Here is a fun example of driving through Naif. Naif is a crowded neighborhood not far from where we live. There are lots of little shops, lots of little winding, narrow streets, lots of jaywalking pedestrians, lots of men pushing carts, and one amazing example of parallel parking. Enjoy!
(This was not our destination, but getting there was half the fun.)
The rule of thumb that the three most important things are “location, location, and location” doesn’t play out here. In America, businesses are rarely placed near their competitors. The thought is to be the only supplier of your goods or services in the area (unless you are Starbucks and the aim is to be on every corner).
Here, businesses are clustered together with their competitors. I think it comes from the tradition of souks, such as the gold souk, spice souk, or fish market, where all the suppliers of a particular product are together in one area. The picture below is just a few blocks from where we live. There are 10 rental car offices in the picture. There were more, but I couldn’t get them all in a single picture. 
Thirty-eight years ago today the United Arab Emirates came into being. It existed prior to that, but it was referred to as the Trucial States and lacked a centralized government.
We recently visited Shindagha (a second time) and toured the house of Sheikh Saeed bin Makhtoum al Makhtoum (grandfather to the current ruler of Dubai) which is a very nice and educational museum. We highly recommend it. They have a nicely displayed collection of photographs, coins, currency, stamps and documents.
Large homes of this period are a series of rooms around a courtyard. Three, possibly four generations lived here at one time. This house fell into disrepair, but underwent a detailed and thorough reconstruction in the 1980’s. The structures with the poles sticking out of them are wind towers which funnel any breeze from any direction down into the house as a form of early air conditioning. This particular area is right on the coast, so there is a fair amount of breeze, even in the hot months.
It’s time for another episode of weird toys. Interest Chicken, who ends up being not very interesting, and a lion with a bunny in his mouth.
From the Deira side of the Creek we took an abra (small boat taxi) to the Dubai Heritage Village which is near the mouth of the Creek in an area of Dubai known as Shindhaga. This was a residential area and pearl diving area. By the time we arrived, most of the village was closed for the evening, but this one woman was still making traditional foods. She made a traditional flat bread and dessert balls that are simlar to plain donuts that are served with sesame seeds and a syrup. We enjoyed watching the technique and enjoyed tasting the breads.
Welcome to the Gold Souk. This is the old gold souk. There is a new gold souk across the Creek in Bur Dubai.
Jewelry of every kind is to be had, for a price.
Golden bracelets galore.
The stores stretch for a significant distance. Next up – abra ride to Dubai Heritage Village.
Once we climbed down out of the bus, we crossed the street to the spice souk. As you can see, the students dressed all in black look very similar, so I made a point of noticing what the handbag of my assigned guide looked like, so I wouldn’t get lost.
The seller was happy to show us his wares. The smell was heavenly. Wish I could capture that digitally for you.
Not all the shops have spices. The wares vary. This is a textile shop with lovely fabric and clothes. From here we proceeded to the gold souk, so that will be in the next post.
Last Monday evening we went on a tour of Dubai that was organized and conducted by some of the college students for the “newbie” staff. Not all the newbies opted to go, so there were openings for others and we jumped at the chance. Our first stop was along the Creek. A crowd of 14 Emirati women and about that many staff members drew a bit of attention. These boatmen were staring at us, so I figured I could take a picture of them. So there!
I got my first henna designs. These are temporary and will fade in about 2 weeks. Islam forbids permanent changes to the body, like permanent tatoos, but temporary decoration is very common and popular. Women do this for special occasions – holidays and weddings. Wedding preparations usually include a “henna day” about three days before the wedding in which the women gather at the bride’s house and have henna designs applied. Comparable to a bachelorette party without the stupid, humiliating games. Anyway, I am not attending any weddings. This was part of the National Day celebrations at the college. National Day isn’t until Dec 2nd, but we had celebrations because college will be closed until after National Day. 
Take a good look at this palm tree. Anything unusual about it?
This tree is not only far taller than any other tree in town. It’s trunk is perfectly even and tapered. This is an artificial palm tree, probably disguising a cell phone tower. There are cell phone towers and antennas all over the place, none of which have been disguised or hidden, so why this one?
Living the Travel Channel 