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The two key sightseeing areas are the coast-hugging Deira (home to the best
souks as well as Dubai's business district) and the more peaceful Bur Dubai,
where the Dubai Museum, Grand Mosque and Sheikh Saeed Al-Maktoum's House are
found.
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Dubai Creek is another must-see, and to the west, the soft sand of
Jumeirah Beach is lined by luxury hotels, the landmark Jumeirah Mosque and
the family attraction, Wild Wadi Water Park. Time willing, take a jeep
safari into the sand dunes or into neighbouring Emirates and Oman.
A few words of warning: while taking tourist photos is perfectly
acceptable, snapping Muslim women (or even Muslim men without asking
permission) is considered rude. Avoid taking pictures of government
buildings and remember that non-Muslims are not allowed to enter mosques in
the UAE.
Dubai Big Bus Hop On Hop Off Tour
From the towering Burj Al Arab hotel to the mysterious gold and spice souks, the Dubai Big Bus Hop On Hop Off Tour takes you to see it all. Your ticket offers you quadruple value as in addition to the City Tour, you can also take the Beach Tour, Walking Tour and Dhow Creek Cruise at no extra cost.
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Bastakia Quarter
This district, on the waterfront east of the Dubai Souq and Diwan,
features a number of traditional wind-tower houses. Built in the late 1800s,
the quarter was once the home of wealthy Persian merchants, most of them
from the Bastak district and lured to Dubai by its relaxed trade tariffs.
Bur Dubai Souq
Bur Dubai Souq has been beautifully rebuilt to appeal to shopping-mad
tourists, but mostly caters to the Indian and Pakistani expat community. It
does not sell many Arabian things, but is certainly the place to purchase a
custom-made sari.
Deira Gold Souq
Deira's celebrated Gold Souq attracts buyers from all over the world.
Pass through its wooden lattice archways and you'll find great dazzling
heaps of gold chains, rings, earrings, bracelets and every other kind of
jewellery. It also sells silver.
Electronics Souq
The Electronics Souq is the place to get all the televisions,
calculators, stereos, digital cameras, video games, DVD players and karaoke
machines you've ever wanted. It's all almost tax free, and once the haggling
is done, can be got for rock bottom prices.
Diera Covered Souq
This souk has more of an Indian flavour than an Arabic one. It sells just
about everything, but notably textiles, clothes, kitchenware, walking
sticks, and all the henna you'll ever need.
Dubai Creek
Dubai's waterfront epitomizes the city's personality. If you do only one
touristy thing in Dubai, make sure to visit Dubai Creek and see the grand
trading port from the water. You can book a cruise or abra (small boat) for
an hour or so; ask the captain to take you to Al-Maktoum Bridge and back.
It's also worth taking some time to walk around the dhow wharfage on the
Deira side of Dubai Creek, to the west of the abra dock. Dhows bound for
ports from Kuwait to Mumbai (Bombay) dock here to unload just about
everything, including kitchen sinks.
Dubai Museum
The Dubai Museum is housed inside the Al-Fahidi Fort, which was built in
the late 1790s, and is believed to be the city's oldest building. The museum
has collections of everything from Arabian sailing boats to the curved
daggers known as khanjars. There are multimedia and interactive displays,
and all the exhibits have captions in Arabic and English.
Grand Mosque
This multidomed mosque boasts the city's tallest minaret. The mosque
might appear to be a beautiful example of restoration work, but it was in
fact built in the 1990s. As well as being the centre of Dubai's religious
and cultural life, the original mosque was also home to the town's kuttab (Quranic
school) where children learnt to recite the Quran from memory.
Maintaining the style of the original Grand Mosque, which dated from 1900
and was knocked down to make way for another mosque in 1960, its sand-coloured
walls and wooden shutters blend in perfectly with the surrounding old
quarter of Bur Dubai.
Perfume Souq
While the Perfume Souq is really just a group of shops, it sells a
staggering range of Arabic and European perfumes. The European perfumes are
a mixture of designer originals and copies while the Arabic perfumes are
much stronger and spicier. It's worth buying some of the latter for the
kitsch packaging alone.
 Sheikh Saeed al-Maktoum House
Built in 1896, this was once the home of the ruling Al-Maktoum family. It
was built using traditional methods, from coral coated with lime and
plaster. Inside there's an interesting exhibition of photographs showing how
little time it took for Dubai to go from a little fishing and pearling town
to a big money, resort-style oil city. |
