Dubai The City And Its History

The Spice Market

The 2nd day, we decided to tour the city. Our first stop was the Spice Market.

They had everything from traditional herbs and spices, dried flowers and local dress great ali baba shoes, pashminas, rugs, pillows, etc. It was so much fun to explore and walk around and just check out everything. The colors of the market were so vibrant. It was beautiful.

It was also cool to see all of the locals in their native dress of white with a black head covering. They wear these outfits to protect themselves from the sun and sand elements of the desert. Dubai’s population is actually only 10% locals with the rest coming from tourists.

The Gold Market

The Gold Souk was spectacular! Cash was very excited to hear that I had visited the Gold Market. (He has been obsessed with gold recently; he was thrilled with the gold playing  cards I brought home for him!)

This market really specialized in gold but still had many of the other traditional, touristy items for sale. It was really neat to experience these Souk Markets. It was very much like the ladies in Sex and the City with  people trying to convince you to come in to their store for their special deal. You need to 1)  be firm and 2)  know how to haggle. I knew exactly what I was looking for  gifts for the kids… I settled on one store with a nice owner and stuck with him.

Dubai used to be a huge landmark for oil but is actually dry now. Abu Dhabi, the capital city, still has oil. Dubai’s number one source of revenue is in fact, tourism. They have the largest mall in the world. Heavenly! Not only do they have an aquarium and an underwater zoo, but an ice rink, restaurants and hotels all inside. Can you imagine?!

Old Town Dubai

The original dwelling of the city of Dubai dates back to 1095. It was on the water back then and was more used as a fishing village.  It’s a very interesting place to see and there was such a nice view from the water. It was a great little spot to take a break from site-seeing and have lunch!   Who know Dubai had a big red bus LOL.

Another cool fact about Dubai is that there is week is structured differently. Their weekend is Friday-Saturday so Sunday is their Monday. This is due to their religion.

Also, there are also only two seasons in Dubai: hot and hotter! I was happy to escape the blustery city and soak up the sun.

Burj Khalifa

The Burj Khalifa is quite a site. The design is gorgeous and breathtaking. It’s the tallest building in the world at 2,716.50 ft. and 160 stories high.  It really does quite a bit for the skyline of the city. Inside the building is also the Armani Hotel. The building itself holds a lot of different offices but there is also great restaurants and shopping on the lower levels. If the concrete was weighed, the Burj Khalifa would be equal to over 100,00 elephants! Crazy!

It was delicious. We also tried out the hookah as that is a huge part of the culture in Dubai. As you can tell from the pictures below, I was NOT into it. I’ve tried it before but it has never been my cup of tea. Still, it was fun to do as the Dubaians do!