Dubai

Our day started out particularly well as we all received, with great relief, our e-visas for India on our cell phones.
Today's tour started at 9:30am with a visit to the old section of Dubai to browse through Arabic-style Souks. Souks are groups of stalls and stores arranged by commodity selling everything from A to Z.
Along the way, we saw an estimated 50, very rustic, blue painted ships, if you could call them ships. They carry mostly used articles from Dubai to Iran, for resale, taking approx. 6 hrs. They look so old and dilapitated and are stacked so high, you would think that a sneeze would blow them over.

At the Spice Souk they sold an abundance of spices, dried fruits and nuts, in a wonderfully fragrant and lively setting. The Gold Souk is devoted solely to jewelers, and although gold is the prominent precious metal, platinum, silver, and diamond jewelry are also sold. And then there is the Textile Souk, and the Perfume Souk, all with countless stalls.
We started off in the Spice Souk and had a great presentation about the variety of spices that they sold. One of the things they demonstrated was how menthol can be used to help clear the nasal passages. They put one small crystal on a burning coal and came around the store, waving their hand over the rising fumes. It just about knocked your head off, all of this from just one crystal, but it sure cleared the nostrils. During our free time roaming through the maze of stores and cubicles, Lee, in her glory of the barganing process, beat up several of the vendors and ended up with a lovely pair of pants and some cute leather shoes. We finally returned to the first spice store and purchased some saffron, hibiscus leaves (to make tea ) and some colourful ceramic bowls.
Back to the hotel, to freshen up and get ready for a sunset dinner cruise with stunning views of Dubai lit up at night.En savoir plus