24 March 2010

Dubai Old Town

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One of the first things we saw was the heritage village in Dubai. They have rebuilt the traditional houses there. The towers are called ‘wind towers’. The tower catches the cooler air higher above the ground and redirects it ground level to cool the inside of a house.

Here is the inside of a traditional sitting room (no wind tower is used here):
Sitting Room

Sitting Room

Men and women toilets are identified with these symbols:
Dubai Men SignDubai Women Sign

 Dubai Heritage Village Alley

Dubai Heritage Village Alley

Next stop: Dubai Souks
The Dubai Souks are located at the opposite site of the Dubai Creek.  You can cross the creek by taking an Abra. It is not expensive – only 1 DH (Dirham).

Dubai Creek on Abra

For longer trips you can take the Water Bus:
Dubai Marine Transport Station

A souk is an old traditional market, specialized in one topic. There is a Gold Souk, Silver Souk, Spices Souk, Textile Souk and Household Souk. Each souk has its own distinctive roof.

 Dubai Textile Souk
Dubai Textile Souk

 Dubai Textile Souk
Dubai Textile Souk

Dubai Textiles 
Dubai textiles

Glass Models 
A taste of things to come…

 Dubai Household Souk
Dubai Household Souk

 Spices at Dubai Souk
Spices at Dubai Souk

 Spices at Dubai Souk
Spices at Dubai Souk

Dubai Directions Gold Souk 
From the Spices Souk it is a little walk to the Gold Souk

 Entrance Dubai Gold Souk
Entrance Dubai Gold Souk

 
Getting directions in Dubai is easy. Most of the people speak English, and there are street maps.
Dubai Street Map

 

 Dubai Gold Souk Roof
Dubai Gold Souk Roof

Dubai Gold Souk
Dubai Gold Souk

 Gold Bracelets at Dubai Souk
Gold bracelets at Dubai Gold Souk

 Dubai Gold Souk Entrance
Gold Souk Entrance

We have not seen much in downtown Dubai. We found it difficult to determine which parts are safe, since we were the only tourists walking around.

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Downtown Dubai

 Dubai China Whole Sale Plaza
China Whole Sale Plaza

We decided to walk back to the other side of the Dubai Creek by taking the Pedestrian Under Pass.
Pedestrian Under Pass to Bur Dubai

This was our first experience that Dubai is not made for walking. We were one of the few who walked under the hot sun to the under pass. The under pass itself is also very quiet.

 Dubai Pedestrian Under Pass
Dubai Pedestrian Under Pass

Here are two parting shots: 

Dubai HSBC Bank
Dubai HSBC Bank

 Dubai Creek Abras
Abras @ Dubai Creek




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