Old Dubai (دبي)

Years ago, I had a layover in Dubai on my way to my study abroad program at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. That was one of the very first times I had ever left the country. I was so excited to be somewhere new! Even though I had a short layover, I ran through customs, and immediately came back into the airport just to check the UAE off of my list of visited countries.

Since then, I've felt a little bit guilty. It's the only country on my map that I haven't actually "visited" (even though I had a stamp in my passport).

This was my chance to rectify this.

the Burj Khalifa off in the distance

I landed late at night and entered the country to the sound of the عشاء (isha), or night prayer, which was played over the loudspeakers as I waited in line.

I quickly cleared customs and stepped out into the cool dry air of the Dubai evening.

I got a taxi into town. The driver was from Sri Lanka, and we chatted about his country and his life in Dubai on the 15-minute drive to my hotel.

Dubai was not what I expected.

I was prepared for an extremely modern, fancy, expensive city. And while there is certainly an element of that to be found, the neighborhood that I ended up in was extremely affordable.

I arrived at my hotel, checked in, showered, and promptly fell asleep... the next day was due to be a big adventure!

Old Dubai

The oil-rich Dubai, the biggest and most famous city in the United Arab Emirates, is renowned for its opulence, excess, and luxury.

I awoke bright and early, enjoyed a nice breakfast at my hotel, and headed downstairs to join an old town walking tour. A driver picked me up promptly, and I joined a group of Italian tourists on the way to the tour meeting point.

I'm not usually one to join group tours, but I had only 24 hours in Dubai, and was excited to make the most of it!

I said goodbye to the Italians, and joined the English speakers, led by a guide named Adam.

on the walking tour

The thing is, it's actually hard to find very much in Dubai that's actually old. The city itself is relatively young - the first walled city and permanent settlements were only established sometime in the 19th century. Since the UAE's great oil boom, most of the original buildings in Dubai were torn down and replaced with luxury hotels, skyscrapers, and modern shopping malls.

roofs of a nearby mosque

There's very little of Old Dubai actually left, and I was excited to have found a walking tour expressly dedicated to discovering and exploring it.

walking through the historic district of Bastakia Quarter

Adam led us through the oldest part of Dubai, a historic neighborhood called the Bastaikia Quarter. The buildings in this area are original and are some of the few old homes that are preserved as house museums.

A recreation of a traditional Bedouin tent stood outside of the neighborhood, and Adam stopped to explain the traditional lives of the tribal people who now make up the UAE. 

a traditional Bedouin camp

The nomadic people of what is currently the UAE were made up of nine distinct tribes. With independence, these tribes became royal families; each one governing one of the seven emirates (Qatar and Bahrain opted for independence instead).

a Bedouin hawker

The government is fascinating. Each emirate is more or less autonomous, but national decisions must be negotiated and undertaken by agreement of the seven sheiks. The sheik of Abu Dhabi, the largest emirate, serves as hereditary president of the UAE, and the sheik of Dubai serves as the hereditary prime minister and vice president of the country.

This is all fairly recent, and the country has modernized extremely rapidly since independence from the British in 1971.

As recently as the late 19th century, most people in this part of Arabia were still nomadic, and Dubai was only a sleepy fishing port.

burj-al-hawwa, or wind towers

Since permanent structures were not a traditional part of life in Arabia, the buildings in the old town were all built in a Persian style learned through trade. Today, there are very few original buildings left, and nearly every one that still stands has been preserved as a house museum.

Note the blocky towers rising from these old buildings. These are called burj-al-hawwa, or "wind towers". They functioned as a sort of old-school aircon; funneling cool air down into the homes.

We entered one of the house museums and took our seats in the surprisingly cool receiving room. We were served a traditional welcoming cup of bayoumi, or Arabic coffee with cardamom and saffron while our guide explained a bit about the architecture of a traditional Arabian home.

traditional Arabic coffee with cardamom

We took some time to explore the house, which had been recreated with scenes of traditional daily life.

historic house museum

Moving on, we walked through the bustling city past Al Fahidi Fort (today the Dubai Museum, which I regrettably did not have time to visit). The fort is Dubai's oldest structure (built in 1787). It showcases life in Dubai before the "oil era" (as it's called). Throughout its history, the fort served as the ruler's palace, a prison, and a military garrison.

Al Fahidi Fort, the oldest building in Dubai

We walked on.

Thankfully it is spring, and the air is still cool and dry. I would hate to visit Dubai in the summer, when Adam told us that temperatures can soar upwards of 50°C (122°F). Even the bus stops in Dubai are fully enclosed and airconditioned. It must feel a bit like being on Arrakis. 

walking to the silk market

Our next stop was the Old Souk (the Old Market). Adam led us through a warren of covered stalls to a small snack stand where he had food and cold water waiting for us.

"In Arabia, you have to eat a lot!", he told us as he passed each of us a bag containing a vegetable samosa, chicken shawarma, falafel, and some crispy fried spinach. We also got a bottle of water and a glass of cold, refreshing sugar cane juice.

a snack break at the Old Souk

Adam then gave us half an hour to explore the market, which is best known for its textiles - but not before pulling us aside for a brief primer on haggling.

If you think that haggling in Asia is intense, then you've never been to the Middle East!

Adam told us a rough estimate of what the most popular items should cost, and taught us to haggle steeply and pretend to walk away if the shopkeeper wasn't cooperating.

the Old Souk textile market

I wasn't there to buy anything, but I heard the stories from the other tourists when they returned to the group. They did indeed haggle steeply. It's an interesting aspect of the culture.

haggling at the textile market

"You can also expect the shopkeepers to compare you to celebrities", Adam continued. "They are trying to flatter you. Just ignore them."

lots of textiles and clothes for sale

Almost immediately, as if to prove his point, one of the nearby shopkeepers pointed to a guy in the group. "Wow, John Cena!", he shouted.

clothing for sale at the souk

Even though I wasn't going to buy anything, I took a meandering walk through the souk. I love old markets, and this market was full of charm, despite the pushy shopkeepers (which I know is just part of the culture). 

market vendors

To be honest, I've never enjoyed bargaining, even in Thailand. I'd rather not buy something than have to barter for it. But I very much enjoyed the atmosphere and sights of the old market.

Soon, we had regrouped, and Adam led us down to the nearby waterfront.

exploring the market

The Dubai Creek is a saltwater inlet that runs 9 miles inland. It forms a natural port that was historically used for trade and transport. 

Al Seef Waterfront

Known to the Ancient Greeks as the River Zara, the creek is currently used by wooden abras (traditional wooden boats), ferries, and water taxis.

public boats at the Dubai Creek

Very much like the Chaophraya River in Bangkok, you can either take a large public ferry or hire a small boat. The small boats can cross the river for one AED, or you can hire a driver for an hour or two for a private tour. I might do that next time. It seems like a nice way to see Dubai.

a ferry boat crossing the creek

We boarded an abra and crossed the creek to the opposite bank.

We alighted just outside of the Spike Souk.

Again, Adam took us aside.

"You thought that the bartering was bad in the Old Souk?", he asked us. "That was easy mode!"

The Spice Souk, it would seem, was to be a much more intimidating experience!

Dubai Spice Souk

Again, Adam explained what the fair prices should be, and told us that we should be firm in our haggling if we really wanted to buy spices from the market.

barrels of spices for sale

He then took a few minutes to explain some of the more popular spices available to buy at the souk.

First, Adam held up a big bowl of saffron, the world's most expensive spice.

Saffron is so expensive because it is so rare. It comes from the pistils of a flower. Each flower produces only three pistils. High-quality saffron can run over $10,000 per kilogram!

saffron, the world's most expensive spice

Adam and one of the spice merchants taught us how to identify good saffron.

You have to place a few pieces of the spice in a glass of cold water. If it turns yellow, it's real saffron. If it turns red, it's probably dyed, and is most likely of poor quality.

Adam then picked up a sort of wooden chalice which turned out to be a traditional charcoal burner. He placed a few pieces of sandalwood on top of the charcoal and passed it around for us to breathe in the sweet, scented smoke.

sandalwood

He also demonstrated frankincense and menthol - the latter of which made our eyes water with its pure icy power!

various Middle Eastern spices for sale

Adam then released us into the market.

Again, I wasn't really there to buy anything, but I enjoyed wandering around a bit.

shops at the Spice Souk

He was right... the merchants were much more intense here! They would try to grab your arm and drag you towards their shops.

spice burner

Still, it was a fascinating cultural experience, and something totally different from anything I had ever experienced before.

Eventually, we left the Spice Souk and walked onwards towards the old Gold Souk, the most famous gold market in Dubai.

"Don't worry", Adam told us outside of the market. "Everything here is real and is of high quality. Whatever you buy will come with a certificate. You can look up the price of gold online. You can haggle a little bit, but not very much. Most prices are mostly set."

the Dubai Gold Souk

I've never seen so much gold before!

lots of gold for sale

Everywhere you looked glittered with pure gold.

The souk itself was a narrow alleyway flanked on both sides by luxury gold shops.

Dubai is a startlingly safe city. Adam explained that, while you were unlikely to ever spot a policeman on the streets, we should rest assured that our every movement was being monitored at all times by city surveillance cameras and that crime in Dubai was very low.

This certainly seemed to be the case with how openly all of the gold was displayed.

clothing made from pure gold

Dubai is one of the richest cities in the world, and it certainly shows!

Although I didn't have the chance to visit the new part of town, this glimpse into the luxury lifestyle of the Emirati elite certainly introduced me to the idea of the wealth and excess of the city.

In the future, I'd love to visit again and check out the Burj Khalifa or the Palm Jumeirah.

This time, however, I'm very glad that I decided to stick with the Old Town.

There's still a fascinating old historic Emirati culture to discover, you just have to work a bit harder to find it.

expensive golden jewelry