Category Archives: Dubai

“Pic of the Week”, November 24, 2017: Dubai’s Perfume Souk

Dubai has a number of market districts, including a perfume souk. It’s located in the Deira neighborhood, not far from the gold and spice souks. Arab perfumes are not the light flowery affairs you find in European shops — here the scents are spicy and quite strong, and tend to linger. Arabian perfumes are oil based so they may leave a stain when sprayed on clothes, so be careful when using them.

Of course perfumes from around the world are also sold in Dubai’s perfume souk and many shops will even custom craft a scent if you ask, but the local fragrances are a specialty. As are the decorative jars the perfumes can be stored in. The perfumes are reasonably …

Karl on Nov 23, 2017 | Comments Off

A visit to the Al Fahidi Fort (the Dubai Museum)

Karl on Sep 25, 2017 with Comments Off

When you visit Dubai today you’ll see a landscape of shiny skyscrapers piercing the hazy desert air. There’s a lot of history to the region, although little lingering evidence of man’s habituating it because until a few decades ago, this was the home of nomadic tribesmen. In the mid-twentieth century the influx of petrodollars changed all that and fueled the construction boom leading to the city we see today. If like me you like to study the history of a place, then a visit to the Dubai Museum is a must when visiting the U.A.E.

The Al Fahidi Fort, built of coral stone and mortar in 1787, is the oldest building in Dubai. The Fort is situated on the south side of Dubai Creek in …

Tagged Al Fahidi Fort, Dubai, Fort, history, museum

.All Trips / Asia / Dubai

A Visit to Dubai’s famous Gold Souk

Karl on Aug 21, 2017 with Comments Off

While the image most travelers have of Dubai is of shiny new skyscrapers piercing the desert air (a fair impression to be sure), you can still find places in the city which date to the time before the construction boom that transformed the region. Most of these sites of older Dubai are in the Deira and Bur Dubai neighborhoods which straddle Dubai Creek, the region of the city first settled in the 19th century. A variety of markets can be found here the most famous of which is the gold market (aka souk).

You’ll be welcomed by it’s wood lattice arcade proudly proclaiming, “Dubai: City of Gold”! While it is not enclosed or air-conditioned, the market’s roof provides welcome shade and …

Tagged Dubai, gold, Market, souk

“Pic of the Week”, May 19, 2017: Grand Mosque, Dubai

Dubai’s Grand Mosque is situated in the Bur Dubai neighborhood of the old city, close to Dubai Creek, the Dubai Museum and the textile souk. The original mosque at the site was built in 1900, rebuilt in 1960, with further remodeling in 1998 to produce the building you see today. It can accommodate over a thousand worshipers. Non-Muslims are not allowed to enter, except to its minaret.

There two interesting architectural features of the mosque. One of these is the 70-metre (230 ft) minaret, the tallest in Dubai. The other are the 54 domes of the roof (45 small, 9 larger domes).

(Click thumbnails to enlarge, right arrow to advance slideshow)