Dubai in 24 Hours

Dubai is a country that has a long, interesting history. You can find out about the history of Dubai in the Dubai Museum. The Dubai Museum is along the Dubai Creek and close to the souqs. It tells the story about Dubai before oil was discovered and how they made their money on trades. It also talks about how the Dubai Creek was created so they could make trading easier and what kind of weapons they used to protect their country. There is also a fort that is part of the Dubai Museum that was used to protect the country from other countries trying to take over this very coveted piece of land. Near the Dubai Museum, stop at the Arabian Tea House for a wonderful Arabian breakfast along with some Arabian coffee! The food and coffee are very tasty and unlike anything you will find in the U.S. After breakfast and a visit to the Dubai Museum, make sure you walk through Al Fahidi. This is a historical neighborhood that has buildings that were constructed back in the early 1900s.

After seeing the history of Dubai, check out the venders in the souqs. In Dubai, they have the Gold Souq, Textile Souq, Spice Souq, Perfume Souq, Utensil Souq and more! This is a great place to go to get your souvenirs from Dubai. You are sure to find something for anyone on your list. They have everything from jewelry to purses and back packs and incense to natural spices! They have vendors from all over the Middle East bringing their goods to sell to you in Dubai. Keep in mind you do not have to pay the marked price, the vendors will barter with you. Have an offer in mind and let them know what you want to pay and see how close you can get to your number after the back and forth bartering with the vendors. The Dubai Creek splits the souqs so make sure you cross over the creek and continue to shop. The Dubai Creek has a ferry that will take you across called the Abra. It is only 1 AED (Dubai currency) to ride it each way. There are so many vendors there, you really could spend a whole day just shopping...of course I had a lot more things I wanted to do so I ended up leaving once I bought for everyone on my list. While you are in this area, take a lunch break at the Bayt Al Wakeel for some more Arabian food and coffee.

Of course, you cannot spend even one minute in Dubai without stopping to see the world's largest building (Burj Khalifa), world's largest mall (Dubai Mall) and the world's largest choreographed water fountain (Dubai Fountain).

The Burj Khalifa is a hotel and holds the current record of being the world's largest building. It is located next to the Dubai Mall and Dubai Fountain. There are two observation decks where you can see all of U.A.E. and even the Persian Gulf. You can go online to the website for the "At the top" experience to get tickets for the two decks. In the evenings, in-between the fountain shows, they also play videos and advertisement that takes over the whole building.

The Dubai Mall holds the current record of being the world's largest mall. Within the mall, you have a choice of over 1200 retail stores, 150 eateries and a 22-screen movie theater. There is also an aquarium and ice skating rink in the mall!! Make sure you bring some comfortable walking shoes when you visit this mall!

Between the Dubai Mall and the Burj Khalifa, is the Dubai Fountains. This fountain starts playing to music about 6pm. The fountain plays to a different song every half hour until 11pm. The fountain plays both Arabic and American music.

It was a long and wonderful day! But I had a great time! There is still so much more to see and I can't wait to come back and experience more in Dubai!