old dubai – Life at Her Brightest

“Anna!” Zainab’s voice ricocheted off a tiled white wall. She sounded impatient. “Sun is setting higher. Yalah! First you were lost in space and now in time. Let’s get moving to avoid hitting the midday heat.”

Arguing with Zainab or the Dubai summer would be a definite defeat, so I rolled my eyes and complied. Fortunately Zainab didn’t notice my facial emoji. She seemed preoccupied photographing an entire family of three generations: a son, father and grandfather working in the same place all together.

Happens rarely these days! I tend to swop between projects quicker than scrolling through my Facebook feed. By the way, if you are wondering who the mysterious Zainab actually is, go ahead, review her IG credentials here or read part One of “Anna and Zainab in Old Dubai”.

“Anna, yalah,” smiled Zainab pointing at our next destination. Any guesses?

Second stop: Fruit and vegetables market

Deira’s fruit and vegetable market used to share its address with the fish market between Ras Square and Hyatt Regency hotel. At this particular moment (June 12, 2017 at 4pm) fish market is relocating to a new waterfront community.

Walking along endless rows with beautifully ripe fruits, I couldn’t resist the temptation to bargain. Bargaining is a real art in the Middle East, usually mixed with stories and anecdotes shared by all sides of a potential deal: a shopper, a seller and observers.

“Zainab,” I whispered. “Teach me.” Zainab nodded, hid away her inseparable iPhone 7 and confidently walked to a stall. Casually joking half in English (for me), half in Arabic (for better effect) she reached her target in a matter of a few sentences. “Wallah!”

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Now it was my chance to shine. Looking as charming as possible I opened with: “Your neighbor offered 2 pineapples for 10 Dirhams” (around $3). Well, you can tell the seller looked unconvinced. The truth was that not only that I didn’t speak with the neighbor, but my LV purse was too small to fit anything bigger than an orange.

I confessed, initiated small talk about the weather and noticed a little crowd of perspective buyers building up behind my shoulders.

“Mashallah, he’ll sell’em all now,” whispered Zainab and we’ve departed.

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Just like Alice in Wonderland, who ran after the White Rabbit to escape the boredom of her world, I followed the lady in the black abaya worrying how easy it would be to loose her in a crowd of other ladies.

“Anna, hurry up. Are you day dreaming or is it the heat?” It was at that moment a very elegantly dressed cyclist stopped by the road to straighten a rose attached to his bicycle. Or was I dreaming?

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To be continued…

Stalk Zainab or me on Instagram and Facebook

In the pre-oil era, Dubai was a cosy settlement nested on opposite shores of a salt water Creek known as Deira and Bur Dubai. The Creek played a vital role in connecting the emirate to the region and the world, making it a peaceful harbor for fishermen, merchants, sailors and travelers.

Screen Shot 2017-06-03 at 7.46.00 AM.png — That’s what Google shows for “Dubai in 1950”

Today, Dubai is a city that develops rapidly with incredible acceleration but nonetheless loves its past and history. Dubaians take pride in preserving old buildings, opening museums and restoring the Sikkas, narrow streets hidden away from the cameras of tourists in busy districts. In Old Dubai, Sikkas resemble little arteries pulsing good vibes and connecting people, places and experiences.

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My life in Dubai has had it ups and downs, mirroring the trends of the world’s economy. Realizing how little I had discovered on my own after living in the UAE for twelve years was surprising. Then a few weeks ago the luck smiled down on me when I randomly met inspiring Emirati photographer Zainab who talked me into joining her on a walking / shopping tour of the 5 most important Souks (markets) in Old Dubai – fish, fruit, vegetables, spices, garments and textiles and obviously, gold. I agreed without thinking twice and voila, this is the true story of what happened.

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“Anna! See you tomorrow at Rashidiya metro station. 8am or earlier. Zainab,” my WhatsApp cheerfully pinged.

“Metro station? Are you sure? What if I drive?” my replies sounded as confusing as my thoughts. I’ve never used the metro since its opening in 2009 and frankly never intended to. Living in the Middle East taught me to cherish my extended personal space especially while commuting, which I did’t fancy sharing. Driving a reliable fancy car turns out to be a necessity, not a luxury. Zainab meanwhile responded in a non-negotiable manner and went silent, expressing how less she would sympathize with my chaotic emotions.

“Well, metro it is”, mumbled I to myself choosing to wear beige pants, a white tunic with long sleeves and a colorful silk head scarf by Wyilda; hoping to be unrecognizable in that camouflage. The next morning at 8am I was standing on a platform waiting for Zainab feeling extremely proud of my “mission accomplished”. I drove all the way to Rashidiya, conquered traffic, parked and used an escalator to reach the platform. Not too bad for a girl who’s car became her cave on wheels.

Tip: sort out your NOL metro card in advance to avail free parking.

Zainab appeared on a platform with a warm confidence that only locals portray.

“Anna, where’s your gold card?” Zainab demanded greeting me. I pulled out my credit card in confusion.

“No, no. Metro gold card! Let’s get it quickly and ride in style”.

Finally, I felt relieved. Riding in style was all I wanted, so I happily scurried after Zainab. A few minutes later we were chatting tet-a-tet in a gold class cabin.

Leaving brilliant Zainab in charge of logistics, I chose to sit back, relax and thoroughly enjoy the view paired with the complete privacy of our voyage. Half an hour later we changed a train and in another 20 minutes stepped out in Deira blinded by a bright sunny morning.

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First stop: Fish market

As carrying raw fish on the metro was forbidden, our trip to the market had a more educational purpose than practical. We both shared excitement and curiosity but for opposite goals. Zainab was excited to indulge in real street photography and was curious to visit the fish market prior to its relocation to the Waterfront community. I was excited to watch Zainab, the “Queen of iPhone 7 portraits and boomerangs” in action. There was a secret goal too. Being a “crazy cat lady”, I needed to satisfy my curiosity and count all stray cats sabotaging fish businesses with their cute hungry faces. For some inexplicable reason Zainab was sure my blogging and photography intentions were towards people not cats. I did “my level best” to keep that illusion going.

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A few minutes after our stylish entrance, I, avoiding any eye contact, found the most remote corner to spy on Zainab through my superzoom lens, documenting her fearless endeavor through melting ice, chopping and cracking. She didn’t seem to mind any of those, seeking only the pure joy of photography.

Needless to say, my scheme fell apart pretty soon and my camouflage failed me too, as I ignored a fact we were the only two girls “shopping”. The whole market was able to point out my hiding spot to Zainab when she looked for me. To say she was disappointed was to say nothing! She frowned, giving me a stern studying look:

“Anna, listen. You are not a fish, you interest no one. Your options are: interact with people closely or halas, I’ll tape your zoom”.

Then she gently pulled my arm to illustrate the decision was made. That’s when I found myself in the middle of the fish cleaning area staring at heads, tails, fins and other scary attributes of that fishy business.

“Anna, yalah, I’m watching you,” Zainab’s voice insisted. Chop, chop, chop, click, click, click, we all worked in unison…