| Learn some basic Arabic |
Basic niceties
• Hello - Marhaba
• How are you? - Kaif il haal?
• Good morning - Sabaah il khyr [kh=ch as in loch]
• Good evening - Massa'il khyr
• Greetings - A'salamu alaykum
• Welcome - Ahlan wa sahlan
• Goodbye - Ma'is salaama
• Sorry - Aasif
• God willing - Insha'allah
• Please (to a man) - Min fedlak
• (to a woman) - Min fadlik
• Thank you (very much) - Shukran (jazeelan)
• Yes/No - Na'am/laa
• I don't know - Laa aarif
• Who?/What? - Maadha?
• Where?/why? - Ayne/ Lee matha?
• How much? - Cost bekam?
• How many? - Kam?
• The bill please - Al Fatourah min fadlak |
• What's your job? - (to a man) Ma Heya wazeeftak?
• (to a woman) - Ma heya wazeeftik:?
• Where do you live? - (to a man) Ayne taskun?
• (to a woman) Ayna taskuni?
I live/work in…. - Askun/aamal fi….
• Congratulations - Mabrouk
• Happy birthday - Eid Meelad saeed
• With pleasure - Bikul siroor
• Have a good trip - Atamana lak rehla muafaqa
• Thanks for coming - Shukran limajee'ak
• Best wishes - Atyab al-tamaniyat
• Calm down (to a man) - Ihda nafsak
• (to a woman) - Ihdi nafsik
• When will I see you? - Mata sa'araak?
• Wait a little - Intazarni kalilan
• Can I help you? (to a man) - Mumkin saatak?
• (to a woman) - Mumkin saadik? |
Advanced plesantries
• Do you speak English? - Titkallam inglizi
• I don't speak Arabic - Maatakallam arabi
• Nice to meet you - Fursa saeeda
• What's your name? (to a man) - Ma Ismak
• (to a woman) - Ma ismik?
• My name is… - Ismee…
• How old are you? (to a man) - Kam oumrak?
• (to a woman) - Kam ourrik?
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| Check for the yearly city climate |
| MONTHLY CLIMATE |
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| MONTH |
TEMP oC/oF |
RAINFALL (MM) |
RELATIVE HUMIDITY |
| JAN |
23/73 |
11 |
71 |
| FEB |
25/77 |
38 |
72 |
| MAR |
29/84 |
34 |
68 |
| APR |
33/91 |
10 |
65 |
| MAY |
38/100 |
3 |
62 |
| JUN |
39/102 |
1 |
65 |
| JUL |
40/104 |
2 |
85 |
| AUG |
40/104 |
3 |
85 |
| SEP |
35/95 |
2 |
70 |
| OCT |
35/95 |
2 |
70 |
| NOV |
30/86 |
4 |
69 |
| DEC |
26/78 |
10 |
72 |
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| Get a UAE licence |
Up until a short time ago, Dubai was awash with independent instructors. But since the clampdown on road safety the only way to learn is with a large, government sanctioned school. Far and away the two most organized schools in Dubai are Belhasa School of Motoring and the Emirates Driving Institute. Your learning car is likely to be a Nissan Sunn or a Toyota Corolla, and you can choose to learn in a manual or an automatic. Both schools have a structured, professional teaching system and female instructors for women. Both schools also have the ability to issue your license from the traffic department so the process is relatively easy.
Belhasa Driving Centre
(04 344 0276)
Probably the best known school in Dubai, Belhasa uses clean and well maintained vehicles. They charge Dhs45 for a normal 45 minute auto or manual lesson. New drivers must take 40 lessons before they can take a test.
Emirates Driving Institute
Al Qusais (04 263 1100)
All the cars are up-to-date and they use a standard teaching technique. They even has a driving simulator to get you up to speed before letting you loose on Dubai's roads. They charge Dhs50 for a lesson in manual car and Dhs55 for an automatic. Again, like Belhasa the minimum number of lessons you have to take is 40.
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| Find used cars |
If you are in search of great deals travel to the Al Rashidiya exit on the Hatta Road where you will find the used car souk. This is where most of the smaller independent used car dealers have been gathered together. This has created a kind of car supermarket, where you can wander between loads of different dealers comparing vehicles prices.
Carwise
(04 340 0644) Open Sat-Wed 7.30am-5pm; Thu 7.30am-1pm; Fri closed.
A European favourite based in the Al Quoz industrial estate, near to Al Barsha and Umm Suqeim. They work on all kinds of vehicles and are happy to help new customers out. |
Icon Auto
(04 338 2744) Web: www.icon-auto.com
Open Sat-Wed 8am-6pm; Thu 8am-1pm;
Fri closed.
This busy garage specializes in tuning and modifying off-road vehicles, but is more than happy to do general servicing of four-wheel drives. If you're looking to jack up the suspension on your new Jeep, this is the place to go. |
Triple AAA
(04 285 8989) Open Sat-Wed 7.30am-5pm; Thu 7.30am-4pm; Fri closed
One of Dubai's longest-running garages and well known among the expat crowd. They specialize in Land Rovers, but are happy to work on anything else. |
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| Get info on taxes & bank loans |
Taxes
Taxes are not levied on personal salary income. A local municipality tax is tacked onto your monthly DEWA bill, which is around Dhs400.
Municipality taxes of around 30 per cent are applied on alcohol from liquor stores and service charges of around 15 per cent at restaurants are usually factored into the displayed prices.
Arab Bank
8002 7224
Maximum loan amount: Dhs250,000.
Interest rate: 11 percent per annum on a reducing balance basis
Loan payback duration: Six years |
Commercial Bank of Dubai
04 212 1000
Maximum loan amount: Dhs250,000
Interest rate: 11 percent per annum on a reducing balance basis.
Loan payback duration: 60 months |
HSBC
800 4722
Maximum loan amount: Dhs250,000
Interest rate: Applied on a case-by-case basis.
Loan Payback duration: Seven years (nationals), five years
(expatriates).
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Mashreq Bank
04 299 4233
Maximum loan amount: Dhs250,000
Interest rate: 11.5 percent per annum on a reducing balance basis.
Loan payback duration: 60 months. |
National Bank of Dubai
04 313 8888
Maximum loan amount: Dhs250,000
Interest rate: Interest subjected on company |
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Loan pay back duration: Six years (nationals), four years (expatriates).
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* All information correct at the time of publising - July 2007
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