English Teacher in Oman
Exploring Dubai
27 February 2009
The Story…
During 2008-2009 I taught English to Omani students at a college in Ibri, rural Oman. A bunch of us teaching at the college decided on a weekend trip to Dubai in the neighboring UAE, about 300km from Ibri.
So, five of us drove down with my rented Nissan Tiida and slept 2 nights at the very neat and tidy Dubai Youth hostel in Al Qusais, Dubai.
We explored Dubai city...mainly the malls and the Dubai Creek area.
We reserved a whole afternoon and evening on the 26th of February for a Desert Safari near Dubai, a not to be missed experience.
In this post, I cover the unique scenery one can find when exploring Dubai Creek in Deira. We came across Iranian cargo boats, or Kashti's in Dubai Creek and we took an Abra or water taxi across the Creek to explore the old textile souq in Bur Dubai.
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| Abra or water taxi crossing Dubai Creek |
About Dubai
It is the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, one of the seven emirates that make up the country.
Abu Dhabi and Dubai are the only two emirates to have veto power over critical matters of national importance in the country's legislature.
The city of Dubai is located on the emirate's northern coastline and heads the Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area.
It emerged as a global city and business hub of the Middle East and is also a major transport hub for passengers and cargo.
By the 1960’s, Dubai's economy was based on revenues from trade and, to a smaller extent, oil exploration concessions, but oil was not discovered until 1966. Oil revenue first started to flow in 1969.
Dubai's oil revenue helped accelerate the early development of the city, but its reserves are limited and production levels are low: today, less than 5% of the emirate's revenue comes from oil (Wikipedia).
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| Deira Textile Souk |
Iranian Kasti's in Dubai Creek
Iranian cargo boats in Dubai Creek - Tens of small and modest Iranian cargo ships, known as 'kashtis' in Persian, travel every week to Iran from the UAE carrying foodstuffs and household items.
Dubai’s Deira Creek is lined with tens of kashtis on any day of the week and workers mill about as they wait to receive deliveries of goods and load them on board.
Commercial vessels have been calling on Deira Creek for more than a century when Dubai emerged as a trading post, but it was in the 1960s that the Creek wharfage came to life after the then Dubai Ruler Shaikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum ordered dredging of the Creek that allowed bigger dhows to dock there.
The Creek wharfage was then redeveloped in 1993 with proper berths and jetties.
Hundreds of dhows enter Deira Creek every year, facilitating trade between Dubai and Iran, Somalia, Yemen, India and other countries in the region.
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| An Iranian cargo ship or Kashti |
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| Iranian sailors on their 'Kashti' |
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| A Kashti deck |
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| Deira harbor - Dubai Creek |
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| Goods destined for Iran, being loaded and secured on a Kashti |
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| Loaded Kashti - Dubai Creek |
Dubai Creek water taxis (Abra's)
Dubai Creek is located in the center of Dubai. The Dubai creek separates the Dubai airport area and Deira area from the Bur Dubai (also known as Dubai city).
We took one of these Abra's or water taxi's from the where the Iranian ships lie on anchor in Deira, across the creek to the Old Textile souq in Bur Dubai.
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| 'Abra's (water taxi's) and a Kashti (Iranian cargo ship) in Dubai Creek |
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| 'Abra's (water taxi's) - Dubai creek |
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| Abra or water taxi on the crossing |
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| Abra's on the crossing |
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| Abra's on the crossing |
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| Abra with passengers |
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| Crossing Dubai creek on an Abra |
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| Crossing Dubai creek on an Abra |
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| Creek scenery |
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| Creek scenery |
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| Creekside buildings |
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| One of the Abra/water taxi stations |
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| Passengers waiting to board an Abra |
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| Map of stations |
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| Bur Dubai station notice |
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| At one of the stations |
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| Boarding at an Abra station |
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| Near Bur Dubai station & Dubai Textile Souq |
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| At Bur Dubai station, near Dubai Textile Souk |
The Dubai Textile Souk, also known as the Old Textile Souk, is a traditional market of textile products located in Dubai's historic Bur Dubai neighborhood.
It's located on the Bur Dubai side of Deira Creek, so we had to take an Abra, or water taxi from the point across the creek where I took pics of the Iranian Kashti's.
Opposite to the textile souk on the other side of the Dubai Creek, lies the Dubai Spice Souk and Dubai Gold Souk in Deira, accessible via the creek by abra boats or water taxies.
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| Dubai Textile Souq |
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| At the Dubai Textile Souq |
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| Dubai Textile Souq |
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| Dubai Textile Souq |
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| Dubai Textile Souq |
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| Dubai Textile Souq |
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| Dubai Textile Souq scene |
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| Little back alley at the back of the souq |
Dubai Museum
Dubai Museum is the main museum in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is located in the Al Fahidi Fort built in 1787 and is the oldest existing building in Dubai.
The museum was opened by the Ruler of Dubai in 1971, with the aim of presenting the traditional way of life in the Emirate of Dubai.
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| Dubai Museum |
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| Dubai Museum |
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| Dubai Museum |
A reminder where we were...
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| Air-conditioned Bus stop |
To view our Desert safari and dune bashing adventure, click here!
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