Unpacked by Afar | Travel Smarter, More Responsibly

Welcome to the fourth and final episode of a four-part Unpacked series on Dubai travel, this time focused on Dubai culture. People love to say the city is all shopping malls and construction cranes, so guest host Nicola Chilton sets out to prove that wrong with two guests who are keeping its heritage alive in very different ways. First, Nicola talks with Dr. Azra Khamissa, a Canadian-South African chiropractor, designer, and henna artist who moved to Dubai in 2001. Azra explains why henna matters at weddings, Eid, and Ramadan, and how it led her to research and practice heritage crafts: talli, a hand-woven trim of silver and gold thread that can take weeks to months to make for one dress, and al sadu, the loom weaving used for tents and camel bags. She also shares how Talli Circle, her community workshop series with Dubai Culture, began after hundreds of younger Emirati women told her they wanted to learn, and where to go to experience Dubai culture as a visitor. In the second half, Nicola is joined by Butheina Kazim, the Emirati founder of Cinema Akil, the region’s first independent art house cinema, in Alserkal Avenue. Butheina traces its path from a nomadic pop-up to its current iteration, explains why she thinks of Dubai’s audience as a “five-hour flight radius” of cultures, and describes building a majlis-style cinema with seats salvaged from a demolished Bur Dubai theater. Missed the series? Start with Nicola’s story in episode one, then hear about hospitality in episode two and food in episode three. Every episode is filmed in the same Dubai studio, so you can watch as well as listen on YouTube. THIS WEEK’S GUESTS Dr. Azra Khamissa is a chiropractor, designer, and the artist behind Azra Henna. Raised in Canada and South Africa, she has lived in Dubai since 2001 and now researches and teaches traditional Emirati crafts, including through Talli Circle. Butheina Kazim is the Emirati founder of Cinema Akil, the region’s first independent art house cinema, which opened in Alserkal Avenue in 2018. Cinema Akil hosts festivals including Reel Palestine and Arab Cinema Week, and a second screen operates at 25hours Hotel. PLAN YOUR OWN DUBAI TRIP Start with these Afar travel guides to Dubai culture and travel experiences: how to spend four days in Dubai, according to locals and a local’s guide to thrift, vintage, and antiques shops. Where to go and what to see from this episode: Cinema Akil — Butheina’s art house cinema, with a second screen at 25hours Hotel Dubai One Central. Alserkal Avenue — the Al Quoz arts district both guests recommend. Al Shindagha Museum — Azra’s first stop for craft heritage, along Dubai Creek.    Sikka Art & Design Platform — Azra’s favorite, held at Al Shindagha in the cooler months. Hatta and the Hajar Mountains — a mountain exclave about an hour from the city. Al Mamzar Beach — Azra’s underrated pick for a nature fix, inside a public park. CHAPTERS 00:00:00 Welcome to Dubai Culture 00:03:00 Henna, Talli, and Al Sadu 00:12:50 Hatta, Shindagha, and Al Mamzar 00:19:30 Inside Cinema Akil 00:24:50 Alserkal Avenue and the Majlis 00:35:20 Lead With Curiosity STAY CONNECTED Be sure to subscribe to the show and sign up for our podcast newsletter, Behind the Mic, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. And explore our second podcast, Travel Tales, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us, and View From Afar, where we spotlight the people and ideas shaping the future of travel. Unpacked by Afar is part of Airwave Media’s podcast network. Please contact [email protected] if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to episode three of a four-part Unpacked series on Dubai travel, this time focused on Dubai food: how a city long known for celebrity chefs and global concepts has grown a homegrown food scene with a flavor all its own. Guest host Nicola Chilton first sits down with Kathy Johnston, Chief Chocolate Officer of Mirzam, the Dubai-born, bean-to-bar chocolate company celebrating its 10th birthday. Johnston explains how Mirzam ties its recipes to the region’s spice-trade history, from a maps and monsters collection inspired by the tall tales traders told on Dubai Creek to a mango bar built around the monsoon trade with India and an Emirati range featuring halwa and aseeda. She also talks about sourcing more ingredients locally as farming grows in the UAE, and shares her own picks for where to eat in Dubai. In the second half, Nicola talks with Mohammad Orfali, the chef behind Orfali Bros Bistro, which opened in 2021 and holds a Michelin star. Orfali, who grew up in Aleppo, Syria, and moved to Dubai in 2006, walks through the pandemic-era opening, how a too-fancy burger became a local favorite, why he calls his cooking “Dubai cuisine,” and how locally grown produce is changing the way chefs cook, a useful listen for anyone planning a food and travel trip to the city. One more episode is still to come, on Dubai’s culture and creative community, and every episode is filmed in the same Dubai studio, so you can watch as well as listen on YouTube. THIS WEEK'S GUESTS Kathy Johnston is Chief Chocolate Officer of Mirzam, a bean-to-bar chocolate maker founded in 2016, with a factory, café, and boutique in Al Quoz, Dubai. Mohammad Orfali is the chef and co-owner of Orfali Bros, Three Bros, and Manao. Born in Aleppo, Syria, and based in Dubai since 2006, he opened Orfali Bros Bistro in 2021 with his two brothers. It holds a Michelin star and ranks No. 1 on the Middle East & North Africa’s 50 Best Restaurants list, according to World’s 50 Best. PLAN YOUR OWN DUBAI TRIP Start with these Afar resources on Dubai food and what to do: a guide to the city’s evolving food scene and how to spend four days in Dubai, according to locals. Where to eat, what to try, and Dubai food worth seeking out from this episode: Mirzam Chocolate Makers — Kathy Johnston’s factory, café, and boutique in Al Quoz. Try the date and fennel bar, a thin dark chocolate shell filled with locally grown dates and fennel seeds, or the best-selling Emirati range, with bars inspired by traditional desserts. Halwa — a hot, spiced Emirati dessert traditionally made in enormous copper bowls, which Johnston calls “a hot mochi jelly with all of the spices and nuts in the kitchen that you could find.” Orfali Bros Bistro — Mohammad Orfali’s Michelin-starred neighborhood bistro, open since 2021 and built on what he calls “freedom of cooking.” Middle Child — Johnston’s pick for cozy, produce-driven food from a chef who grew up in Lebanon. Khadak — Johnston’s pick for South Indian food from two chefs who work with local farms and chefs. CHAPTERS 00:00:00 Welcome to Dubai Food 00:05:00 Mangoes, Monsoons, and Honey 00:08:00 Insider Picks and Emirati Sweets 00:14:30 Orfali Bros Opens Its Doors 00:21:00 Freedom of Cooking 00:25:30 Fresh Produce and What’s Next Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a new ongoing series, Afar is asking a deceptively simple question: What does a UNESCO World Heritage designation actually do? This episode starts in North Queensland, Australia, home to two UNESCO sites that sit side by side: the Great Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics, which includes the Daintree Rainforest. First, host Aislyn Greene talks with Dr. Eric Fisher, a marine biologist and Biology Manager at GBR Biology, about why Great Barrier Reef snorkeling remains the most direct way to connect with a reef system that’s home to more than 600 kinds of coral, six of the world’s seven sea turtle species, and more than 1,500 species of fish. Fisher explains how a 1960s-70s campaign to stop oil mining on the reef led to the 1975 Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act and, eventually, the reef’s 1981 UNESCO inscription—and why the reef has spent over a decade at the center of debate over whether it should be listed as “endangered” due to climate change, coral bleaching, and crown-of-thorns starfish outbreaks. Fisher also opens up about building GBR Biology, the team of marine biologists and First Nations culture guides who lead guided Great Barrier Reef snorkeling tours for the tourism company Experience Co. (which also owns Reef Magic), and why he believes every traveler should experience the reef in person—ideally more than once, since it changes by the tide, the season, and even the hour. Then the episode heads inland to the Daintree Rainforest, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1988 as part of the Wet Tropics of Queensland. Juan Walker, owner and head guide of Walkabout Cultural Adventures, discusses growing up on Kuku Yalanji country, teaching Kuku Yalanji language in local schools, and what the Queensland government’s 2021 handback of more than 160,000 hectares to the Eastern Kuku Yalanji people has—and hasn’t—meant for his community’s access to traditional land. THIS WEEK’S GUESTS Dr. Eric Fisher is Biology Manager at GBR Biology, a division of Experience Co. that leads guided Great Barrier Reef snorkeling tours out of Cairns and Port Douglas. A fish ecologist by training, Fisher built GBR Biology’s team of marine biologists and First Nations culture guides after years leading snorkel programs for Reef Magic. Juan Walker is the owner and head guide of Walkabout Cultural Adventures, which he founded in 2008. Born in Mossman, Queensland, Walker is Kuku Yalanji on his father’s side and Torres Strait Islander on his mother’s side, and teaches Kuku Yalanji language at a local school. CHAPTERS 00:00:00 Welcome to the Great Barrier Reef 00:03:15 Oil Plans and World Heritage 00:05:45 Endangered or Not? 00:09:05 Guided Snorkel Tours With Eric 00:15:55 Daintree on Kuku Yalanji Country 00:20:40 Is It Really Land Back? LINKS & RESOURCES Explore Afar's coverage of North Queensland Meet the Indigenous Women Who Are Saving Australia’s Great Barrier Reef Podcast: Riding Higher, Down Under The Great Barrier Reef’s Great Big Complicated Story Fewer Travelers Visit This Part of the Great Barrier Reef. They’re Missing Out. Travel with Juan and Eric GBR Biology—guided Great Barrier Reef snorkeling and reef conservation tours led by Dr. Eric Fisher’s team Walkabout Cultural Adventures—Juan Walker’s Kuku Yalanji cultural tours in the Daintree Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority—background on reef management and conservation UNESCO World Heritage List: Great Barrier Reef UNESCO World Heritage List: Wet Tropics of Queensland Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to episode two of a four-part Unpacked series on Dubai travel, this time focused on Dubai hospitality: how a city with more than 800 hotels and 150,000 rooms built a world-class hotel scene on one of the Arabian Peninsula’s oldest traditions: the welcome. Guest host Nicola Chilton starts in the desert with Philippe Zuber, CEO of Kerzner International, who oversees eight Dubai hotels, including two Atlantis resorts and three One&Only resorts. Zuber shares his “secret spot” for first-time visitors, the calm kind of desert rather than dune bashing, and explains how the mix of desert, skyline, and sea shapes the travel experiences he recommends. He also talks about the role hotels play in the city’s social life and what it’s like to work alongside colleagues from 200 nationalities. Then Nicola sits down with Mohammed Kazim, a Dubai-born cultural entrepreneur, who traces Dubai hospitality culture back to Al Wasl, the “connecting point” where trade routes met, and to a three-day welcome code that obliged hosts to shelter and feed any guest without asking questions. It’s why Arabic coffee and dates are still the first thing you’re offered, and why standards at Dubai’s hotels run so high, plus his travel tips for first-time visitors. Two more episodes, on food and culture, are coming next, and every episode is filmed in the same Dubai studio, so you can watch as well as listen on YouTube. (Listen to the first episode here.) This week's guests Philippe Zuber is CEO of Kerzner International, which operates eight hotels in Dubai—including two Atlantis resorts and three One&Only properties—plus 23 more worldwide and 12 in development. Mohammed Kazim is a Dubai-born cultural entrepreneur and co-founder of Tamashee, a brand reviving traditional Arabian Peninsula sandals through contemporary design, and of Tamashee Experience, a cultural travel business that takes visitors to tribal communities across the region. Plan your own Dubai trip First, begin with these essential Afar resources, including the best hotels to book (and why hotels are so much more than a place to stay), a guide to the evolving food scene, and how to spend four days in Dubai, according to locals. Where to stay, what to do, and what to eat from this episode Atlantis The Royal—Kerzner's ocean-themed integrated resort, home to a culinary lineup that includes Carbone, Milos, and a breakfast spot ranked among the world's best. One&Only One Za'abeel—Kerzner's newest urban resort, paired with CYRO, its wellness and longevity concept, for sweeping views of Burj Khalifa. Bab Al Shams—one of Dubai's oldest desert resorts, about an hour from the city, where visitors are welcomed with Arabic coffee and can try camel rides, horseback riding, and a divine hammam. Burj Khalifa—the world's tallest building, best experienced in person according to Zuber: "You come to Dubai for that." The Palm Jumeirah—the world's first handmade island, best viewed from Nobu at Atlantis, The Palm. Satwa—a lived-in, unpolished neighborhood just behind Downtown Dubai where Zuber says you'll find the "real energy" of the city's 200 nationalities living and working side by side. Arabic coffee and dates—the traditional greeting rooted in the Arabian Peninsula's hospitality code, served from a dallah, the long-spouted coffee pot pictured on the one-dirham coin. Tamashee—Mohammed Kazim's brand of contemporary Arabian Peninsula sandals, and Tamashee Experience, his tribal-immersion travel business. Dubai Creek—where, according to Kazim, the roots of Dubai hospitality culture and the city's modern diversity first took shape. Chapters 00:00:00 Welcome to Dubai Hospitality 00:02:00 Desert, Skyline, and Sea 00:09:00 Al Wasl's Three-Day Code 00:14:30 Coffee, Dates, and the Dallah 00:17:00 How Hotels Raised the Bar 00:19:00 Tamashee and the Creek Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to episode one of a four-part Unpacked series on Dubai travel: the history, the ambition, and the glamorous, multicultural city it's become today. In this episode, host Aislyn Greene and the Dubai-based travel writer Nicola Chilton set the stage: They walk through how a fishing village and pearling outpost became one of the fastest-changing cities on Earth—and what it's actually like on the ground today. Halfway through, Aislyn hands the mic to Nicola—who will host the remaining three episodes—for a conversation with her longtime friend, Sahar Parham Al Awadhi, an Emirati chef born and raised in Dubai. They take a deeper dive into the city's history along Dubai Creek: the abra boats, the spice trade, and the neighborhoods where "old Dubai" is still very present. Together, they set up the rest of this Dubai series: three more episodes on the city's architecture, food, and culture, all filmed in the same studio, so you can watch as well as listen on YouTube. This week's guests Nicola Chilton is a UK-born travel writer who has lived in Dubai for more than a decade and will be hosting the rest of this series. Sahar Parham Al Awadhi is an Emirati chef, the first Emirati chef at the Jumeirah Burj Al Arab, and the founder of Abra, a new restaurant inside Dubai’s Etihad Museum. Plan your own Dubai trip First, begin with these essential Afar resources, including the best hotels to book (and why hotels are so much more than a place to stay), a guide to the evolving food scene, and how to spend four days in Dubai, according to locals. Where to stay, what to do, and what to eat from this episode Jumeirah Beach — base yourself here for easy access to Dubai’s best hotels, restaurants, and free public beaches. Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab — opened just over a year ago, directly across from the iconic Burj Al Arab. Al Maha, a Luxury Collection Desert Resort — about an hour from the coast, inside the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, where gazelles and Arabian oryx wander past your private plunge pool. Dubai Creek — hop an abra, the little wooden boats that cross between Bur Dubai and Deira, for about 30 cents. Al Fahidi historical neighborhood and Al Shindagha Museum — Bur Dubai’s restored old neighborhoods, now galleries, cafés, and museum houses. Karak tea — Dubai’s ubiquitous, inexpensive spiced milk tea, best bought roadside from a canteen window. Abra — Sahar Parham Al Awadhi’s new restaurant inside the Etihad Museum⁠, built around “new Emirati cuisine.” XVA Hotel — a boutique stay inside a heritage house near Dubai Creek, with its own gallery and café. Arabian Boutique Hotel — another heritage-building stay near the water, home to Arabian Fish House. One&Only One Za’abeel — for skyline views from one of Dubai’s newest towers. Hatta — a mountainous exclave about 90 minutes from the city, popular with residents for hiking, mountain biking, and kayaking. Chapters 00:00:00 Welcome to Dubai 00:03:00 From Bangkok to Eleven Years In 00:06:00 After the Spring Unrest 00:08:00 Beaches, Desert Camps, and Mountains 00:14:00 Enter Sahar Parham Al Awadhi 00:19:00 Reviving Emirati Cuisine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices