Dubai Creek The Ferry called Abra

Even the world’s biggest and most established cities had to start somewhere and the earliest hubs for places like New York, London and Sydney can be traced to the natural water inlets which continue to be very much at the heart of those cities today.

Dubai is no different and the bustling Creek, which slices through the centre of the city, has become one of the best-known waterways in the world. The Creek is the natural seawater inlet, which is the historic focal point of life in Dubai.

Since earliest times, Dubai has been a meeting place, bringing together the Bedouin of the desert interior with the pearl diver, the merchant of the city with the sea-going fisherman.

While skyscrapers and billion dollar developments have kept Dubai on the move over the last 20 years, a stroll along the banks of the Creek will evoke memories of the city’s centuries-old trading traditions.

Anything from cars and air conditioners to food and even kitchen sinks are loaded up by human chains onto these magnificent wooden vessels that are built to tackle the fiercest of conditions that the Arabian Sea can throw at them.

Dubai’s central business district is divided into both Deira and Bur Dubai, which are connected by a tunnel and two bridges. Each has its share of fine mosques and busy souks, of public buildings, shopping malls, hotels, office towers, banks, hospitals, schools, apartments and villas.

The new headquarters of the National Bank of Dubai produces a shimmering reflection of the Creek through its striking use of polished steel and glass. This is also the DTCM’s head office in Dubai.

The most distinctive and remarkable buildings are ranged on the Deira side, including the Etisalat Tower, the Department of Economic Development, Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DTCM), The National Bank of Dubai headquarters and Dubai Creek Tower.

The best way to view the Creek and the dhows is from an abra, one of the small water taxis which criss-cross the Creek from the souks of Deira to those on the Bur Dubai side.

A crossing costs just 1 AED (Dirham) but for around Dhs150, the boat is yours’ for an hour and boatmen take visitors on a fascinating trip from the abra embarkation points to the mouth of the Creek and inland to the Maktoum Bridge, passing on the way many of the city’s historic and modern landmarks.



Seagulls are visiting Dubai during the autumn migration. The most spectacular are the many Greater Flamingos
The souks on both sides of the Creek are attractive not just for their shopping bargains but also as places for the sightseer and photographer.

In other small streets, shops sell nargilehs (hookah or hubble-bubble pipes) and coffee pots, and nearby tea stalls where both of these items are in daily use. In the tiny lanes of the spice souk, the atmosphere and the scents of the past can be savoured. Bags of spices, incense, rose petals and traditional medicinal products are stacked outside each stall.

On the Bur Dubai side of the Creek are lanes full of textile shops, where a blaze of colourful raw silks and cottons hang in profusion in shop windows.

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At Al Fahidi Fort in Bur Dubai, which houses the Dubai Museum, a throw back to yesteryear can be enjoyed. It once guarded the city’s landward approaches. Built around 1799, it has served variously as a palace, garrison and prison.

It was renovated in 1970 for use as a museum; further restoration and the addition of galleries were completed in 1995. Colourful and evocative dioramas, complete with life-size figures and sound and lighting effects, vividly depict everyday life in pre-oil days. Galleries relive scenes from the Creek, evoking images of traditional Arab houses, mosques, the souk, date gardens, desert and marine life.

Pearl divers risked life and limb to gather oysters from the seabed, often diving for more than two minutes at a time, with little more than a nose-clip and a heavy stone to weight them down. Such was the renown of Dubai’s pearls, that pearling continued to be the mainstay of the city’s prosperity, until the development of the cultured pearl in the 1940s led to the collapse in demand for the natural variety.

The Creek was a place where the men returned home after months at sea to be reunited with their families and for the trading of their catches to begin.

The birth of a fishing industry soon led to the development of boat building, net-making and pearl diving and Dubai’s enterprising traders sailed the oceans in search of markets for their products.

The fish souk in Deira is an attraction in itself. Early in the morning and late at night, local fishermen unload mountains of fresh fish, which they sell in a frenzied bargaining session. Kingfish, red snapper, rock cod (the popular hammour), barracuda, tuna, lobster, crab, king prawn, sea bream, squid, pomfret, shark, mackerel, sardine and other species are available in abundance for most of the year.

Along the slightly larger lanes of the gold souk further inland, each shop window is crammed with gold necklaces, rings, bangles, earrings and brooches. In the evening the area is a hive of activity.

Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahayan Grand Masjid- Abudhabi

The Sheikh Zayed Grand Masjid, Abu Dhabi is named after the revered His Highness Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan. He was the president of UAE and the masjid was named after him to pay respect to his achievements."The mosque is dedicated to the father of the nation, whose vision was founded on dialogue between religions, civilisations and cultures,"

The biggest mosque in the UAE and considered within the Top 10 biggest mosques in the world.

The Sheikh Zayed Grand Masjid, which is built in pure marble, is an amazing place to be at.

Sheikh Zayed Grand Masjid, Abu Dhabi is spread over an area of 22, 000 square meters. Some surprising facts about this beautiful place of worship stun the traveler. Some 210,000 cubic metres of concrete and 33,000 tonnes of steel reinforcement was used in its construction.

The exquisite Sheikh Zayed Grand Masjid, have the capacity to hold at least 30, 000 worshipers at a time.
The architectural design of the mosque as a landmark building focused on the factors that would make a lasting impression on the worshiper.
Biggest Carpet: The centrepiece is a 6,000 square metre (64,583 square feet) hand-made Persian carpet, said to be the biggest in the world. 1200 Iranian women spent 2 years weaving the carpet, weighing in at a huge 45 tonnes. The carpet covers the floor of the main prayer hall at the Sheikh Zayed Mosque, which can accommodate up to 9,000 faithful.


The mosque has four minarets on the four corners of the mosque with a height of about 107 metres each. The mosque consists of 57 domes covering the outside yards, main and side entrances. All the domes of the mosque are decorated with white marble and the interior decor was made of the white gypsum. The best types of the colored floral marble and mosaics have been used to pave the courtyard of the mosque which is about 17,000 square metres.

The mosque has achieved three entries into the Guinness Book of World Records with the largest carpet, the biggest chandelier as well as the largest dome of its kind in the world.The Qibla wall, on the other hand, is 23 metres high and 50 metres wide, and is subtly decorated so as not to distract worshippers from prayer. The 99 names (qualities) of Allah are featured on the Qibla wall using traditional Kufi calligraphy and are subtly back-illuminated using fibre-optic lighting. Twenty-four carat gold, gold leaf and gold glass mosaic were also used in the mehrab (the niche found in the middle of the Qibla wall) and the crescents topping the domes.Furthermore the Mosque features seven 24-carat gold-plated chandeliers which were imported from Germany, all designed with thousands of Swarovski crystals. The largest of these chandeliers, which hangs from the main dome of the Mosque, is considered the biggest in the world; it measures 10 meters in diameter, 15 metres in height, and eight-to-nine tonnes in weight.The Mosque has 80 Iznikpanels - highly decorated ceramic tiles popular in the 16th century - which feature distinctly in Istanbul’s imperial and religious buildings. Traditionally hand-crafted, each tile was designed by Turkish calligrapher Othman Agha. Three calligraphy styles - Naskhi, Thuloth and Kufi – are used throughout the mosque and were drafted by Mohammed Mendi (UAE), Farouk Haddad (Syria) and Mohammed Allam (Jordan). The Mosque can accommodate up to 40,960 worshippers from its prayer halls and courtyard.

Biggest Dome: The main dome is also "the biggest" mosque dome in the world, 75 metres (246 feet) high with a 32.2-metre (105.6 feet) diametre.
Biggest Chandelier: One of seven German-made chandeliers. It is 10-metre (32.8 feet) tall, 10-metre wide and weighs nine tonnes."Built 100% with Italian marble, the mosque has four 107-metre tall minarets, 82 domes of seven different sizes, 96 columns inside and 1,048 outside,"

The mosque was built by thousands of workers, nearly all from the Asian subcontinent, were involved in building the mosque, he said. The sculptors were Moroccan.

Thousands of rare and semi-precious stones, some encrusted in marble, have been used to decorate the structure.

The centrepiece of the mosque is a 6,000 square metre hand-made Persian carpet, said to be the biggest in the world.

"More than 1,200 women from the Khorasan region in eastern Iran spent two years weaving the carpet, which weighs 45 tonnes and cost more than $8.5 million," Al-Ameri said.

The carpet covers the floor of the main prayer hall, which can accommodate up to 9,000 worshippers.

Two rooms next to the main prayer hall, with a 1,500-capacity each, are for the exclusive use of women, who can follow sermons delivered by prayer leaders on giant television screens. Islam requires men and women to pray separately.

The main dome is also claimed to be "the biggest" mosque dome in the world, according to Al-Ameri, who said it is 75 metres high with a 32.2-metre diameter.

Another breathtaking piece is a huge crystal chandelier in the main prayer hall, one of seven German-made chandeliers costing more than $8 million. It is 10 metres tall, 10 metres wide and weighs nine tonnes.

The total cost of the mosque has been at more than two billion dirhams ($545 million), Al-Suleimani said.

Dress and Behaviour Code

Visitors must be dressed appropriately on arrival; if not, entry will be denied.

• - Modest, conservative, loose fitting clothing; long sleeves, long skirts and trousers
• - No transparent (see-through) clothing
• - No shorts for men
• - No shorts and skirts must be ankle length
• - No tight clothing, no swimwear and no beachwear.
• - Shoes will be removed before entering the mosque, so we recommend slip off shoes
• - Headscarf for ladies is essential (these can be provided when you arrive)
• - Intimate behaviour; i.e. holding hands or kissing is not acceptable in a Muslim place of worship
• - For safety and respect to worshippers, visitors should stay within the areas of the mosque that are permitted and not roam freely around. Smoking and food are not allowed in the mosque area
• - Visitors are requested not to touch the Holy Quran (Holy Book) and other architectural elements inside the main prayer hall