Emirati Men

In a previous post I shared a photo of an Emirati woman who was wearing the older tradition of a batoola.  Also while visiting the International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition in September (at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center), near the Emirati women doing hand crafts, were some Emirati men.  They were seated near a small dhow (to scale, just not full size).  

I liked the buoy, which was made out of a gourd:

Which was sitting on top of a palm frond fishing basket:

Also next to the dhow, an older gentleman was making a fishing net. 

And this gentleman was making rope ... what a marvelous character!

Notice that it's not just the hands working the net or the rope, but the feet playing an important part in the creation of the net and the rope.

I really enjoyed this celebration of Emirati heritage, and this particular area of the event felt like a privilege, seeing people demonstrating their skills in traditional crafts, and willing to let you take photos and videos of them.