I visited the Dubai Museum today - and thought it was excellent. Not big - you can get in and out in about an hour, but it does an excellent job of explaining the city's history, culture and traditions. The museum is actually housed in the Al-Fahidi Fort which is considered the oldest building in Dubai and was once the residence for Dubai's rulers.
After that, instead of just 'cruising' the Dubai Creek, I tried to act a bit more like a local and took an abra across the creek and spent the next couple of hours (until I felt like I was turning into a puddle of sweat) exploring a couple of the old souqs here in Dubai. The photos that follow are primarily from the gold souq, with a couple of side "alleyways" that were selling beautiful pashminas and fabrics.
The souqs are alive and happening places with every merchant trying to get you to come inside their 'stall' and see what they are selling. It's impossible simply to walk and look... I don't know how many times today I said: "no thank you - I'm only looking". Several thousand I'm sure.
The gold souq could definitely be an attraction for some - as they say "all that glitters really is gold here". With no taxes at all here in Dubai the prices were certainly better than anywhere I've ever seen before, and bargaining is expected in the souqs so you could really get things for quite reasonable prices if you were willing to work at it a little bit.
I'm leaving Dubai tomorrow and flying to Muscat, Oman and travelling around Oman for the next week. I have no idea what access to internet I'll have while I'm in Oman, so if there aren't any posts for a while that's why.
Great pictures!
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