The UAE: Pearl Diving, Falconry and the Fastest Transformation in History
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The United Arab Emirates in 1960 was a collection of pearling villages and Bedouin settlements along the Trucial Coast. Oil was discovered in Abu Dhabi in 1958. Within fifty years, Dubai had built the world's tallest building, Abu Dhabi had established one of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds, and the federation of seven emirates had the highest quality of life by many measures in the entire Arab world. The transformation happened within a single generation, and people who grew up in pearl diving communities lived to see their grandchildren working in glass towers.
Falconry — practised by Bedouin for over 4,000 years as a hunting technique in landscapes where no other method was effective — is the cultural practice that defines Emirati identity most durably. The falcon is the symbol of the UAE. Emirati men travel internationally with their birds seated in cabin class, with dedicated passports issued for valued birds by the Abu Dhabi government. The relationship between a falconer and their bird — built over years of daily contact, feeding, training, and trust — is one of the most intimate in the working relationship between humans and animals.
The majlis — the open sitting room where the host receives all comers, offers coffee and dates, and allows anyone to present their concerns — remains the foundational social institution of Emirati life beneath the glass and steel surface. Senior officials still hold majlis where ordinary people can appear and speak. The tradition of accessible, face-to-face leadership that the desert demanded from its chiefs has been maintained in the urban state that replaced the desert society.
