I know that this is a little petty, but I’m stoked to find out that one of the photos I took was shared by @MyDubai on their Instagram account. The #MyDubai team features photos from other users on a daily basis. You can see some amazing shots taken by residents and tourists in various places and sharing their stories in the emirate.

The photo below of two Emiratis walking in the Historical District caught my eye in the beginning because of their colorful kandouras (traditional menswear). Afterwards, I noticed that these two friends were having a regular conversation on a normal day which explains my original caption “Two old friends.” in my own IG account.

Take a step back in time. @dubaitravelblog’s #MyDubai in the historic district is seeped in nostalgia.

A photo posted by #MyDubai (@mydubai) on Mar 8, 2016 at 5:13am PST

It was my day off from work and I decided to visit Al Fahidi historical neighborhood for a short photowalk. Being in the oldest district in Dubai, it was great to take my time and enjoy the winter season while practicing my skills in photography. I chanced upon this scene and happily clicked away.

About the #MyDubai Hashtag
This “MyDubai” hashtag was a social media initiative by Sheikh Hamdan back in January 2014 which calls for Dubai residents to share their stories of their daily lives in the emirate. The team from MyDubai then collects these contributions and features them in books, films, conferences, etc. There have been other activities and events launched related to this project which has been a huge success.

I am glad that I get to share my stories in this travel blog. If you might notice, I have tons of photos as photography is one of the things I enjoy doing. In a way, I am also able to promote the Dubai tourism industry as this city has been my home in the last couple of years. If you check out the MyDubai social media accounts, you can see that there’s a lot of engagement and  this is great because this is a community-driven project aimed to promote this city which is also home to many expats. More details about the project here.

If you have time to browse, you may search for #MyDubai on IG and you can see pictures of Dubai from the eyes of the people living in this city. If you’re already on IG and you wish to participate, you can simply use the same hashtag and tag the team when you post your photo.