Why Dubai has a market dedicated to gold – with a US$3 million ring weighing 141 pounds
Look past the city’s skyscrapers and high-end malls and you’ll find a land of busy souks, or markets, each specialising in a certain item – from exotic spices to jewellery
If you were to listen to most travel guides on Dubai, you would think the desert city materialised out of the air a decade ago.
The city exploded in prosperity after the United Arab Emirates discovered oil in 1966, leading to a development boom that has resulted in the world’s tallest building, second biggest mall, most luxurious hotel, and more skyscrapers than any city besides New York and Hong Kong.
Dubai was settled as a port city in the early 1800s, when it became a centre for fishing and pearling, and a crossroads of sea and land trade routes through Asia and the Middle East. That trading history can be seen in the souks, or markets native to the Middle East and North Africa. These are colourful places where traders of various nationalities hawk their wares, as your senses are attacked from every direction.
Dubai has many souks, although some of the modern-day versions consist of rows of air-conditioned shops, all housed under a common roof. These souks are generally dedicated to certain items: spices, perfume, clothing. But the most extravagant is the Gold Souk, where people come from all over the world to get a deal.
As Nada Badran, a Jordanian television presenter who has lived in Dubai for most of her life, told me these souks are the key to understanding Dubai.
After a couple of days in the city, I felt like I was having a hard time finding local culture. So I met up with Badran, who hosts Wander With Nada on CNN Arabic. She agreed to take me through some of the better-known souks.
Here's what it was like to visit them:
Mega-projects like Palm Jumeirah, the world’s largest artificial island, and the Burj Khalifa, the tallest tower in the world, may be cool, but it was a dose of culture I was searching for.