Solitude in the Old Bastakiya District in Dubai

I visited the Dubai Creek last night and was amazed by all the activities there. Families having picnics, tourists enjoying the dinner cruise, children running around with their nannies after them, young couples taking longs walk and swooning.

I decided to carry on walking wthout any fixed destination and reached a quiet and tranquil place towards the end of the creek's stretch. I could see narrow lanes and courtyards and was tempted to head towards this mysterious place. I later realised that I had reached the old Bastakiya district of Dubai.

For your information, the old Bastakiya district with its narrow lanes and tall wind-towers gives a tantalizing glimpse of old Dubai. Immediately to the east of Al Fahidi Fort is the largest concentration of traditional courtyard houses with windtowers.In the past, the city was famous for a mass of windtowers which lined the Creek on either side. These were not merely decorative; they were the only means of cooling houses in the days before electricity.

It seems I was the only living soul in those quarters and I felt as if I was dreaming and was in a movie set. I cannot explain this feeling but perhaps some of the pictures might be able to describe what I felt last evening. So tranquil and so surreal...

Yes, I am going back there again...