Saturday is the first day of the weekend in the United Arab Emirates, and has been since the country moved its week in January 2022. Before that the weekend ran Friday and Saturday, which means anyone who has lived here for more than a few years has had to relearn what the word means.
It is the busier of the two days by a wide margin. The long weekend brunch that used to be a Friday institution moved here with the weekend and now fills the hotel restaurants from the late morning. Children's sport, swimming lessons and music classes cluster on Saturday morning, the malls are at their fullest from midday, and in the cooler months the beaches and desert tracks absorb everyone else.
It is also the day the country's international rhythm goes quiet in both directions: the Gulf neighbours that kept the older week are working, Europe and the Americas are not, and the overlap that governs so much of the working week disappears for forty-eight hours.
From November to March the day extends well past sunset, with the outdoor markets, the fixtures under floodlights and the desert camps all running into the night. In July the same Saturday happens almost entirely indoors, which is the clearest illustration of how much the local calendar is governed by temperature rather than by the day of the week.
The countdown targets the next Saturday and resets weekly, so it never counts more than seven days ahead.
Common questions
When did Saturday become part of the weekend?
It always was, but the weekend as a whole moved in January 2022 — from Friday and Saturday to Saturday and Sunday.
What is the busiest part of a Saturday?
The late morning for brunch and children's activities, and the middle of the day for the shopping centres. In the cooler months the beaches take the rest.
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