This is a Squiz Kids podcast.
Your fresh take on what's happening in the world around you.
Each fortnight, we give the world globe a spin and see where we land.
Then we take the kids of Australia and the world on an audio excursion to visit that country and its people.
I'm Christy Kidgerina, and today on Squeeze the World, we're visiting a country where robots race camels through the desert, where people ski and meet penguins indoors while it's scorching hot outside, and where skyscrapers rise beside ancient traditions that stretch back hundreds of years.
Can you guess?
Strap yourselves into the Squiz Kids Superfast Supersonic Jetliner as we take off and take a squiz at the United Arab Emirates.
Just the facts.
The United Arab Emirates, or UAE for short, sits on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East, where desert sands meet warm blue water.
It shares borders with Saudi Arabia and Oman and stretches along the coast of both the Persian Gulf, which is sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, and the Gulf of Oman.
And where those waters meet sits one of the most talked about places in the news lately the Strait of Hormuz.
Does that name sound familiar?
Huge oil tankers and cargo ships carrying fuel and goods from around the world pass through this narrow stretch of water.
Because the UAE sits right beside it.
When this sea gate gets blocked or busy, the whole world pays attention.
It's one of the reasons this small country is often part of very big global conversations.
The UAE is made up of seven areas called emirates, which you can think of as seven mini kingdoms working together as one country.
Each emirate is ruled by a leader called a sheikh, a word that can mean leader, elder or tribal chief.
Each emirate's capital has the same name as that emirate.
So the capital is Abu Dhabi, while Dubai is the most populous emirate and city, famous for its towering buildings, giant highways and buzzing airports.
The rulers of the seven emirates work together on big national decisions like defence or foreign affairs, while each emirate also looks after many of its own local rules and services.
That's one reason different parts of the UAE can feel surprisingly different, from giant modern cities to quieter, more traditional places.
The UAE's southern and eastern ends stretch into the Rub al Khali, or the Empty Quarter, one of the largest sand deserts on Earth and a place so remote that it earned its name for a very good reason.
But this country is more than dunes.
There are mountains in the north and east, hundreds of islands along the coast and oases where underground water allows farms and date palms to grow in the middle of the desert.
The UAE has no permanent rivers at all.
So where does the water come from?
Some comes from underground water stores and seasonal rainfall, but much of it comes from giant desalination plants that remove salt from seawater to make fresh water for homes, schools and cities.
Oil processing helped transform the UAE incredibly quickly, especially in Abu Dhabi, which has some of the world's largest reserves of oil.
But places like Dubai made a big bet that the future couldn't rely on oil alone, and they invested heavily in tourism, in airlines, businesses and giant building projects to attract people from all over the world.
And that helps explain why the UAE feels like such a fascinating mix of old and new.
Now that we know where the UAE is and how this designation works, let's explore the people traditions, beliefs and everyday life that make the Emirates such a fascinating place to live.
Let's get cultural.
Before giant skyscrapers and shopping malls, life in the UAE looked very different.
Long ago, many people living inland were Bedouins, desert communities who travelled across harsh landscapes with camels, following water, trading goods and surviving in one of the toughest environments on earth.
Hospitality mattered enormously.
Visitors were welcomed with food, shelter and stories, because out in the desert, kindness can make all the difference.
Along the coast, life centered on fishing and pearl diving.
Before oil was discovered, pearls were one of the UAE's biggest industries.
It was exhausting and risky work, and many old forts and watchtowers were built to protect trade routes, ports and precious water supplies.
Even today, traces of this older world and its hospitality still shape everyday life.
Traditional clothing is still commonly worn too.
Men often wear a long white robe called a candura, sometimes with a tassel called a taboosh, which is kind of like a necktie, while many women wear a flowing black abaya.
But you'll also see jeans, sneakers and everyday Western clothing, especially in cities.
Dressing modestly and respectfully is generally seen as important.
And here's something fascinating.
Although the UAE has Emirati traditions stretching back hundreds of years, Most people who live there today weren't born there.
The UAE has one of the highest expatriate populations in the world, meaning that people move there from other countries to live and to work.
Families from India Pakistan Bangladesh, the Philippines Britain Egypt, Australia and many more places call the UAE home.
Becoming an Emirati citizen, though, is quite rare.
Most Emiratis are born citizens, and citizenship is not usually something people can easily apply for.
Why does that matter?
Well, because Emirati citizens often receive benefits that many of the expats don't, including things like government-supported healthcare education, housing help and employment support.
Meanwhile, many expat families live in the UAE on visas linked to their jobs, to study or to family members.
Religion also plays a big role in life in the UAE.
Islam is the official religion and mosques are an important part of many neighbourhoods and daily routines.
But because the UAE is home to people from all over the world, you'll also find churches, Hindu temples, Sikh gurdwaras and other places of worship.
Some nearby countries take a stricter approach to religion, so the UAE's openness to different faith communities sometimes raises eyebrows across the region.
So, whether your family has lived in the Emirates for generations or arrived from somewhere else in the world, one thing that many kids still have in common is school.
So what's it like to be a student in the UAE?
Let's find out.
It's...
Time for school!
One of the coolest things about school in the UAE is that your classmates could come from all over the world.
Because many people move into the Emirates, school can feel incredibly international.
Schools in the UAE usually run from Monday to Friday, with the school year beginning around late August and stretching across three terms.
Uniforms are common and because temperatures can get seriously hot, the school day often starts fairly early.
On especially warm days, sport or outdoor activities might happen indoors or earlier in the morning, because the desert heat really kicks in later on.
And while schools might look familiar in some ways the classrooms playgrounds, homework and school assemblies there are also differences.
Emirati citizens can attend government schools for free, while many expatriate families choose private or international schools.
That means some kids follow different international curriculums depending on where their family comes from or what kind of school they go to.
Even in international schools, students often learn some Arabic and about Emirati culture and history.
And lunchtime, that can be a mini world tour all by itself.
One lunchbox might hold sandwiches or fruit, another rice and curry, or noodles, hummus, flatbreads.
Schools in the UAE have also been encouraging healthier eating in recent years, with limits on some sugary drinks and junk food.
And once the school day is done, Plenty of kids swap classrooms for football pitches, cricket fields, horse riding swimming, martial arts or even desert adventures, which sounds like a perfect excuse for.
What do Formula One cars, robot camel jockeys and falcons all have in common?
Somehow, the UAE.
This country loves hosting the world and mixing ancient traditions with futuristic fun.
Big sporting events regularly land in the UAE.
Formula One cars roar around racetracks in Abu Dhabi, while tennis cycling, horse racing and football tournaments attract athletes and fans from all over the world.
But long before giant stadiums and roaring race cars, sport in the UAE was still very important.
Take falconry, for example, the ancient practice of training falcons to hunt.
Long ago, Bedouin people relied on these fast flying birds to help find food in the desert.
And today, falcons are still hugely respected and are even the UAE's national bird.
Then there's camel racing.
Yes, actual camel racing.
Camels thunder across desert tracks at surprising speed.
Now.
Children used to jockey on these camels, but today racers use tiny robot jockeys controlled remotely by trainers much safer.
And if watching sport isn't enough, the UAE also loves adventure.
Think dune bashing across giant sand dunes, skydiving over palm-shaped islands and giant mountain ziplines.
And if that sounds big, bold and just a little bit over the top, wait until you hear about some of the record-breaking things this country has built.
It's time for...
Believe it or not.
If the UAE had a motto, it might be go big and then go bigger.
This is a country that seems to love giant ideas.
Take the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world.
It stretches a dizzying 828 meters into the sky.
So tall that on misty mornings, the top can sometimes poke out above the clouds.
And because the UAE can get seriously hot, many giant attractions are indoors.
Dubai is home to one of the world's largest shopping malls, a place so enormous it feels more like a mini city than somewhere to go and grab new socks.
And then there's Ski Dubai, an international ski slope where people can ski, snowboard and even meet penguins, while the outside temperature can soar above 40 degrees Celsius.
For a country that's built in the desert, the UAE has become very good at dreaming big and keeping cool.
After all that skyscraper spotting, skiing and giant adventures, I'm really hungry.
We've made it to...
In the UAE, dinner tells the story of deserts, oceans and people from all over the world.
Long before the giant cities appeared, food in the Emirates was shaped by land and sea.
Inland Bedouin communities relied on foods that could survive harsh desert life, including dates rice camel, milk and meat.
Along the coast, fishing and pearl diving communities ate plenty of seafood fresh from the Gulf.
Over time, traders travelling through the region brought spices and flavours from places like India, Persia and beyond, meaning dinner in the UAE became a tasty mix of influences.
One dish you'll often find is much boosts a fragrant rice dish, often cooked with spices and served with chicken lamb, fish or seafood.
If you've got a sweet tooth, there's lokaimat, little crispy dough balls drizzled with sticky syrup.
You might even spot the now famous Dubai chocolate, a modern sweet treat invented in Dubai that mixes chocolate, pistachio cream and crunchy pastry inspired by Middle Eastern desserts.
It's exploded across social media, turning a local idea into a worldwide food craze.
Yum.
Time for the quiz.
This is the part of the podcast where you get to test how well you've been listening.
Question number one.
How many emirates make up the United Arab Emirates?
Excellent work, people.
If you said seven.
Question number two.
What is the name of the tallest building in the world found in the UAE?
Music Good work if you knew that it is the Burj Khalifa.
Question number three.
Oh, this one's a true or false question.
Dubai chocolate is an ancient traditional Emirati dessert eaten for thousands of years.
Ah, that is in fact false.
It is a recent trend, very popular on social media.
Yay!
Well, that's all we have time for today.
Thanks for staying curious about the world and joining me on this incredible trip to the United Arab Emirates.
Now, get out there and have a most excellent day.
Over and out.
