Faux Souk

© Vincent Appel

There are three types of souks in Dubai. There are the mega-malls, the souks which are part of the hotel and resort complexes, and the souks found in the old city. The There seems to be nothing actually from Dubai, no local craft or trade which can be found in any of these places. There is a fish market North East of Deira, in Sharjah, and a very small handful of vendors selling spices and shisha in Deira. Those are the only examples of “local” commerce.

The two major faux souks are located at the base of the Burj Dubai and near the Burj Arab. They are, as expected, filled with expensive textiles and home furnishings imported from other countries, as well as high end electronics and other luxuries of international tourism. These souks, along with the mega-malls, have completely shifted the economics of the commerce which exists in the old city.


© Vincent Appel

In Deira, the majority of the narrow streets are lined with cheap commercial venues selling a variety of novelties which seem to have come from a mail-order wholesale party outlet. The only exceptions are the Gold Souk, which is as contrived as those in the resorts, and the streets after streets of vendors dealing construction equipment and building components. The malls have edged out all other commerce here and the economics of the largest construction site on earth has created a city of small specialized hardware stores. Some of the most unique deal only in plumbing elbows, solar panels, and even cnc mills.