A Photo Walk - Bastakiya Part 2

My breakfast at the Arabian Tea House Restaurant and Cafe was followed by a short photo walk inside the Bastakiya quarter. It is a tiny but most engaging neighborhood in old Dubai. The labyrinth alleys are lined with restored merchant houses with tall wind towers, restaurants and cafes, art galleries, souvenir and herb shop, mosque, and a soon to open coffee museum. Bastakiya is a charming step into Dubai's past.



What caught my attention the most was the Wall of  Old Dubai. The Bur Dubai wall was constructed in 1800 AD from gypsum and coral and serves as a defense wall of the old city.



The Calligraphy House


Visiting Bastakiya will give you a completely different perspective of what Dubai was like far from the glittering tall buildings and highly commercialized areas that we have now.



Sikka art fair is also being held in Bastakiya every year, it is designed to feature UAE contemporary art practices and initiatives. Sikka draws its names from the alleyways between the historic houses of Dubai aka Bastakiya, that serves as a metaphor for budding artists to develop their creativity and seek for their professional paths by participating in the art fair.


These wind towers or wind catchers are cultural icons of the city of Dubai. The old houses are equipped with wind towers to funnel air inside the house especially during summer, they are renovated and preserved and to this day, even some of the new buildings are designed to have wind towers for cultural display.


If you are in for some shopping while on the walking tour, there is a spice store, textile, and souvenirs store, just don't break the bank, save some for your entrance fee to Dubai Museum and Abra ride in the creek.








My Yellow Bells

Carla is a lifestyle blogger based in Dubai who's thankful to call this ever-evolving city her second home. The pages of this blog are filled with stories about her expat life in the sandpit. It features dining and travel adventures in and around the city and beyond. It also features food recipes, parenting tips, and fashion style.

1 Comments

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Carla

  1. Seeing your photos made me miss the place, it's been sometime now since we last walked around there :-)

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