisements promise to “enjoy paradise” on the beaches of exotic countries. However, the heat obviously had a depressing effect not only on the physical health of the tourists, who were exhausted from the weather anomaly, but also caused some of them to forget the simplest rules of decency. If they break them in their homeland, they are owed at least a fine.
A recent incident in the famous resort Jumeirah (UAE) turned into a real scandal, when a young British woman, melted on a beach under the rays of the hot Arabian sun, felt too lazy to put on her swimsuit top and was to the hotel almost naked.
The inhabitants of the city, who became involuntary witnesses to this “gorge”, literally bombarded the editorial offices of local newspapers and magazines with letters, expressing their dissatisfaction with the “familiarity of foreigners, who do not want to respect neither the customs nor the religious feelings” of the natives.
A 35-year-old woman, who lives in Dubai, called the Gulf News newsroom. She was outraged by the fact that foreigners not only dress defiantly but also behave unseemly in public places. “Last year, during the holy month of Ramadan, when all believers are fasting (editor’s note – During the fast Muslims are ordered to refrain from eating, drinking and sexual intercourse during the day) – under the windows of the office where I worked, crowds of foreign women strolled, dressed in bikinis, and chewing hamburgers… How can we respect people after that, who do not want to know anything about our customs?, – he asked himself. – I think that our authorities are also guilty in the situation that occurred in the country, they hardly react to what happened”.
Hulud, a 23-year-old student from Sharjah, has a different opinion. “I think fines won’t help. The authorities need to educate people through the media.” He also added that most of the foreigners, whom he knew, respected the Arab and Islamic culture but, nevertheless, “some of them, being ignorant or inattentive, ignore all the requests and prohibitions and behave like that, as if they were in the patio of his house”.
An Italian teacher, Alessandro, who comes to the United Arab Emirates every year, agrees to put up signs on all beaches and public places, which would inform foreigners about what not to do. “I often see naked women sunbathing on the grounds of the Jumeirah Beach Park hotel,” he said. “I think they should remember what country they are in and pay attention to the reaction of the hotel servers and other people who are around the hotel for different reasons.”
“If I were a member of the administration, I would post ‘No Nudity Entering Territory’ signs everywhere. I would also jail everyone who breaks this rule for half a year, as required by local law,” he said. the guest from Italy.
A visitor to a blog on the Gulf News site Abdulrahman, who lives in Dubai, writes the following: “Imagine, in France, a ‘civilized’ European country, a considerable part of which is Muslim, the authorities make women appear in public places without a hijab. They motivate their decision as follows: the French apparently “do not want to accept the customs of the minority”, who are allowed to show themselves in much more strange and closed clothes… Meanwhile, they come from holidays in The “guests of Europe” from the United Arab Emirates not only violate the customs of life on the territory of our Muslim-majority country, but also challenge the entire Islamic society, declaring about the “backwardness of the Islamic world “, which is expressed only in the fact that we do not want to see naked, drunk people under the windows of our houses, who behave worse than animals”.
The inhabitant of misty Albion evidently did not expect such an impetuous reaction to her “topless” walk. She was very confused and told a Gulf News correspondent that she felt “completely embarrassed.” “I knew I shouldn’t be walking around town looking like that, but I lost my swimsuit top and decided it wouldn’t be too bad if I got to the hotel without it,” she said. Also at night there were not many people on the beach and when I met men I covered my body with my hands.
The head of the Dubai municipality, Ahmad Abdulkarim, believes that due to the growing flow of foreign tourists and also Europeans and Americans, who are actively buying properties in the UAE, the country’s government should seriously think about teaching newcomers rules of behavior. in the UAE. where the absolute majority of the population confesses Islam and clings to certain traditions, including those of dress.
At the moment, guests from European and American countries are offered only small brochures, in which, among other recommendations, it is timidly suggested “not to show yourself naked in public places.”
The executive director of the Department of Tourism, Ali Abdulrahman, states that “compared to the other Emirates, the people of Dubai have the most tolerant attitude towards the ‘clothes of foreigners, which are more open than traditional clothes.’ considered permissible, but on the street guests are obliged to observe a certain dress code”, – he said.