the souks of dubai

Gold Souk gate

When you journey away from the mirrored skyscrapers and twinkling lights, you reach the older, traditional part of Dubai.  We stepped out of the cabs onto a narrow winding brick sidewalk.  In the afternoon, most of the shops are closed against the heat, with metal bars obscuring goods crushed behind smeared glass.  Above, brown and moldy stucco cracked around small second and third-floor balconies hung with limp clothing.  A male cat, his pelvis protruding through thin fur, sauntered around a garbage dumpster.

We wound through the streets to a large wooden gate that announced we had arrived at the Gold Souk. Faiz, in his usual way, struck up a friendly conversation with the first person he saw and found out that most of the souk was closed now but would reopen in less than an hour.  On both sides of the street, under the beamed roof of the souk, gold bangles gleamed in neat rows across every window.  Men with coffee-colored faces and dark eyes stared from under thick brows.  Faiz said there was the world's largest ring at the end of the souk, so we continued on, past a stall with beaded shoes in pastel colors, to a small crowd gathered in front of the window of the last of the jewelry stores lining both sides of the souk.  A sign propped at the bottom of the window announced that the 12 inch high lumpy golden circle with a large clear stone was the world's largest ring.  

Largest ring

We continued on to the Spice Souk, also marked with a large wooden gate.  Barrels filled with a rainbow of colors spilled out of every shop onto the narrow sidewalk.  As we took a few steps, men darted toward us from every side.

"What you want?  I have it here."

"Ma'am, ma'am.  Saffron, I give you saffron for good price."

"Ma'am, how 'bout a purse?"

"You want a purse, ma'am?"

"Saffron, what you like?"

"Come inside, I show you more."

Eventually, Tahir (Canada) would persuade a shopkeeper to sell him large sealed bottles of saffron for 50 dirhams each, since we all agreed the seal seemed safer than buying the stuff filling open barrels.

Entrance to Spice souk

Spices for sale

The souk ejected us onto a larger street along a small waterway called The Creek.  Old wooden boats crowded together as if they were fighting to climb onto the sidewalk.  We walked along the sidewalk toward the abra (water taxi) stop, stepped onto a dock and onto the small wooden boat.  About 25 people crowded onto the raised seat in the middle of the abra around a driver who stood down in a hole next to a wheel.  The smell of gasoline and smoke irritated my nose as the abra began to whir and backed into dark blue water.  Boats raced chaotically across the waterway and we saw 2 clunk together like bumper cars beside us.  The abra deposited us onto a wobbly dock across the creek.

Abras on The Creek

Aboard an abra (driver in blue shirt at right)

In the Textile souk, linens and scarves of every color lined the shelves of the shops.  Abayas with a rainbow of embroidery and beads hung from the walls.  Here men accosted us with the refrain "pashmina, pashmina."  Occasionally a seller would throw a silk scarf over a woman's shoulder as she walked by, cooing "pashmina" in her ear.  We eventually ended up inside the plastic curtain of one shop, where the team would get its first lesson in bargaining.  Kanako (Japan) and Karen (US) bought flat shoes in sparkling with beads.  Felipe (Colombia) and Stephan (Germany) bought silk scarves, but only after the entire team walked toward the door when the young boy behind the counter refused to meet their price.

Textile Souk

"Alright, alright, come back," he said.  "I geeve you 160."  We smiled and winked at each other as the boy gently folded the silk scarves and thrust them into plastic bags.  #ibmcsc uae