Old Dubai

Dhows, many of them destined
for Iran according to the crews

Visitors are a great motivation to visit nearby places that have been avoided.  Not deliberately avoided but “the weekend has been too crazy to go out again” avoided.  For us that was Bur Dubai and the Gold Souk.  Friends of ours from Mumbai were in town so this provided the necessary motivation.

Prior to moving to Dubai, my only previous visit had occurred two days after Saddam Hussain invaded Kuwait in 1990 when the military transport aircraft I was traveling in damaged a tyre on landing at Dubai Airport.  While we waited for a spare, we were accommodated at the newly constructed Hilton, one of only two high rise hotels in Dubai. As a result of my stay, I have fond memories of running through the markets of Dubai along the creek.  

Much has changed in Dubai but the design
of the Dhows has remained largely unchanged

Dubai had changed so much in the intervening time that I couldn’t reconcile my previous visit  to new Dubai and my memories seem strangely disconnected.  It was only when driving past the Hilton along the old port that I started to have a faint recollection of 25 years ago.

They say you don’t need to scratch too hard to peel away the veneer of glamour and tall buildings that is Dubai.  Perhaps this is nowhere as evident that at old Port Saeed where wooden dhows are loaded with goods for trade in the region.  Air conditioners, refrigerators and televisions lay on the footpaths as they are loaded onto the brightly painted vessels. Talking to the crews it seems that most of the boats were bound for Iran, just across the Persian Gulf.

TV, A/Cs and refrigerators.
All you need to get you through a Middle Eastern summer

A short walk from here are the gold souks and the remnants of the traditional buildings that I remember from my runs around the area 25 years ago.  The few remaining original buildings are now preserved and the covered walkway seems to make an attempts to capture the old flavour of the area.  

Gold Souk

That said, It was a pleasant couple of hours and it helped to balance the overwhelming planned and polished Dubai with an area that seemed more organic and real.