Selection of houses and apartments available for rent on Airbnb in Maceió

In a bustling restaurant in Deira, Dubai, the sounds of conversations mix with the noise of cutlery and a football match on TV. Patrons lean across tables to chat, laughter rings out over the din, and friends exchange familiar pleasantries during dinner, meetings, or while watching a game.

Some customers order dishes from Côte d'Ivoire that remind them of their childhood, while others have traveled from different parts of Africa to enjoy this cuisine. The restaurant Guissi Plaza, known by its patrons as Chez Maestro, often becomes a place to spend time with people who understand what it is like to live far from home.

For businessman Fatiga Ibrahim, the restaurant has become a sanctuary where he can find companionship. When he wants to have dinner with his family, he comes here. He watches football, jokes, and chats with other Africans living in the United Arab Emirates.

Ibrahim notes: 'Of course, we gather together like a family, as if we were in Africa. Look at these young people here. We watch football together and laugh together. It reminds me... When I am here, it feels like I am home, like I am with family.'

For Ibrahim, the appeal of the establishment goes beyond cuisine. The restaurant allows him to meet new people and build relationships despite living outside his country.

At Chez Maestro, relationships are built around Ivorian cuisine and the restaurant owner, Aminata Kamara. Kamara has lived in Dubai for six years. She moved here with her husband, who settled in the emirate for football. As their lives developed, the couple discovered that among the Ivorian residents in their community, there were few options for enjoying their familiar food, even with restaurants serving other West African dishes.

Initially, they started cooking and delivering food on order. When orders surged, the couple saw an opportunity to open a restaurant where guests could sit down and eat. Kamara's husband suggested this idea, as he came for football and later considered catering due to the growing number of Ivorians. Although there were Malian restaurants in the city, there were no Ivorian ones. So, they started with a home business, and seeing the growth in their customer base, he decided to open a full-fledged restaurant.

African culture is not limited by national borders nor does it change when people migrate abroad. When Africans settle in other countries, they bring their food, culture, and languages with them, creating opportunities to connect with people outside their own national community.

Kamara took over the daily management of the restaurant while her husband continued playing football and participating in other events. The venue quickly became a physical place where consumers could gather, eat, and network.

The menu is largely based on Ivorian culinary heritage. Kamara mentions dishes such as garba, placali, and foutou banane, which remind customers of home. Garba, made from attiéké and fried tuna, is particularly popular among the restaurant's broad audience.

This experience reflects a broader reality for Africans who move abroad for work and other opportunities. The African Union estimates that 4.7 million African migrants resided in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries by 2024. Their experiences vary, but for many, maintaining a connection to home involves discovering familiar food, languages, and communities in a new environment.

Kamara found that consumers from neighboring countries, such as Guinea and Mali, love her cooking. People arrive with different culinary traditions, but the same dish can bring them all to the same table.

She notes: 'The dish that most evokes memories of home is especially garba, placali, and foutou banane. But surprisingly, I can say that people from all these countries, whether from Guinea or Mali, seem to love garba even more than us.'

The popularity of these dishes has allowed Ivorian cuisine to spread beyond its original population. Customers can choose dishes from their traditions while learning about the traditions of their neighbors. The restaurant becomes a hub of cultural exchange through everyday decisions, such as ordering, shared consumption, and what to reorder.

Chef Adelaïde Tagbo uses her work to stay connected to her cultural roots. Cooking familiar food in Dubai allows her to continue utilizing talents rooted in her own culinary traditions.

She believes: 'Cooking African food in Dubai, yes, I can say it is a way for us to preserve our culture because, first of all, we are from Côte d'Ivoire, we are abroad. So we are really trying to use our skills abroad. In that sense, it is preserving our culture.'

Her perspective adds a new dimension to the establishment. While customers find comfort in the food, those who prepare it continue a tradition that links their life abroad with their home countries. Cuisine is part of their working life, but it also brings traditions into a new context.

Kamara reports that the restaurant's clientele hails from various African nations, including Burkina Faso, Mali, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Comoros, as well as Côte d'Ivoire. Some interactions that occurred there extended beyond the restaurant, as customers and staff became friends who became part of their daily lives in Dubai.

She emphasizes: 'Of course, this place has become a meeting point for the African community. Many people gather here. I think you have seen it yourselves: it is not just Ivorians. There are Burkinabés, Malians, even Ethiopians, Malagasy, Comorians, and everyone gathers here. We ourselves have met people who became like family. Everyone gathers together; it's like we've come home, right?'

The African Union views the diaspora as an integral part of the continent, encompassing people of African descent living outside Africa. However, casual interaction and long-term relationships shape a sense of belonging abroad. At Chez Maestro, these bonds are formed over shared meals, football matches, and conversations between people whose paths might otherwise never have crossed.

The restaurant does not replicate life in Côte d'Ivoire nor does it erase differences between visitors. Instead, it provides a space where people can integrate aspects of their home lives into the communities they create in Dubai. At Chez Maestro, a dish from Ivorian cuisine can spark a discussion, friendship, or an evening spent watching football. Thousands of kilometers from the continent, the restaurant gives visitors the chance to share familiar tastes while forging new connections with each other.

Aparecida, located in the interior of São Paulo, is the largest religious pilgrimage center in Latin America, having received 10.5 million visitors in 2025. The city has two sites of great Catholic devotion: the Baroque Main Church, built in 1888, and the National Sanctuary of Our Lady of Aparecida, which succeeded the Old Basilica and became the world's largest cathedral dedicated to the Virgin Mary in 1980.

To facilitate arrival in Aparecida, one can take the 300 km pilgrimage known as the Caminho da Fé, or opt for travel by car or bus. Due to these travel options, a selection of residences located near the Main Church and the National Sanctuary has been prepared, available for rent on the Airbnb platform.

One of the selected houses is less than 500 meters from the National Sanctuary of Aparecida, offering amenities such as restaurants, pharmacies, and a supermarket nearby. This accommodation features contemporary decoration, has three bedrooms (each with one double bed and one single bed), two bathrooms, and a living room equipped with a television. Additionally, there is an integrated kitchen for meals and a children's play area. The space is spacious and includes a garage suitable for a small vehicle.

In testimony from someone who has used the service, Edinara Aparecida reported that the location is ideal, close to the Basilica, fair, markets, bus station, and with easy access to the highway, allowing her to do everything on foot. She highlighted that, despite being compact, the garage accommodated the car without problems, and that the house was impeccable, very clean, organized, and had a pleasant aroma, in addition to offering comfortable beds, excellent showers, and a complete kitchen with all utensils, salt, sugar, and coffee.

Another option, located in the historic center of Aparecida, is a two-story house built in 1904 and renovated to accommodate up to 11 people. Its decoration prioritizes shades of blue, present in both the walls and the tiles. The property offers five single beds, three double beds, and three bathrooms. A highlight is the balcony equipped with a barbecue grill. The National Sanctuary Basilica is only 50 meters from the accommodation, visible from several areas, such as the balcony, kitchen, living room, and one of the bedrooms. The Main Church is even closer, just five meters from the mansion.

Alexandre, another guest, rated this second house as the best Airbnb in his experience, mentioning the very reasonable price and the spectacular view of the New Basilica, visible from the kitchen and terrace. He also commented on the view of the Old Basilica from the living room balcony, describing the century-old mansion as extremely well-preserved and with modern kitchen and bathroom facilities.

A third house, characterized by its large and ventilated rooms, accommodates ten people and offers amenities such as a pool, barbecue, and wood-burning stove, in addition to hot water at all taps. Guests sleep in three bedrooms (totaling two double beds, six single beds, and two mattresses) and share three bathrooms and a half-bath. The dome of the National Sanctuary Basilica can be seen from the balcony, accessible in five minutes by car or 30 minutes on foot. The host provides a parking space.

Cleverson praised Luciana's house for being extremely comfortable and having many leisure areas. He noted that the environment is cool even without air conditioning, and the cleanliness is perfect, with everything necessary for cooking and barbecuing. Unlike hotels on the main avenue, he liked the Romeiros village for its absolute silence and easy access to the basilica, allowing him to do everything on foot.

Finally, an accommodation slightly further from the central core is 1.6 km from the National Sanctuary. This house, spacious and colorful, has three air-conditioned bedrooms, two with double beds and one with two single beds. The structure includes a living room with Smart TV, an office, two bathrooms, and a laundry room. The kitchen is equipped with a coffee maker, stove, and microwave, and the dining area has a barbecue. There is also a parking space with an electronic gate, and the host's family resides on the ground floor.

Casa Cardona, originally planned as a standard 165 square meter property, exemplifies how an architectural concept can go beyond purely commercial limitations. This project aims to generate value not only spatially but also culturally and humanly.

The residence's design was conceived to establish a deep and personal connection with the desert landscape, transforming surrounding environmental characteristics into a unique domestic experience.

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Information about the project was provided by the design team. The material was cited in the Portuguese publication ArchDaily, dated October 26, 2026.