Dubai has been a trading and seafaring nation for millenia. There is evidence of the region being inhabited since 3,000 BCE or over 5,000 years.
Because of it's position between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean sea. It is in a perfect place for traders to ply their trade and wares. The practice and trade continues today in this. The oldest part of Dubai.
We decided to take a boat tour of the harbor in a local boat called an Abra (Abra has several meanings. It can be a girls name, a lesson, a crossing or a narrow break or defile in a mesa)
This is an Abra or water taxi and we are about to board.
The ancient dockside is packed with Abra loading and unloading passengers and just a few tourists. They are an important ferry service for the locals. It's all a bit frenetic and great fun.
Within minutes we were out on the creek and sailing along the shoreline. The word 'creek' in my mind always conjures up a small winding river. Dubai Creek is altogether a much wider river than what you would expect.
The Abra dock. There are several more water taxi docks along the river bank.
The Dhow was and still is the main form of transport for many goods in and out of Dubai.
A small selection of the 100's of Dhows in the harbour.
The old and the new coexist. The ultra modern Dubai cityscape and the traditional Dhows.
The Dhows are used for many things other than cargo carrying. This one is a restaurant.
And this one is a party boat.
An hour later and we have completed our tour guided safely by our captain Rashid.
We return to the harbor having traveled back in time by centuries.
Dubai of course also has a modern container port but I was struck by just how much trade is still carried on using these ancient and sometimes modern Dhows. It was a fascinating little trip around the harbor. I hope you enjoyed it?
Map image courtesy of Google maps.
Location:
!steemitworldmap 25266018 lat --55297121 long Dubai Creek, Deira, Dubai UAE! d3scr
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Camera and settings:
Canon EOS 70D
f/8
1/400 sec
exposure 0 step
focal length 30 mm