For over 25 years, expatriates celebrating Christmas in Dubai have been able to buy large, fragrant Christmas trees imported from Canada and the United States — a seasonal treat in the desert Gulf state.
On a sunny day with a cool breeze, a far cry from a white Christmas but typical for winter in Dubai, plant sellers opened up their trucks in the crowded working-class Satwa district.
Buyers can pay anything from 200 dirhams ($54) for a 1.6-meter tree up to 5,000 dirhams for giant ones.