Yesterday, due to work reasons I ventured down to the Old Souk in Bur Dubai (Dubai), to purchase some authentic UAE handy crafts for the coming visitors.
I ended up purchasing gutra's. For those of you who aren’t aware of what gutras are, they are a large scarfs often in red/ white, white, black/ white, beige ect... that GCC Arab men wear on their heads as part of the tradional attire. I purchased several pale colours such as lilac, pink, green and blue.
I'm not a huge fan of the hustle and bustle of old Dubai but sometimes it’s lovely to see the original parts of the city.
The mix of people is intoxicating from the local merchants to the Indian helpers mixed in with the tourist groups and UAE residents. Although it can also be saddening due to huge number of malls springing up in the UAE and the number of people visiting the souks dwindling due to people being able to purchase all their needs in a single shop now rather than the traditional way of visiting the market on a daily basis.
However if you’re looking for a change of scenery or atmosphere venture down to the Souks either in Bur Dubai or the gold and spice Souk in Deira.
Just remember dress modestly, don’t take any valuables and don’t forget to always negociate on the price, halfling the given price till you arrive at something semi normal.
And my final Piece of advice try the fresh coconut juices priced at AED 7.00 each, it may turn out to be your only bargain of the day.
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