Guide to the Persian Gulf: Dubai
Formed in 1971 as a federation of seven hereditary emirs, the UAE holds the world’s third largest reserves of oil, which underpin an impressive and increasingly diversified economy. Dubai is the New York of the region, fueled by ambition and wealth, drawing talent and labor from Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Despite the downturn, the place is still rocking. The chic restaurants are full, and the nightclubs remain packed with the attractive global young who have made their fortunes here.
The real treasure of the city—and my favorite area—is its historic center, Bur Dubai, specifically Bastakiya, an enclave of maze-like lanes and traditional coral and limestone houses that have been converted into art galleries, restaurants, and shops. Some of these buildings are distinguished by wind towers—open-sided structures designed to capture and circulate cool air. One such is XVA, a coral-clad courtyard-house hotel with an authentic atmosphere and a mix of antiques and modern furniture. Mona Hauser, XVA’s owner, also runs an art gallery with a delightful courtyard café, and she is a wonderful source of information about the art scene in Dubai and Emirati life in general.
For a complete cultural immersion, the nearby Sheikh Mohammed Center for Cultural Understanding arranges walking tours of historic Dubai and serves breakfasts and lunches where visitors sample traditional foods in the company of charming locals. At breakfast, the lugaymat, spheres of pastry doused in date syrup, are particularly good. The Dubai Museum, located not too far away in the city’s oldest building, the Al-Fahidi Fort, displays interactive installations that explain the city’s history.
Dubai is at its most interesting in March, when art collectors and dealers pour in for Art Dubai at the Madinat Jumeirah Resort hotel. Only on its fourth year, it is already a leading contemporary fair, one complemented by the Global Art Forum, a three-day series of panel discussions focusing on the Middle East. Around the same time, during the Creek Art Fair, the alleys of Bastakiya provide a backdrop for concerts, films, and exhibitions by emerging artists from the region.
Dubai’s established galleries, representing artists from the Middle East and beyond, are clustered around the Gate Village complex in the financial district, a 20-minute drive west of Bastakiya. Among them are Cuadro Fine Art Gallery, which shows an eclectic international mix; the Empty Quarter, with contemporary photography from both local and international talents; and Artspace, for modern and contemporary Arab art. Younger, cutting-edge galleries are in the Al Quoz industrial area. There, the Third Line and B21 Gallery display contemporary Gulf art, while the Jam Jar and 1x1 specialize in emerging South Asian artists. The district can be a nightmare to navigate; hotels have copies of the city’s ArtMap, compiled by the Jam Jar, but the easiest option is to take the ArtBus, also run by the Jam Jar.
In Bur Dubai and in Deira, across the Dubai Creek—traversed in a ten-minute ride on a commuter water bus, or abra—it is worth visiting the city’s celebrated markets. In the Deira Old Souk, adjacent to Bastakiya, a mishmash of 20th-century shops offer excellent pashmina, kaftan, and textile bargains and recall the markets of India. One find in the Meena Bazaar, just across the street, is Princess, which sells clothes inspired by Indian and Middle Eastern fabrics and forms but fashioned for Western tastes. On the other side of the creek is the Spice Souk, a perfect place to stock up on fresh aromatic herbs as well as teas, incense, dried fruit, and nuts. (While not part of the souk—it’s instead in the nearby Burjuman Shopping Mall—Bateel is among the finest purveyors, carrying superb dates and Arabic sweets; the date jam is particularly good.) From the Spice Souk a maze of lanes leads to the early-20th-century Gold Souk, now sadly modernized but still bursting with stall after stall of sparkling, high-quality gold, sold by the gram, according to current international prices. Behind the souk, around Sikkat Ali Khail Street, is a cluster of perfume stalls selling attars (spicy Arabic scents), oud (fragrant woods), and Western-style perfumes. One should be prepared to haggle while exploring the pedestrian lanes in this most genuine part of town. For a less challenging but still atmospheric shopping experience, especially for traditional Islamic wares, there’s Souk Madinat Jumeirah, a historic-looking covered market that opened in 2004 at the Madinat Jumeirah.
Chic restaurants are everywhere in Dubai, from Buddha Bar in the Grosvenor House to Pierchic at the Madinat Jumeirah’s Al Qasr hotel. But the most authentic offerings are east of the city in the Wafi, Satwa, and Karama neighborhoods, each of which is filled with Arabic, Indian, and Iranian hole-in-the-wall spots. Among the best is Asha’s Contemporary Indian Cuisine in Wafi. Owned by Bollywood chanteuse Asha Bhosle, the restaurant makes a black daal as well as mango- and chili-infused cocktails that are local legends. Manvaar, meanwhile, in Karama, serves authentic Rajasthani food. For Iranian, it’s the kebabs at Pars Iranian Kitchen, located off a delightful garden behind Rydges Plaza in Satwa.
Dubai made its name as a duty-free port and a shopping district. Today the city’s malls compete in outrageousness, with improbable entertainments and experiences. A visit to the Mall of the Emirates, though not a profound cultural outing, is a rite of passage for anyone coming to the city—and not just to see Ski Dubai, the renowned indoor snow theme park, with its ersatz Alpine setting and après-ski activities, but to people-watch as well. In a region where climate makes it difficult to stroll outside, malls provide a platform for promenade and display, like the piazza of an Italian town in the hour of the passeggiata. (For Westerners, the offerings at the mall itself are fairly banal, representing the same brands as those found at home.)
Pending the opening of Hydropolis, the world’s first underwater hotel, the curious might want to head to the now-familiar Burj Al Arab, which was inspired by the shape of the sail of a dhow (the traditional boat in the region) and is one of the tallest hotels on the planet. A challenge to the aesthetically sensitive, its garish interiors are still a must-see; rather than staying there overnight, it’s best to just dine among the fishes at the grand aquarium restaurant Al Mahara, accessed by a three-minute elevator ride that simulates a submarine journey. Equally surreal is the nearby Palm Jumeirah, a luxury tourism and residential complex, so named because it consists of artificial islands configured to resemble the fronds of a palm tree. (It will eventually be joined by the World and the Universe, meant to resemble a map of each.) Its latest attraction, Atlantis, the Palm, is a gargantuan 1,500-room hotel themed on the famed lost city, complete with (brand-new) ruins. As with the Burj Al Arab, it’s better to look at than to stay in. I much prefer to spend the night at Desert Palm, a cluster of buildings, many of them in Arabian or colonial styles, set in a verdant oasis 20 minutes south of the city—skyscrapers far in the distance. The hotel has 24 luxurious suites and villas, the latter of which feature private pools and enclosed gardens that let out on to a vast 150-acre estate. The spa overlooks polo fields, providing views of galloping horses during treatments (ask for a facial from Maria), and the best way to start the day here is with a horseback ride around the grounds. The chef at the hotel’s Rare restaurant makes a fantastic pan-roasted hammour fillet with broad beans, roasted plum tomato purée, and homemade tagliatelle, and the wine cellar is possibly the best in the city. (For business travelers, Jumeirah Emirates Towers, in the financial center, remains the top hotel in town.)
Guide to Dubai
Staying Put
Atlantis, the Palm Rooms, from $790. Crescent Rd., Palm Jumeirah; 971-4/426-2000; atlantisthepalm.com
Burj Al Arab Rooms, from $2,450. Jumeirah Beach Resort Complex, Al Sofouh Rd.; 971-4/301-7777; jumeirah.com
Desert Palm Rooms, from $383. Al Awir Rd.; 971-4/323-8888; desertpalm.ae
Jumeirah Emirates Towers Rooms, $953. Sheikh Zayed Rd.; 971-4/330-0000; jumeirah.com
Madinat Jumeirah Resort Rooms, from $815. Jumeirah Beach Resort Complex, Al Sofouh Rd.; 971-4/366-8888; jumeirah.com
XVA Rooms, from $136. Bldg. 15A, 84 Sikka St., Bastakiya, Bur Dubai; 971-4/353-5383; xvagallery.com
At Table
Al Mahara Dinner, $180. Burj Al Arab, Jumeirah Beach Resort Complex, Al Sofouh Rd.; 971-4/301-7600; jumeirah.com
Asha’s Contemporary Indian Cuisine Dinner, $50. Wafi Pyramids Bldg., Wafi; 971-4/317-6833; ashasrestaurants.com
Buddha Bar Dinner, $60. Grosvenor House W. Marina Beach; Al Sofouh Rd.; 971-4/317-6833
Manvaar Dinner, $40. 20 B St., Karama; 971-4/336-8332
Pars Iranian Kitchen Dinner, $68. Al Dhiyata St., Satwa; 971-4/398-4000
Pierchic Dinner, $115. Madinat Jumeirah Resort, Jumeirah Beach Resort Complex, Al Sofouh Rd.; 971-4/366-6739; jumeirah.com
Rare Dinner, $122. Desert Palm, Al Awir Rd.; 971-4/323-8888; desertpalm.ae
Shopping
Bateel Burjuman Shopping Mall, Trade Center Rd.; 971-4/355-2853
Gold Souk 402 Al Jahra Bldg., Khalid Bin Waleed Rd., Bur Dubai; 971-4/352-6867; dubaigoldsouk.com
Mall of the Emirates Sheikh Zayed Rd., Al Barsha; 971-4/409-9000; malloftheemirates.com
Princess Meena Bazaar, Khalid Bin Waleed St.
Souk Madinat Jumeirah Madinat Jumeirah Resort, Jumeirah Beach Resort Complex; Al Sofouh Rd.; 971-4/366-8888; jumeirah.com
Culture
1x1 $ 4 Al Quoz; 971-4/348-3873; 1x1artgallery.com
ArtBus Tickets, $25. artinthecity.com
Art Dubai March 17–20, 2010; 971-4/323-3434; artdubai.ae
Artspace Bldg. 3, Gate Village, Dubai International Financial Center; 971-4/323-0820; artspace-dubai.com
B21 Gallery 1 Al Quoz; 971-4/340-3965; b21gallery.com
Creek Art Fair March 2010
Cuadro Fine Art Gallery Bldg. 10, Gate Village, Dubai International Financial Center; 971-4/425-0400; cuadroart.com
Dubai Museum 62 A St., Bur Dubai; 971-4/353-1862
Empty Quarter $ Bldg. 2, Gate Village, Dubai International Financial Center; 971-4/323-1210; theemptyquarter.com
Global Art Forum March 17–19; 971-4/323-3434; artdubai.ae
Jam Jar 17A Al Quoz; 971-4/341-7303; thejamjardubai.com
Palm Jumeirah 971-4/390-3333; palmjumeirah.ae
Sheikh Mohammed Center for Cultural Understanding Al Mussallah Rd., Bastakiya, Bur Dubai; 971-4/353-6666; cultures.ae
Third Line 3 Al Quoz; 971-4/341-1367; thethirdline.com
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