Ninive: Low Tables, High Towers

Step onto the terrace at Jumeirah Emirates Towers and the city changes register. The glass of DIFC still rises on every side, but at Ninive it becomes the backdrop to something older: rugs, lanterns, greenery and seating set low to the ground.

The idea is the majlis, the traditional space where people gather to talk and stay a while. The name reaches further back, to Nineveh, the Mesopotamian city linked to the legend of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Between them, they set the tone for everything that follows.

The look borrows from the Bedouin tent. Sofas and low tables sit on rugs, planting is worked through the space, and lanterns provide most of the light. Everything is outdoors. With the seating close to the ground, the towers overhead stop reading as office blocks and become part of the scenery.

As the sun goes down, the lanterns take over. The light turns warm and low, conversation slows, and the terrace begins to feel a long way from the business district around it. It is a romantic setting, and one built for lingering.

Music sets the pace here. A DJ plays Arab-Afro deep house, a sound that sits naturally between the region and the dance floor. It gives the terrace its momentum as the evening goes on.

Shisha and cocktails are as much a part of the evening as dinner, and the open air suits both. The food plays its part without demanding attention: dishes from across the Middle East and North Africa, made to share and passed around the table.