2023-07-31 21:08:00
Dubai stands for many things, but above all for a life in excess and the constant hunt for the next superlative. The emirate is known as an influencer’s paradise and is considered a haven for those who dream of life without limits. And thanks to numerous star restaurants, luxury hotels and the good weather guarantee, Dubai has been one of the most popular travel destinations in the world for years. In the city today, tourists will mainly find high-rise buildings en masse and an over-selection of everything you can imagine.
Only the real culture of Dubai, the traces of the former fishing village on the Persian Gulf, you sometimes look in vain between countless skyscrapers and luxury cars. And yet there are places in the metropolis, which is home to more than three million people, that are reminiscent of the original Dubai. Places that feel more authentic than the many houses that tower hundreds of meters into the mostly hazy sky and disappear in their mass as if they were one.
Dubai: From fishing village to mega city
One of these places can be found on the banks of the Dubai Greek, a branch of the Persian Gulf that extends into the Bur Dubai district – itself one of the oldest and most original districts in the entire emirate. If you are looking for the origin of today’s Dubai, you will always end up in Bur Dubai at some point. Because where visitors can still enjoy traditional street food and experience the local Arabic culture in its most honest form (immigrants tend to live in other parts of the city), Dubai’s history began many years ago.
In 1833, the family of Sheikh Maktoum Bin Buti Al Bu Falasah founded the independent fishing settlement of Dubai on the western bank of the Dubai Greek. Initially, the residents focus on ensuring their survival in the middle of the desert – they become excellent fishermen and learn how to deal with the peculiarities of the desert landscape, raise goats and sheep, grow dates and dive for pearls. Today, the date is still particularly present: it is considered a typical local delicacy.
The search for the “real” Dubai
As the British begin to trade across the great oceans, Dubai becomes an increasingly interesting trading partner. Initially as a stopover on the way to India, but soon also as a supplier of pearls, fish and – thanks to the groundbreaking discovery of oil in the 1920s – also increasingly as an oil supplier for the whole world. After being admitted to the United Arab Emirates in 1971, the sheikh decides to expand his city according to a master plan. Since then, the sheikh’s family, who still rule the emirate to this day, has consistently implemented the plan – and provides new superlatives almost every year.
How concrete the Emiratis’ ideas of the future are can be seen in the “Museum of the Future” for several years. If you want to understand the vision of a person or an entire city, you should also look at the roots. They reveal a lot about the motives, the values and can complete the picture. At first glance, Dubai tends to seem overwhelming to visitors – a lot of everything. But there is also down-to-earth Dubai. If you look closely, you can also discover it in everyday life among all the striving for more. For example at the spice market, at the port or in the desert.
Authentic Dubai in the museum
Or you simply look for these places. Since March 2023 there is a new museum at Dubai Greek. The “Al Shindagha Museum” takes its visitors on a journey in a modern way – to the origins of today’s super metropolis. Instead of luxury, you will find authenticity, a bit of desert feeling and some impressions from the life of the sheikh. What that can look like? We show it to you in the picture gallery.
Transparency note: The research for this article took place as part of a press trip at the invitation of Dubai Tourism.
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