The Old Souk (market)
Our day began at 11:00 when we decided to take a taxi down to the Old Souk, the original marketplace where gold, textile, apparel, and souvenir traders from nearby countries bring their goods to sell. Most of the shops were not yet open, so we took an abra (water taxi) across the Dubai Creek to Bur Dubai Station where we ate lunch at Bayt Al Wakeel, an amazing outdoor Creek-side restaurant in a building that was established in 1935, when only the trade market was there. We enjoyed a traditional Arabic meal of flat bread, hummus, falafel, and chicken kabobs while we watched 40-year-old wooden boats manned by hard-working traders share the water with $40m luxury yachts out for a cruise (Sean was loving it). With happy tummies we continued through another outdoor market to the next water taxi stop which took us further down the creek and we enjoyed riding like the local workers and seeing all the old boats still in use. We made our way back to the Burjurman Mall where we spent an hour and then returned to the hotel for the evening and made the kids happy by eating at McDonald's for dinner.
