World Trade Deep In The Heart Of Deira

With two degrees in business, I have done my fair share of studies on world trade and its many implications but never in my entire life have I SEEN world trade like I have seen it deep in the heart of Deira (northern part of Dubai city). Somehow it has always been very theoretical - just numbers shifting around, electronic transactions, distant warehouses and shipping routes that you rarely get a chance to see. Until now.

One of the days K was working, I ventured into the souq area of Deira. Part of it is more touristy bazaar stalls selling the typical t-shirts with Dubai print or stuffed camels but the further you move away from those stalls the more it becomes evident that there is some serious trading going on.

The famous gold souq - which sees its fair share of tourists - is also a trading place in the old sense. I have seen people from various countries of Africa dressed in their colorful traditional dresses with the big headpieces buying gold to take home and maybe trading for something else. Once you stop looking at all the glitter you start seeing small, non-noticeable hotels where the traders stay overnight (lobby full of packages and traders carrying their newly purchased goods in and out). In the narrow streets everything is being sold and traded - clothes, electronics, household supplies, spices, you name it. It seems that the whole world comes together here - I have seen nationalities and cultures I hardly knew existed - national dresses I had never seen before and have no idea where are from. Variations in color, in the shape of hats, in the patterns of a dress - all national and regional differences coming together in one place. People everywhere.

I hardly need to say that I was - again - the only white person around and way out of place but somehow it seemed that people in that area are so used to seeing all kinds of people that they didn't bother to say anything - from men in various traditional outfits to men wearing a skirt-looking sarong - to Indian women in saris with their shoulder and back part bare or those covered up in beautiful colorful dresses with floral embroideries, to African women in big colorful dresses. Also here there are about 100 men for every woman you see but (luckily) it's social taboo to approach a woman so I just kept my eyes down and kept walking through it and no one bothered me. That also explains the lack of pictures - I just couldn't stop and draw more attention. I only stopped at a small juice bar with a menu consisting of pictures that made it easy to point at wonderful freshly made strawberry/mango or watermelon juices. There were 3 small tables on the sidewalk right next to the busy street and some traders were resting. I think it's the only place in the region I have been to so far where no one cared if men and women (i.e. strangers) sat next to each other - if there is an empty chair you sit down. Drink your juice and continue your trading.

I feel that I have seen the real world. And in the middle of the chaos with its many different sounds, smells, sights and with people from all over I feel the most alive - alert, all senses working overtime, cautious and curious at the same time and a reminder of just how much I love to travel.

I did manage to take two pictures, however, in a rare moment when I was not surrounded by people.

Shop supplying all imaginable kinds of head scarfs, veils and things to wear under the veil to keep the hair hidden and in place. And outside is a vast assortment of hats worn by men - with all the varieties of patterns, embroidery, shapes and colors:


(Shop in Deira in the heart of the trading area)

This one catered only to men but was also well-stocked in different types of hats and headpieces:


(Shop in Deira in the heart of the trading area)

I also had a long walk in the part of the area where the wholesale trading offices are located - typically small offices with glass doors and fronts, some men, a desk, a phone and some goods on display - mostly sacks of rice, it seemed but also spices, shoes and other goods.

This one was a bit different (and the men had left for their lunch break so I could take a picture through the window):


(Chewing gum on display at a whole sale trading office, Deira)

Although not related to trading, I also walked past the government office where all the guest workers need to go - I suppose for all the paperwork for their work permits. It was in the midday sun and there must have been at least 50 men queuing in the heat (and the queue did not seem to move). In all the streets around this office were little shops offering their services in translation - English and Arabic - as well as typing. I have not seen typing services anywhere else, I think, but of course it is needed here.

A greenish mosque in the Deira souq area:


(Mosque, Deira souq)


(Mosque, Deira souq)


(From close to the juice bar - this 'down town hotel' really is down town - just don't expect it to be in the touristy area)


(View from the juice bar, next to the bus station - it has little to do with Texas, though)

And a few pics from the touristy part of the souq:


(Wind chimes, Bur Dubai souq)


(A mother cat looking at shoes while her kitties play in the background)


(Traditional embroidered shoes - possibly worn only by tourists and made in China?)

Claustrophobic (?) In Dubai Marina Area

Our blog is slowly turning into a holiday picture album but rest assured that we now have very few pictures left to show you from Dubai :)

On the last day we went to have a look at the Dubai Marina area:


(Skyline behind the Dubai Marina)

It is still very much a construction site and despite the financial crisis they are still building:


(Ongoing construction in Dubai Marina area)


(The finishing touches and window cleaning in a new building, Dubai Marina)


(Window cleaning in a new high rise, Dubai Marina)

The Dubai Marina - the ocean is behind the row of high rises:


(Dubai Marina)

Behind the marina are some of the nicest beaches of Dubai:


(Beach in Jumeirah near Dubai Marina)

Those of you who read my previous blog post Dubai - heaven on earth or hell in the making will recognize this picture taken from the beach here:


(Tourist, a local and camels - a Jumeira beach)

Enter baby...


(One baby, one man, two camels - could be a (bad) movie)

Being on the beach here feels a bit like stepping out of Manhattan straight on to sand...


(Beach, Jumeirah - hotels and residential buildings)

Dubai is also the playground of some seriously rich people - like the owners of this nice 'little' yacht:


(Yacht off a beach in Jumeirah)

As much as I love Manhattan, I do feel that he buildings here are just way too close to each other - there is land enough (still), why not leave a bit of space in between the buildings so that people can breathe?


(Constructing new additions to the already long line of high rises off the beach)


(View of part of the beach in Jumeirah, the Dubai Marina behind the row of high rises)

There is a pedestrian street - appropriately called 'The Walk' right next to the beach here. In the evenings it's a great place for people spotting (including the prostitutes working the restaurant tables when the managers look away). It is also where the affluent youth comes to show off their expensive cars - but we had not seen this one before (I bet it's not cheap, though):


(Car, The Walk)


(Car, The Walk)

Way Out In The Oasis Of Al Ain

On the last weekend in Dubai we decided to go for a Friday day trip to Al Ain - a small city of app. 350,000 inhabitants that belongs to the Abu Dhabi emirate and is 1.5 hours by bus from Dubai, right on the border with Oman.

We just wanted to get out of Dubai for a while and see what the United Arab Emirates looks like outside of all the modern glitter. A second reason for going to Al Ain is that it has a real oasis and we had never been to one.

Unfortunately we didn't take any pictures during the bus ride there - an experience in itself as we were the only non-Indian/-Pakistani people on the bus and the only ones who stayed awake during the drive there (apart from the driver, luckily). Al Ain is not a major tourist destination and in fact we only saw 2 other western-looking people the entire day. Most of the drive is on a relatively new road built through the desert with peach-colored sand dunes and camels grazing on both sides of the road. It is a lot more hilly than the desert in Kuwait (which is almost entirely flat) and more picturesque.

We arrived just when the Friday prayer had begun and everything except for the biggest supermarket was closed. We decided to buy some snacks and have a picnic in the oasis.


(The entry to Al Ain oasis - it's good to be a tourist!)

The guards that sit at the entrances to the oasis have found a way to make life more comfortable:


(Arm chair near the main entrance to the Al Ain oasis)

...And they have thought of all necessities...:


(Port-a-potties in the Al Ain oasis)

An oasis is by definition a spot - small or large - of greenery in the middle of the desert and that's what makes it so fascinating. There is ground water here and that's the reason why these palm trees and other green plants and trees grow here in what used to be desert all around but is now the city of Al Ain to one side.

Kuwait has no ground water and thus no oases (all water in Kuwait is either imported drinking water or desalinated sea water and is more expensive than gas for the car!).

Don't get fooled by the fact that it is all paved - that's just something that they have done in modern times to ease the transport of the dates they harvest from the palm trees and to be able to drive through the oasis with equipment etc.


(Al Ain oasis - a huge concentration of palm trees and a system of small roads where you easily get lost)


(Al Ain oasis)


(Part of our picnic lunch - it's a local yoghurt drink but in my native tongue 'laban' is a word for a naughty boy)


(Enjoying lunch under a tall palm tree)

This is a system of irrigation called falaj. It's a method thousands of years old for getting the ground water up to the surface and channeled around the oasis according to where it is needed.


(Falaj channels in Al Ain oasis - guiding the water around the oasis)


(Falaj channels filled with water, Al Ain oasis)

Rocks, pieces of cloth and occasionally some plastic is used for blocking the water and leading it to where it is most needed:


(Redirecting the water, Al Ain oasis)

Speaking of water, this little lizard had fallen into the sink outside a small mosque in the oasis and could not get out because the sink was too slippery for it:


(Lizard caught in the sink outside a mosque in the Al Ain oasis)

The little guy stared right at me (I was probably more scared of him than he was of me):


(Lizard in the sink)

And K commenced a rescue mission to get the poor guy out - look how it is clinging on to the palm leaf:


(Rescue mission in progress)


(Made it to the edge - almost free)


(And finally back in its right element)

Right after we had helped the little lizard out of the sink, the mullah of the small mosque arrived on his bicycle. He was a slim man with a long beard dressed in white and on the back of his bicycle he had his prayer carpet - just returned from Friday prayer at another mosque. In broken English he greeted us with a 'welcome!' asked where we were from and gave us another 'welcome!'. We pointed at the lizard to explain why we were lingering outside his mosque and he in turn pointed to our camera to ensure that we had taken pictures of the lizard.


(Drying the seeds from the top of the palm tree)


(Al Ain oasis)

The oasis is a wonderful place to spend an afternoon - it is relatively cool and shaded, it is very quiet apart from lovely birds singing and it is so beautifully green:


(Greenery in Al Ain oasis - an unbelievable sight in the middle of the desert in a place where the temperature easily reaches 40 degrees Celsius (104F))


(Grass-like plants, Al Ain oasis)

The oasis is home to a lot of birds whose singing is the only sound heard:


(Bird in Al Ain oasis)


(Birds in Al Ain oasis)


(Bird in Al Ain oasis)


(Birds in Al Ain oasis)


(Tree with some serious toothpick-sized thorns)


(Palm tree stems)

After walking around for a while we sat down to relax a bit. All of a sudden this man comes walking into the oasis with a shovel over his shoulder and as soon as he sees us he heads straight for K - he muttered a few unrecognizable words in Arabic and warmly shook K's hand with both his hands before he walked on. Talk about Arabian hospitality and the ingrained habit of greeting strangers and travelers on your way who might hold information useful to you!


(A friendly stranger)

Out of the oasis it became clear that also here a majority of the population is foreign workers doing the jobs that the Emirati don't want to do themselves - and it is very out in the open what's for sale:


(Agency window, a main street of Al Ain)


(Commercial from an ATM where we withdrew some cash...)


(Decorated trucks - feels like being in India in the middle of the Gulf region)


(It gets so hot that it's necessary to cover the gear stick in order to be able to touch it)


(Decorated truck in Al Ain)

We stopped at a local pastry shop for some air-condition and Arabic sweets:


(Baklava-type mixed sweets - am sure it's called something else, though)

The main street of Al Ain has a nice view of the Great Mosque and the mountains in the background (shared with Oman):


(Main street Al Ain)

I had read at a random web page before leaving that the United Arab Emirates' last remaining camel market had reopened south of the city on the border with Oman. We stopped so many taxis asking them if they knew it and all of them said no. We had actually given up finding the camel market when we decided to ask one last time - a taxi parked at the bus station. He said yes with such conviction that we decided to give it a try (plus the taxis are cheap so we had nothing besides time to lose). 5 minutes into the drive he had to call a friend, though and ask for directions and even as we neared the market, he asked several people for directions (people standing 100 meters from it didn't know it?!). We finally found it though and they had the most wonderful camels there.

As we step out of the taxi this guy immediately asks us to take pictures of his camel saying that the small one is only 3 days old. I guess we should have seen it coming but in this region the usual 'let's screw the tourist' behavior is so rare (thank God for that!) and when he started asking for money we knew that this place - although no tourists were to be seen - was that kind of place.


(Local man with an apparently 3 day old camel)

We did not take too many pictures there as the atmosphere was quite tense. In a square in the middle, men from the entire region were trading camels and sizing them up in a chaotic setting. Around the square were closures where the salespeople held their camels. In the afternoon heat, many of the men had walked away from their closures allowing us to take some quick pictures of the camels:


(Camel love at the camel market on the Omani border)


(Black baby camel with cute fat legs, camel market on Omani border)


(Curly-haired young camel, camel market on Omani border)

My all-time favorite baby camel who I wanted to take home and begged K to buy for me (after all, he was the one who promised me a camel if we moved to Kuwait!). It was about a head shorter than me and so incredibly curious. It would not bite or anything, just put its big camel lips around your fingers and I am sure I saw a little smile when we patted it on the neck.


(The most adorable baby camel - I'll be going back for it!)


('My' baby camel, camel market on Omani border)

Quite frankly the camel market is the only place so far where I have felt uncomfortable - the air was just dense. Right before we left, a man came up to me and grabbed my arm to tell me something (or maybe to make me go take pictures of his camels so he could ask for money). Where I am from it doesn't mean much if a man touches my arm but I know that here it is a complete taboo and totally unacceptable. We would have loved to stay longer and look at the camels but the people were just so unfriendly and the atmosphere so unpleasant that we quickly drove back to Al Ain (we had asked the taxi to wait for us with the meter running - after all he had never been there before and also got a look at the camels).

In sharp contrast to the camel market, the Al Ain Palace Museum was so peaceful and pleasant.


(Al Ain Palace Museum seen from the first floor)

The Palace Museum is the birthplace of the late first president of the United Arab Emirates, Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and of course has a room dedicated to the intricate family tree of the past and current rulers and sheiks of the United Arab Emirates:


(Family tree)


(The current President of the United Arab Emirates: His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan - yes, that's Khalifa as in Burj Khalifa formerly known as Burj Dubai...)

It offered a nice look into the not so distant past:


(Bedroom as it used to be)


(A majlis living-room like place for receiving visitors who are of course to be offered Arabic coffee)


(Another place for receiving visitors)

We were there in the late afternoon as the sun was beginning to set and the light was just so beautiful and the shadows long so I went a little photo-crazy (bear with me):


(Trees casting their long shadows on the facade of the Palace Museum)


(A wooden ladder in the garden of the Palace Museum)


(Long, beautiful shadows)


(Al Ain Palace Museum - view from a first floor porch)


(Afternoon shadows on the wall)


(Al Ain Palace Museum)


(Self-portrait, from a bridge connecting two parts of the house)

The inner courtyard garden was really beautiful and pleasant - I could have stayed for hours:


(Garden in the inner courtyard, Al Ain Palace Museum)


(Garden in the inner courtyard, Al Ain Palace Museum)


(Beautiful big tree with fragrant yellow flowers, inner courtyard)

The light was disappearing fast and as Friday is the only weekly day off for many workers (those who are lucky enough to have a day off), people were massively gathering on the squares, in the parks, in front of fountains, in intersections and everywhere it's possible to sit down to chat with friends and enjoy the cooler evening air. During the day we had seen them queue like crazy in front of the various Western Union type offices that allow them to send home the much anticipated money they are earning here to their families in India, Pakistan and elsewhere. We also saw them shop at the local market - stocking up on groceries for the entire week but we were so out of place that it would have been provocative to photograph them. It was quite an eye-opener, though.


(People gathering for a Friday night out in the open - you can click on the picture to enlarge it and see how people are sitting everywhere)


(People gathering for a Friday night out in the open)

It was really nice to see something outside of Dubai but also a really strange feeling of being completely out of place - and of being in India somewhere rather than in the Middle East. During the entire day I think we saw maybe a handful of women in total (in the small fabric shop area in the early evening) and I kept wondering if this is a city of Southeast Asian men only. Apart from the camel market, I never felt really uncomfortable, though - just out of place, but it was a great experience. When the daylight was gone, however, we decided to catch a bus and return to Dubai for a late dinner.