Matḩaf al Baladīyah

After the old town we took a traditional boat (abra) across the river to Deira. Deira's traditional souk district includes a number of markets. Here you can haggle over the price. You should do it because if you don't do it, it will be an insult to the sellers here. It is best to start 50% below the offered price, if you don't go below that you will find yourself somewhere in the middle. Natasa bought a dress for 200 dirhams, which normally would have been around 400 durhams.

The shopping destination owes its existence to its proximity to the port, where goods from merchant ships from Africa and the Indian subcontinent arrived. The Grand Souk Deira offers a wide range of traditional Arabic goods. Here you will find toys, household goods and typical Arabic gift items, including bowls, herbs, spices, perfumes, cloths and other fine textiles, as well as traditional foods and sweets. Camel milk in particular should not be missing here in any form. Natasa and I tried camel ice cream - delicious - but there is also camel chocolate. If you like it, I can recommend Al Nasma Chocolate. Not available in the market where we were, but you can get them in Dubai.

Nearby is the Gold Souk, said to be the largest in the world. You can also find the largest gold ring in the world there, as well as lots of other gold and silver jewellery. Interestingly, over 90% of the jewelery here is for women, not because women prefer to wear jewellery, but because Arab men are only allowed to wear silver, diamonds and gold are reserved for women.Read more