the earth ink

The air, still and heavy with silence, oddly reminded me of the unused water cooler in the office today. An evening walk on the Abu Dhabi Corniche proved to be a beautiful idea during the first days of Ramadan. Traffic was infrequent, the walkway far less crowded than normal, and the air was less hot than the hair dryer heat that gushed at me between the office and my car this afternoon - now cooled by troughs of  evening  that floated inland from the Arabian Gulf. There is something different in these breezes that permeate the air: tinged with a sense of peace and a reflective atmosphere that accompanies the quiet street corners. It's the start of Ramadan, the Holy Month on the Islamic lunar calendar. The Islamic calendar doesn't follow an annual cycle directed by the sun. Rather, months are determined by the cycle of the moon. In the UAE, a moon siting committee stands watch over the religious holidays and announces them officially a day or two before the holiday arri...

Brunch. The word is nearly synonymous with community. A brunch brings people together. It honors its guests with flavours and friendship. People gather around food to share and communicate - and some of life's most intimate moments are exchanged over a meal. In the United Arab Emirates hotels know how to do brunch well. It's a Friday brunch - Friday is the first day of the weekend in the Arabian Peninsula. Gathering together for a fine food frenzy is an award for reaching the end of the work week and a beautiful way to celebrate the weekend, among other things. Extravagant and artful culinary displays thoughtfully adorn every corner of chosen resort restaurants. Flavours and colours allure the eye as much as they tantalise the tastebuds and entice every patron's nose with fragrant and bold aromas. Sensational seafood, mounds of cheeses, grapes, nuts, endless roasts of lamb and fine cuts of Australian beef, turkey, chicken, shawarma, salads, fruits, breads, alongsid...