CITYSCAPE From the moment you touch down in Dubai and leave the airport the urban landscape towers above on a grand scale. Every building seems to be in competition with the next as they strive to be bigger, better, and more alluring then the next. Every hotel oozes luxury, and it is difficult to find anywhere that does not excite and cocoon you. The city sits on a natural creek that divides it into two halves — Deidra to the north and Bur to the south. DUBAI CREEK Known as Al Khor in Arabic, the creek was the base of the local fishing and pearling industries in the early 20th century and was dredged in 1961 to allow larger cargo vessels to dock. The first bridge, Al Maktoum Bridge, opened two years later. The extension in 2016 of the Dubai canal linked it to the Gulf. One of the most interesting ways to cross the creek is via a small boat called an abra . Dozens ferry folk back and forth for a very small sum, and boatmen are also available to take you on a forty-five-minute journey to admire Dubai from the water. We took a much larger boat in the evening. It was one of many which were decked with lights to form a lighted boat parade. On the top deck we ate dinner while we enjoyed the views of the city by night. THE SOUKS These are to be found on both sides of the creek. They are traditional Arab markets full of atmosphere and, if you can haggle, a good bargain. They are ordered according to what they sell. The most famous is the gold souk, which is considered to be the largest gold bazaar in Arabia and one of the best places in the world to shop for fine jewelery, gold, silver, and gemstones. The spice souk is an aromatic paradise and the color and aroma are tantalizing The perfume souk is filled with familiar scents in the most ornate of bottles. It’s back then across the water for the textile souk with its range of hand-woven and machine-made fabrics in cashmere, silk, cotton, and wool.
23 RUMMELE’S JEWELERS MAGAZINE
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