Al Satwa () or simply Satwa, is a community in

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

, comprising high-density retail outlets and private residential dwellings. It is situated southwest of

Bur Dubai Bur Dubai () is a historic district in Dubai, located on the western side of the Dubai Creek. The name is a reference to the traditional separation of the area from Deira by the creek. Description The Ruler's Court is located in the district ...

and borders

Jumeirah Jumeirah ( Emirati pronunciation: ) is a coastal residential area of Dubai, United Arab Emirates mainly comprising low rise private dwellings and hotel developments. It has both expensive and large detached properties as well as more modest town ...

to the north. E 11 (Sheikh Zayed Road) forms the southern boundary of Al Satwa. Notable landmarks include the Iranian Hospital, Satwa Grand Mosque and the Al Satwa bus terminal. Originally, the residents of Al Satwa were mainly of the

Baloch tribe The Baloch ( ) or Baluch ( ; , plural ) are a nomadic, Pastoralism, pastoral, ethnic group which speaks the Western Iranian, Western Iranic Balochi language and is native to the Balochistan region of South Asia, South and Western Asia, encompas ...

. As the government provided better housing for Emiratis, only few Arabs continue to reside here. Al Satwa is known for its large and vibrant

South Asian South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

and Filipino community. It is often referred to as "Mini-Manila" by the Dubai Filipino community. Al Satwa is the subject of the critically acclaimed spoken word piece/photo-novella, Satwa stories, by Mahmoud Kaabour and Denise Holloway of Veritas Films. The project highlights the hidden gems and iconic characters of the Satwa neighborhood through poetry, photography, and music.

Parody video

In November 2013, police arrested a US citizen and some UAE citizens in connection with a YouTube parody video which allegedly portrayed Dubai in bad light. The parody video titled 'The Deadly Satwa GS' was shot in areas of Al Satwa and depicted gangs learning how to fight using simple weapons, such as shoes and the aghal.

External links

Youtube video of Satwa Stories performance June 2008

Description of Satwa Stories by Veritas Films

References

Communities in Dubai {{UnitedArabEmirates-geo-stub