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Be honest, most of us see Dubai Summer Surprises as fun, fun, fun with maybe a tad of shopping thrown in for good measure!
But my advice this year is to take just half an hour (or more if you can spare it) to learn something new about the heritage and traditions of the country we now find ourselves in.
Heritage Surprises theme makes achieving this even easier than usual with artisans demonstrating century-old traditions in shopping malls across the city.
Eye-opener
And as a Western expatriate, I can truly say the experience was eye-opening. A little difficult to converse due to the language barrier, I chatted with Barket who explained what the basket he was making would be used for.
Sitting on a brightly-coloured cushion, he said, "This basket can take anything up to seven days to make depending on the size. We use them to clean clothes and also infuse them with smells of Arabic perfume. The big holes allows the scent to soak into the robes leaving them smelling fresh and new.
"Baskets are very versatile and can be used for many things so you always know you are not wasting your time when you are making them."
Forgotten arts
The forgotten arts of ship making, wicker basket making, weaving, pottery and others are revived in the Al Ghurair Mall as part of the Heritage Surprises theme weeks. Next week they will feature at Dubai Festival City.
Barket added, "The first steps toward actually making the basket involve the base and a skeleton being formed.
"The number of basket weavers decreases with every passing year. The individual craftsmen are important because each one has his or her own style. When one dies or stops weaving, his or her style dies too.
"One day there may be nobody left who can carry out the weaving as the modern times take over. We should be careful of that and not allow it to happen. I would encourage everyone to visit a mall during to see some Arabic heritage - it’s important and can also be fun."
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