Shopping
Shopping remains Dubai's most successful draw
card in reinventing itself as a major tourist destination. With low
import duties and no sales tax, Dubai is home to some of the
cheapest high-tech and audio-visual gear in the world - and for
many years that was reason enough to come here. The Dubai Shopping
Festival in early February/March is a long-standing major
attraction offering major price reductions, special offers and
product launches on a huge range of premium goods. Lucrative
raffles take place to further add to the excitement. Dubai
International Airport offers tourists duty-free prices on
international goods making this possibly the bargain retail centre
of the world. Apart from the air-conditioned malls and duty-free
emporia of the airport, the best shopping is to be had at the souks
- traditional Arab markets - around the city. Here you can find
authentic Bedouin paraphernalia, Persian-style carpets and
textiles. A particularly pleasant shopping area is the Bur Dubai
side of the Creek where you can find textiles, raw silks and
interesting souvenirs. Dubai's most famous bazaar is the Gold Souk
at Sikkat al-Khali Street. Innumerable shops and stalls sell gold
jewellery in every possible form. Bargaining is expected and prices
determined according to weight. Shops tend to open from 8am to 1pm,
reopening after the heat of the day at around 4.30pm until 8pm or
even later. Malls will remain open from 10am until 10pm. Shops,
malls and souks usually close on Friday
mornings.
