Dubai

Old Gold and New Gold

Before the towers came the trade. The Dubai Creek has been the beating heart of commerce in this corner of the Arabian Gulf for centuries, and its wooden abra ferries still carry passengers across the water between the historic Deira and Bur Dubai districts for just a few dirhams. The Gold Souk in Deira glitters with thousands of pieces of jewellery displayed in shopfronts that stay open long into the evening. Nearby, the Spice Souk fills the air with turmeric, saffron, and frankincense. The Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood preserves a warren of wind-tower houses in the traditional barjeel style, housing galleries and courtyard cafes where the pace slows and the coffee arrives sweetened with cardamom.

Sand, Sea, and Spectacle

The Arabian Gulf coastline is never far away, and Dubai's beaches stretch along both the mainland shore and the famous artificial Palm Jumeirah, a palm-shaped island that added forty kilometres of waterfront to the city in one audacious engineering move. Luxury beach clubs share the sand with public stretches where families picnic at sunset. For those who want the original Dubai landscape, the red dunes of the Al Hajar foothills begin just beyond the city limits. Desert safari operators offer morning drives, camel rides, and evenings under starlit skies at Bedouin-style camps where grilled meats and mint tea arrive around a fire.

A City That Feeds the World

More than two hundred nationalities call Dubai home, and the food scene reflects every one of them. Emirati restaurants serve slow-cooked lamb ouzi and luqaimat dumplings drizzled with date syrup alongside the subtly spiced rice dishes that have absorbed centuries of Persian and Indian influence. The city's restaurant landscape ranges from Michelin-starred dining in the Marina to Pakistani grillhouses in Deira where the charcoal is always lit and the naan arrives hot from a clay oven. Between October and April the weather is benign enough to eat outdoors at rooftop terraces across the city, with the Gulf breeze carrying the scent of salt and jasmine into the night.