Visiting Dubai’s Past – Bastakiya District

Then we walked down to the Bastakiya district. 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 wind towers. This unique part of town is worth checking out, as it offers travelers glimpses of what life has been like in Dubai since the 19th century, when Persian merchants first moved here and "set up shop," so to speak. Since many of these expatriates hailed from Iran's Bastak region, this quarter of town became known as the Bastakiya District. Noteworthy features in the district include its quaint, narrow lanes and ornate wind towers, which channeled wind in order to cool nearby homes. In the days before electricity and air conditioning, Dubai Creek was lined by a mass of wind towers that kept the local houses cool through an ingenious employment of air currents.

The Bastakiya district is a step back in time, laden as it is with traditional courtyard houses, bedecked with these uniquely Arabian wind towers. It has two restaurants….. Bastakiah Nights Restaurant and Local House Restaurant. In the restaurants, the ambience is such that you will feel, as if you were dinning in Old Dubai. We visited the Coins Museum in the Bastakiya area, which houses historic coins from the Arabic and Islamic era; the Stamp Museum; Architectural Heritage Department and the art galleries. We felt as if we were transferred to ancient times with Bedouin tents and camels, art and handicrafts galleries and wind tower surrounding us. We wanted to stay for few more hours but it was getting late and MEHR was hungry and crying.