Dubai is a city of extremes. In the last 30 years, it’s become one of the most modern cities in the world, and yet, it’s also home to an old-world souk that dates back hundreds of years.
Spend a day in the Dubai Spice Souq or Gold Souq and you’ll be transported back to ancient times as you get lost among endless stalls piled high with colorful spices and gold jewelry.
The souks are located in Dubai’s Deira neighborhood, which sits on the north side of Dubai Creek—a manmade waterway that divides the city into two sections: Deira on one side and Bur Dubai on the other.
The easiest way to visit both is by taking a water taxi across the creek (you can buy an all-day pass), then walking through a maze of narrow alleys lined with wooden carts overflowing with every spice you can imagine (some more exotic than others). The most common spices are cardamom, saffron, cloves and mint, but there are also rarer ones like lemongrass, rosebuds, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla. If you’re not sure what something is, just ask! The shop
Feeling the end of summer blues?
Escape to the gold and spice souq in Dubai!
You’ll be able to pick up all the beautiful spices you need, or maybe even find a few new ones! Plus, you can’t beat the price: everything is incredibly affordable.
Or maybe you’re just looking for a little bling? The gold souq is right next door. You’ll have so many options to choose from that you’ll have a hard time leaving empty-handed.
From frankincense and myrrh to gold bracelets and necklaces, the gold and spice souq in Dubai has everything you need to feel like royalty this fall.
So go ahead–spice up your life with a trip to Dubai!
Dubai’s gold souq, the world’s largest gold market, is booming.
But its success comes with a tradeoff: Dubai’s air pollution has fallen to dangerous levels.
The souq has been open since 1974 and is one of the oldest markets in Dubai.
A lot of locals have started going there instead of buying gold at jewelry stores.
In recent years, Dubai has seen an influx of expats who have come to work in the city. Many of these expats want to buy gold, but since there are no local goldsmiths, they go to the souq instead.
One big advantage that attracts both locals and expats is that the souq sells precious metals at more affordable prices than jewelry stores.
Because the demand for gold has increased, so too have particulate matter (PM) emissions from traffic. This can be attributed to both the increase in cars on the road as well as heavier traffic volume on Dubai’s streets due to higher volumes of construction sites and an influx of tourists driving through Dubai. In fact, PM emissions have been found to be so high that they are compromising many industries including health care and tourism.
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