The Art of Seduction

I followed the scent of old spice, herb and wood fragrance, and found a perfume store at the shopping mall. The Indian shopkeeper invited me inside and asked me to try a little bit of everything listed on the shelves.

In the Arab world, wearing strong fragrance not only is a tradition but a weapon of seduction.

A blend of rich, exotic aromas from Rasasi perfume retail store located at the Deira Shopping Center lures many passersby. Fragrances come in different forms including the primitive perfume. It's aromas release when fire burns a certain kind of wood, herb or resin. The most common one is Agar wood.

It is not a luxury but a passion shared by men and women in the Middle East. The necessity of fragrance scents is seeped in local traditions.

The categories of Arabian perfume remain ambiguous to me as most perfume elements originate from India and different ingredients have been mixed to create unique and fusion fragrance after being exported to the Gulf region. The Arabian perfume oil for women and men cologne contain Indian agar wood, sandalwood, ambergris, spicy, floral and woody fragrances.

How to wear a Ghutrah

I venture into the Old Souk market catering to tourists, where is infiltrated by low-end souvenir and textile shops run by mostly Indians. 

“Excuse me, MY FRIEND, Gucci handbags? Scarfs?” The street vendors, with fake Gucci handbags wrapped around their arms, are grabbing tourists like me to check out their shops in the backstreet. Although I'm intrigued by their "friendly" invites, the repetition of it and making eye contact with them can be very intimidating to some extent, at least for me.

The Emiratis and men of other Arabic nationalities wear their traditional costumes called Kandoura or Dishdasha in Arabic, along with a head cloth “Ghutrah” tied with a “Agal.”

I can’t help but wonder what my brother would look like with a Bisht, a combination of Ghutrah and Agal. So I bought a set after the Indian vendor show me how to put them all into one piece.

“This is Saudi style, my friend!”

The funny thing is, I found out later from my Saudi classmate, that what he wears isn't the Saudi headwear, but the Kuwaiti one, which comes with a tail in the back of a ghutrah. The Indian is wrong!!!!!

Crossing the Creek by "Abra"

The old Souk Station is one of the tourist spots on the East side of Dubai.

Maddening to explore this part of the city, I hop a water taxi “Abra” in Arabic across the Creek to find out what it has to offer.

وق, Souks in the City

A trip to the Souq Area cost me about 30 dirham. Just when I was told I have arrived the city’s open-air marketplace, my excitement dropped like a hot potato, and I immediately refused to get out of the cab.

From glamour to ghetto, the supposedly divided shops (not souks) owned by Indians and Arabs are concentrated in one area.

Unlike the reputable grand bazaar in Istanbul, the souk area in Dubai is made up of private shops scattering around throughout the neighborhood, where the majority of shoppers were Africans while the Indians

and Pakistanis in their traditional robes were sitting bare feet or pushing carts packed with goods between the shops.

The streets looked chaotic and dirty and drew a sharp contrast to the developed area of Dubai. There are a few souks that sell different products: spice, textile and gold. I could not identify the souks because there were no signs to distinguish them and they all looked the same, with clothes and souvenirs displaying outside their shops. This part of Dubai is almost invisible to most people.

Slum Tour in Dubai

A residence compound in the slum area of downtown Dubai. Laundry hanging over the balconies reflects the general standard of living of the immigrants and locals.

Skyscrapers in the Desert

Dubai city was asleep before the sun rose. The pre-dawn sky lay pearl-gray and blue, and the buildings looked fragile in the dusty haze.

Sitting in a taxi on my way to the hotel, I remembered a series of overloaded advertisements and TV commercials I saw in both Europe and Asia that bombarded the significance and aggressive economic development in this deserted city. The more I think about them, the less impressed I am with the city’s presence. It is amazing what advertisement can do to an ordinary city like Dubai, where is peppered with construction sites, artificial beaches and wide highways.

Savor the Local Favor: الباشمينا

Heritage Shop

owned by M. Ayub

Somewhere in the one of the hidden alleys of the Souk Area, Ayub sold me three made-in-India Kashmir pashmina shawls for less than 200 AED.

The Souk Area is the ideal place to try out your skill of haggling for bargain hunters.