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Mystique of the Dubai Creek
Dubai is one of the most modern cities in the Middle East, displaying hardly a trace of its origin as a small trading town. But if you want to take a peep at the city’s past, stroll along the banks of Dubai Creek where wooden dhows and abras (water taxis) still ply their trade.
One of the perks of my job as a pilot is flying into Dubai almost every other month, and over the years the mystique of the Creek has never dimmed. There is nothing I enjoy more than an evening stroll along its bands to watch the waters of the Gulf meander majestically into the city, which has changed it face with the times. I remember the old days when there was only a dirt track along the Creek, lined with Arab-style wind-tower houses. Now all that has changed and the only reminders of the past are the dhows with their waiting piles of cargo and the abras which carry commuter traffic from Deira to Dubai and back. Gone are the muddy sidings of long ago; the litter on the pavement, and the unkempt tea kiosks.
My walk invariably begins from the jetty where residents glide on tiny abras between shores. The moment an abra stops, passengers rush forward to grab a seat and are still leaping on board while the boatman is pulling away from the moorings. Each water taxi represents a small cross section of the world with people from the Middle East, Far East, Europe and Africa. This international flavour is what makes Dubai so unique in the Middle East. You can dress in your own style, speak your own language within your own community and eat the cuisine of your own preference from your own choice of ethnic restaurant.
At one time, the abras were only means to cross the Creek. Now there are organized tour operators, such as Net Tours and Tours Dubai, which operate specialized vessels for leisure purposes.
And just close to the mayhem of the inter-creek traffic sit old ladies from Central Asia right out of the story books of Samarkand and Bukhara selling souvenirs, fresh -- water pearls, beads, binoculars and knives to eager crowds.
Towering over the abras are wooden dhows whose crew come from the sub-continent, Africa and Iran. Sturdy Pathans from North West Pakistan help out with the heavy cargo while kitchen duties are usually the province of workers from the Malabar coast. Arabic and Urdu and intermingled and Dirham is often mistakenly called Rupee.
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