Photographer looks back on a 40-year span of putting Dubai in focus

Dubai: It started with a glass of cold water. Abid Hussain rode in a car, bus, train and finally a boat to reach the UAE. The journey took him four days. This was 1969.

He travelled from Quetta in Pakistan to Afghanistan and then Iran. There he waited for a boat to take him to the UAE.

Having camped in a small valley surrounded by mountains, he was walking around looking for some drinking water. A local resident saw him wandering around and asked him to come to his home to get a drink.

"I waited outside for a glass of water. Instead, the man invited me in and offered tasty fruits," he said.

"It was the first time I had dates from the region and they were very different from what I had tasted earlier. One was enough to fill your stomach. And yes, at the end, he did give me a glass of water."

Today, 39 years after the professional photographer stepped off an abra into the shallow waters of Dubai, the UAE is home.

After he arrived, the 23-year-old Pakistani expatriate first started working at a small photography studio in Bur Dubai.

Hussain said the now-bustling district had hardly any tall buildings in those days. With a salary of 400 riyals, which was the currency then, Hussain said he lived a happy life.

"Two hotels close to the studio served Indian and Pakistani food. For a little more than a riyal you could eat excellent biryani," he said.

He recounts with joy the changes he has witnessed over the past four decades.

The influx of expatriates and the broadening of narrow dirt roads into highways make for fascinating tales in his vivid flashbacks.

"Would you believe it if I said that gold was only 60 riyals for 10 grams? Look at the prices today," he said.

And it is not just his surroundings that have changed over time. The young bachelor went on to marry and raise a family of six children in a country that was once foreign to him. Today, he speaks with affection of the place that helped him find an identity.

"The UAE is such a wonderful place to live in. It is safe and peaceful and as long as you don't break the rules and create problems for others, nobody disturbs you," he said.

Having worked in the UAE for long, he acknowledges the love and respect he has received over the years. The legendary Arab hospitality is the same as it was when he first arrived in the country.

Today, his children have gone on to build their own families in the UAE.

"I love living in the UAE as it is so much fun. Also, all my friends are here so I never want to leave," said Sumayya Abid, Hussain's youngest daughter.

In retrospect, the tough four-day journey has unravelled into a wonderful life over in a country that gave him a sumptuous meal when all he was looking for was a glass of cold water.