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From mother to daughter to granddaughter, generations of Emirati women have come to the Liwa Dates Festival to set up shop for their lovingly made crafts, clothes and food. The souk or traditional market, organised alongside the festival, from July 22nd till July 30th, is a festival in itself.

Under a large, air conditioned tent, the souk was built by the festival's organiser, the Cultural Programmes and Heritage Festivals Committee - Abu Dhabi, in the style of an Emirati market of the past, using palm tree wood for the shops and shelves, which were then decorated with meticulously woven Palm tree fronds.

Stopping by to have a closer look at the products, the shopkeeper, usually an Emirati lady, would greet her visitor and potential customer with Arabic coffee, tea, sweets and fresh dates.

"This welcoming is not a form of bribe, to make people feel they now have to buy something from us; they should buy because they like the products. No, offering these refreshments comes from the ancient Bedouin tradition of hospitality. In the past, when we used to have a guest, first we would offer him Arabic coffee, water and sometime fruit juice, and only then we would discuss business," explained Hameedah Al Mazrouei, a handicraft maker from Madinat Zayed, who is participating for the third time in Liwa Dates Festival's traditional souk.

A tray of Arabic coffee, sweet tea with milk and traditional Emirati donut style sweets is placed on her front shop table, among small bottles of oil perfumes, hand mixed by Hameedah herself. Emirati dresses with hand made decorations using motifs inspired by local heritage, for either women or girls, fill up the back of her shop, garments, along with perfumes, being some of the most popular products found in the souk.
"This year we have about 150 shops in the heritage market. They are all run by Emirati ladies from all parts of the country," said Obaid Al Mazrouei, Director of Liwa Dates Festival.

"There is no particular rule on on what items the ladies can bring to the souk, but since it's a heritage one, most objects are either traditional handicrafts or modern products inspired by Emirati heritage," he added.
Among the most successful combination of old and modern proved to be Salama Rashed Al Mazrouei's candles. Her Dar Al Aood shop is the only one in the traditional market to present candles designed with special motifs, from the portrait of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan to the logo of the Liwa Dates Festival.

"Actually, this is a question many people ask us: how can we burn a candle with the portrait of Sheikh Zayed on it? Well, these candles are not meant for burning, just use them like art objects, for decoration in the house," said Salama.
In fact, her candle collection at the festival is not for sale, but just for marketing purposes. A technique she mastered only recently, candle imprinting is the latest addition to Salama's printing handicrafts.

"I also do imprinting on various other objects, such as T-shirts and mugs. I can use one of my own designs or people can choose their own. The candles here are only to show people the quality of my work, but for buying they need to place an order," she explained.
Designed dresses and abayas, tailored in Al Ain, home mixed Arabic oil perfumes and house decoration items are also offered by her shop.
"We come from Abu Dhabi, where we make all these items in our home. Here, we are three generations of ladies - my mother, who started the shop, my grandmother, who has a home cooked food shop in the souk, and myself," said Salama.

Indeed, one of the "alleys" of the heritage market is dedicated to home made food. Most of the food is prepared at home, during the day and brought to the festival in the afternoon, when it opens to the public, at 4 pm. Although prepared by Emirati ladies, the dishes are not always traditional Emirati food. Stuffed pickled cabbage and vine leaves, cheese and vegetables pastries and even pasta dishes are sold mostly throughout the "food court".
Located in Liwa, in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi Emirate, Liwa Dates Festival is opened daily to the public from 4pm till 10 pm.

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