After checking out the Dubai public library I made a brief stop at a local travel agent to see if I could get some tickets to Muscat. It wasn't a problem getting a flight out for tomorrow, then turning around in time for my World Summit Awards meetings, so I bought the tickets. That meant I'd have the rest of the day to cram in as much of Dubai as I could, just in case we didn't have much free time to play tourist during the meetings.
I briefly let myself get lost in the spice souk -- Dubai's spice market. Unlike the spice bazaar in Istanbul, which is a large pavilion hosting kiosks of spice vendors, the spice souk here is more like a spice neighborhood; storefronts here and there with giant sacks of jute cloth filled with enormous sums of coriander, cumin, pepper, henna, you name it. What was surprising was how many of these shops kept their spices behind the window, rather than displayed outside for all to see. Given the Emirati's penchant for air conditioning, it made sense to keep precious (and easily spoilable) spices inside rather than out. So in a way the neighborhood left me a bit disappointed - I just didn't find myself wallowing in the fumes of Arabia and Central Asia as I'd hoped.
I soon stumbled upon Heritage House and the al-Ahmadiya school. Heritage House is a small museum meant to show off traditional Emirati village life in the middle of urban Dubai. The free museum is an open-air courtyard not unlike something you'd find in Santa Fe, New Mexico, surrounded by an adobe perimeter decorated by a range of traditional bedouin tools and household items. There appeared to be an interior to the museum as well, but when I asked the attendant if I could go in, he waved his finger at me and said no. Perhaps they were renovating the place or something, but either way I was touristus non gratis.
The al-Ahmadiya school, on the other hand, was a pleasant surprise - a two-story adobe structure with an open courtyard in the center, this one more akin to the homes of Cordoba. A very friendly guard encouraged me to take a look around, and motioned at me to open closed doors when I came upon them -- apparently each room had a small exhibit inside. Room to room, I explored the building's history; the al-Ahmadiya was a turn-of-the-century school, one of the few formal centers of learning in Dubai at the time. It was the first school to introduce a more secular liberal arts curriculum to go along with traditional Quranic teaching. The rooms were set up as they would have been in the early 20th century, with lifesize dioramas of students huddled around a teacher reciting the Quran. In other rooms, desks are set up in rows in the more familiar western style as recordings of students practicing grammar lessons played in the background. At one point I stumbled upon a group of men renovating a schoolroom, but they just smiled at me and apologized for the mess they were making.
Leaving the school, I took a long stroll through several of Dubai's other famous souks, including the gold souk (perhaps the largest gold market in the middle east), the perfume souk (I still smell it in my clothes) and the electronic souk, which featured a mindboggling collection of oversized calculators, DVD jukeboxes, and karaoke machines featuring an incongruous picture of Arnold Schwarzeneggar on the box.
Leaving the souks, I stopped at a Persian restaurant for a wonderful lunch of ground lamb kebab with rice and a salad bar loaded with fresh yogurt, mint leaves and the crunchiest cucumber this side of the Straits of Hormuz. From there, I caught my first abra -- giant water taxis that ply their way across the Creek every few minutes. I paid my 50 fils when I got on board and motorboated my way across the creek along with a group of 20 or so businessmen.
Having left the neighborhood of Deira, I was now in Bur Dubai, the southern bank of the creek. I walked through a textile souk that was cooled by a partial covering of ornamental wood beams jutting from the roofs. Many of the buildings had traditional wind towers-- chimney-like structures used to create a natural form of airconditioning.
I soon reached the Dubai museum, hosted inside a 19th century fort. The museum was basically divided in two parts - a military museum occupying the ruins of the fort, and a history museum, adjacent to the fort in a series of underground passageways. The history section was particularly interesting, featuring lifesize dioramas on the different souks that make Dubai famous, explaining the history of each trade practiced there. The museum also featured an archaeological retrospective of Dubai, plus a fascinating section on the natural history of the desert. For such a small museum, it packed in a wonderful amount of trivia with attractive exhibits -- a fine way to spend the hottest hours of the day.
It was now mid-afternoon; after a quick Diet Pepsi at Cafe Mozart, I walked down the corniche towards the big Sheraton hotel, past the Dubai Municipal Center and other archictectural experiments.
I'm now on my way back to the hotel, stopping at a cybercafe to check email and write this blog. Considering I haven't slept since 4am Saturday, I'm amazed I'm holding up this well; but I imagine by the time 6pm rolls around, I may find myself dragging myself back to my room for a much-deserved rest.... -ac
Posted by acarvin at October 12, 2003 08:01 AM | TrackBack