A young girl reaches out to cool herself in the mist stream as the tourist train she rides quietly sneaks through the cobble-stoned streets at the Al Ain Zoo. I photographed her while shooting a small feature on Al Ain, an ancient oasis city on the Oman/UAE border.
Should you arrive in Al Ain during the day, you might wonder where did all the people go. The streets, bathed in the white heat of the Gulf sun, compel a quiet space to the few men still going about their business. If you however, stay awhile, you will discover that the sleepiness of the streets is matched by a tireless activity running just underneath the surface of what’s apparent.
Al Ain has these two energies that run concurrently and tie the city into a peaceful, calm, and yet an efficient and productive entity. Alongside the heated, placid facade, the life steadily pulses in the kitchens, hospitals, offices and in the back of the shops where tunics get their shape, while the indoor pools fill with resonant giggles of the youth.
As the light matures into a kind walking companion, these two tendencies seamlessly fuse to end the energetic dichotomy of the city. Streets get flooded by shoppers, parks and gardens blossom with families on their vivid picnic carpets, and the air swells with the aroma of foods and shisha.
By the next early morning, as you’ll walk by the busy bus station and across the lively vegetable and meats market your sub consciousness will had recorded the vibrant sounds and sights. And by the time the heat flares up, you’ll have the understanding of the never-ceasing purr of life that has just retracted from the unforgiving sun to temporarily polarize the city’s character again.
To see more images from my three-day affair with this quiet and, by UAE standards, lush city, please visit the National View, National’s budding photo blog.
