Overview
Before oil, this was the port: pearling boats, then dhows trading with Iran and India, which still tie up along the Deira wharf and load washing machines and tyres by hand. The creek was dredged in the 1950s with a loan that Dubai took specifically to keep the port competitive, a decision usually credited with everything that followed. Al Fahidi on the Bur Dubai side keeps coral-and-gypsum houses with wind towers, the local air conditioning before electricity.
Highlights
Cross on an abra rather than the tourist boats; they leave when full, cost one dirham and are how people commute. Walk the Deira wharf in the late afternoon to see the dhows working. Al Fahidi’s lanes and the coffee museum are the quiet half of the day; the gold souk is the loud one.