Susan notes: In 1962, nine years before the UAE was born, Canadian nurse the late Gertrude Dyck went to work in Al Ain’s first hospital.
She lived in the UAE and Oman for more than 43 years, and is the author of “The Oasis, Al Ain Memoirs of ‘Doctora Latifa.
This is what she told me about her memories of the Holy Month of
Ramadan in the 1960s. Read more about Gertrude at these links:
About Gertrude Dyck
and
Gertrude Dyck (Nurse/Missionary/Author).
At the end of Ramadan, everyone celebrated Eid Al Fitr.
It was a time of great celebration, spending time with family and friends, and feasting, just as it is now.
(Gertrude, at right, in her first Arabic dress and shayla)
I loved the Eid because of all the visiting we did. In the sixties and early seventies, there were only about 2,000 people in the whole Al Ain area, but hundreds would come from all over to visit during the Eid.
The hospital staff, including myself, followed the local customs for
visiting and we were quite strict on protocol, which was that you
visited the highest of the royalty first.
In 1962, nine years before the 
From the time I knew that this was where I was coming, there was a lot of planning and preparation. And the first trip to get here was a REAL adventure.