A heritage tour of Old Dubai

Gulf News

A heritage tour of Old Dubai. Gulf News walks down two heritage trails - Shaikh Saeed Al Maktoum House in Shindagha and Al Bastakiya - showing the beauty and culture of old Dubai. See more at: http://gulfnews.com/gntv

Transcript

00:00We are here in the Chandigarh area of Dubai, one of the earliest settlements of the city.

00:14To be precise, we are here at Sheikh Saeed's house.

00:16Sheikh Saeed was the grandfather of the present-day ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid

00:21Al Maktoum.

00:22The house itself was built in around 1896.

00:26Of course it's been renovated and reconstructed a little bit now.

00:29So you see it now in its restored form, not really in its original form.

00:33Originally it was just a mud and stone house.

00:35And now it's been turned into a little museum.

00:38What you can see here are some really interesting pictures to begin with.

00:42There are some very very interesting and rare pictures taken back in the 1950s and 60s.

00:47Mostly taken by the pilots of the Royal Air Force who used to fly around here.

00:51If you compare those pictures with what you see today around here, it's hard to believe

00:56that it's the same city.

00:57It's changed so drastically.

00:59So it's a good comparison, it's a good way of doing a before and after comparison.

01:04It is getting more and more popular.

01:05Of course it's not so much visited place like let's say the Dubai Museum.

01:09It could have to do with the location perhaps because it's a bit off way from where the

01:13tourists are normally going around.

01:16And it could also have a little to do with the promotions because perhaps it's not very

01:20well known among the visitors.

01:21Of course now the RTA is also doing everything possible to make it more connected, make it

01:27more accessible.

01:28And secondly you'll see there are people just walking around here.

01:30So this is the way to come here.

01:31It's not a place where you come in bus loads and explore.

01:37Bastakiya, similar to Shindigarh, is also one of the oldest residential areas of Dubai

01:42which has now been turned into a heritage area.

01:45Many of these old houses have been now turned into little art galleries and museums or even

01:50a few restaurants and cafes.

01:52It's a wonderful place to explore on foot again.

01:54Bastakiya actually the name derives from the name of a province in Iran called Bastak because

02:01a lot of original residents of this area, they had strong connections with Iran.

02:06These were the traders and merchants from Iran who came and settled here.

02:09These people were known as the Bastaki people.

02:11The whole layout of the area is in such a way because it is right on the creek where

02:15you always get a bit of a breeze coming through.

02:18So the alleyways were always designed in such a way that the breeze would actually pass

02:21through them and keep the area cool all around.

02:24And you can feel it when you're simply walking through these little alleys.

02:27You feel nice and cool even on a hot summer day.

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