John and I took a taxi to the older part of Dubai and right alongside the main road there were loading docks filled to capacity with all sorts of cargo - refrigerators, mattresses, cloth, foodstuffs. These were destined to be loaded onto the Dhows (traditional trading ships) headed for Iran. The ocean crossing was only a 3 hour trip we were told. The traditional Dhow uses only a sail for movement. Pictured here are the loading docks and the Dhows waiting to be loaded with their sterns topped by the covered cabin painted in the traditional blue and white. The water taxis are shown in front of the Dhows. They carry passengers up and down the Creek, which is the main waterway of the harbor.
Across from the loading docks there are a number of old marketplaces, called Souks. John and I visited the Spice Souk. It is a covered market with little shop after little shop filled with spices and herbs from all over the world. The aroma was intoxicating. Almost every shopkeeper that barkered us to come into his small domain assumed we were Germans and always began by speaking German to us. That alone made us smile. The Souk continued on and we were suddenly in another souk where there were lots of little shops filled with dry goods, bedding, dishware, toys, anything you could imagine.
Like all of Dubai, the Souks are immaculately clean. You never see anyone cleaning or picking up anything. But, all of Dubai is clean.
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