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The souks on both sides
of the Creek are attractive not just for their shopping bargains
but also as places for the sightseer and photographer.
A huddle of narrow alleyways has survived on the Deira side
despite intensive building in recent years. In the tiny lanes
of the spice souk, the atmosphere and the scents of the past
can be savoured. Bags of spices, incense, rose petals and traditional
medicinal products are stacked outside each stall.
Along the slightly larger lanes of the gold souk, each shop
window is crammed with gold necklaces, rings, bangles, earrings
and brooches. In the evening the area is a hive of activity.
Gold prices are among the lowest in the world. |
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In
other small streets, the visitor can find shops selling nargilehs
(hookah or hubble-bubble pipes) and coffee pots, and nearby
tea stalls where both of these items are in daily use.
There are traditional bakeries where large flat loaves of delicious
unleavened bread are baked to order inside a domed oven called
tandoor. Small textile shops sell veils with decorated edges,
pantaloons with embroidered anklets, and dress lengths with
similarly embroidered necklines reminiscent of The Arabian Nights.
On the Bur Dubai side of the Creek are lanes full of textile
shops, where a blaze of colourful raw silks and cottons hang
in profusion in shop windows.
The fish souk in Deira is an attraction in itself. Early in
the morning and late at night, local fishermen unload mountains
of fresh fish which they sell in a frenzied bargaining session.
Kingfish, red snapper, rock cod (the popular hammour), barracuda,
tuna, lobster, crab, king prawn, sea bream, squid, pomfret,
shark, mackerel, sardine and other species are available in
abundance for most of the year.
Dubai Gold Souk or Gold Souk, is a traditional market (or souk)
in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The souk is located in
the heart of eastern Dubai's commercial business district in
Deira. The souk consists of over 300 retailers that trade almost
exclusively in jewellery. Retailers in the souk include both
well established stores like Damas, ARY Jewellery, Prima Gold
and Joy Allukas Jewellery as well as smaller stores that operate
almost exclusively in the gold souk. The Dubai Gold Souk is
situated in the locality of Al Dhagaya. By some estimates, approximately
10 tons of gold is present at any given time in the souk. It
is bordered to the north by the Dubai Fish and Vegetable Market
and the Deira Corniche.
Trade in the gold souk grew during the 1940s due to Dubai's
free trade policies which encouraged entrepreneurs from India
and Iran to set up stores in the souk. Despite a general slump
in the global gold market, Dubai's share of value of trade in
gold and diamonds to its total non-oil direct trade increased
from 18% in 2003, to 24% in 2004. In 2003, the value of trade
in gold in Dubai was approximately Dh. 21 billion (US$ 5.8 billion,
while trade in diamonds was approximately Dh. 25 billion (US$)
7 billion in 2005. India is Dubai's largest buyer of gold, accounting
for approximately 23% (2005) of the emirate's total gold trade
in 2005. Switzerland was Dubai's largest supplier of gold ingots,
wastes and scrap. Similarly, India accounted for approximately
68% of all diamond-related trade in Dubai; Belgium's share in
Dubai's diamond trade was about 13% (2005). |
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