Photo/Alamy.ae
What were some of your hobbies growing up?
As someone who has lived in Dubai for four decades, I’ve watched my second home transition from a quiet, laidback desert city into a dazzling metropolis that attracts people from all over the world. But back in the ‘80s when I was growing up, life in Dubai unravelled at an unhurried pace. Kids who never dreamed today’s gadgets would exist, played for hours in sandy patches between their homes, marveled at the height of the lofty Dubai World Trade Centre, rode in their families’ cars to simple picnics at beaches and parks, and became overjoyed at the prospect of rain and ‘swimming pools’ in school grounds as winters rolled around.