Dubai - the old and the new

One dirham for a ride down and across the Creek on an Abra is great value and a splendid way of seeing the traders busy at work loading anything from lorry tyres the refrigerators onto the dhows.
Fancy a lie down but it is too hot indoors? Then this is the bed for you! Get a close up look at the very interesting dubai Museum, which charts Dubai's history from 3000BC to the present day.

Water pipe in Al Ras, across the Creek from Bur Dubai.

One of the Dubai's many souks. This one is a centre for the garment industry. no cars, but beware men pushing handcarts!

Mesmerising hotel on Sheikh Zayed Road.
I cannot decide if the Emirates Towers remind me of the Division Bell or Rene Magritte. They are wonderfully eye catching. The outward facing elevators of the hotel give you fantastic views.

The nearby art galleries host exhibitions of contemporary and 20th Century artists. I decided that the Chagall at $8million was just over my budget.

Bastakiya

Bastakiya, close to the Dubai Museum, is cool in more ways than one. The sand and stone, thick walled buildings of this quarter of old Dubai have been beautifully restored. The narrow alleyways provide shade and tranquility just steps away from the busy streets of Bur Dubai.

The wind towers have four open faces to funnel cool air down into the rooms of each building

The name Bastakiya derives from Bastak, in Iran. Bastakiya was founded by traders from Bastak who settled in Dubai about 100 years ago.

Bastakiya is a great place to spend a tranquil hour or two. some of the buildings have been turned into cafes cum art galleries and one is a small hotel.

Dubai Life

I missed out on the Dubai Marathon because of my kneee operation. That enabled Gebrselassie to win but not in a world record time because he fell asleep in a chair the night before and woke up with a stiff back!

I went for a walk to the beach instead. you can see the magnificant Burj Khalifa from just about anywhere in anmd around Dubai. The air has been very clear this month, with just a couple of windy days when the sand blew in from the desert.

Just behind the glitz of the hotels on Sheikh Zayed Road are the houses where some of the workers live. A few interpid souls ride bicycles, many have cars and all seem to have satellite dishes.