Dear Ali: My friends and I are driving to Qatar. Can you tell me, a non-Gulf citizen, whether I might encounter any problems? Are we even allowed to do this? AR, Abu Dhabi
Dear AR: First of all, good luck with your journey and enjoy your trip. Travelling by car is no different than going by plane in that you must apply for a visa. And then the process depends on your nationality. Contact the Qatari Embassy in Abu Dhabi. They will inform you of all the procedures you must follow. As you might have realised, you will need to go through Saudi Arabia to visit Qatar, so please make sure you are aware of our neighbouring country's customs, rules and regulations. Again, the Qatari Embassy will explain all of this to you when you apply for your visa.
Dear Ali: As a foreigner and a resident of the UAE, where can I purchase travel health insurance that my provider doesn't offer when I'm travelling outside the country? LH, Abu Dhabi
Dear LH: I have to say well done for preparing yourself for any unforeseen problem while abroad. Not everyone is so far-sighted. Your UAE medical insurance company might be able to offer such additional coverage. If you're with Daman, for instance, it is a reputable company. International general insurance companies such as AXA also have offices in the UAE and are similarly known to be well connected and reliable. Additionally, you might be able to get a good deal from your bank - HSBC, for one, has a wide range of packages. If you prefer to communicate and deal online, you might like to use www.columbusdirect.com/uae Have a good trip and all the best.
Dear Ali: I really like the UAE traditional yola dance. But I have never seen any women doing it. I would like to learn it and would love to meet people who can teach me. Can you help? PE, Dubai
Dear PE: This a lovely question. But I'm sorry to say that the yola dance is for men only. This is for many reasons, but mostly it is indeed a matter of tradition. The yola dance requires men to stand in a line together, facing another line of men who loudly chant lines of poetry. I'm sure you have been impressed by the back-and-forth movement of the hands and the head, and the men's ability to bend during certain parts of the poetry and music. It's not that woman are unable to do any of this, it's just that it's not part of our culture and our customs. Women do another type of dance referred to as na shaat. What happens here is that women who are blessed with long hair move their heads smoothly from right to left. The movement covers the sides of their face with their hair. My recommendation is you turn on your television and check out some local music and even follow the steps of the yola guys - but only at home. Feel free to practise it that way, but if you were to do so in public you would get quite a reaction. It would be like a man - a hairy man - trying to belly dance. Now isn't that quite an image?!
Language lesson
Arabic: Yaweela
English: Yola dancers
The word "yaweela" is plural for yaweel, which means a yola dancer. You may say to your colleague at work: "Entah etyool". "Entah" means "Do you" and "etyool" means "dance yola style?" Again, the dance is for men only.