PLACES TO VISIT...............................................................

Attractions

Bastakia Quarter
This district, on the waterfront east of the Dubai Souq and Diwan, features a number of traditional wind-tower houses. Built in the late 1800s, the quarter was once the home of wealthy Persian merchants, most of them from the Bastak district and lured to Dubai by its relaxed trade tariffs.

Bur Dubai Souq
Bur Dubai Souq has been beautifully rebuilt to appeal to shopping-mad tourists, but mostly caters to the Indian and Pakistani expat community. It does not sell many Arabian things, but is certainly the place to purchase a custom-made sari.

Deira Gold Souq
Deira's celebrated Gold Souq attracts buyers from all over the world. Pass through its wooden lattice archways and you'll find great dazzling heaps of gold chains, rings, earrings, bracelets and every other kind of jewellery. It also sells silver.

Diera Covered Souq
This souk has more of an Indian flavour than an Arabic one. It sells just about everything, but notably textiles, clothes, kitchenware, walking sticks, and all the henna you'll ever need.

Dubai Creek
Dubai's waterfront epitomizes the city's personality. If you do only one touristy thing in Dubai, make sure to visit Dubai Creek and see the grand trading port from the water. You can book a cruise or abra (small boat) for an hour or so; ask the captain to take you to Al-Maktoum Bridge and back.
It's also worth taking some time to walk around the dhow wharfage on the Deira side of Dubai Creek, to the west of the abra dock. Dhows bound for ports from Kuwait to Mumbai (Bombay) dock here to unload just about everything, including kitchen sinks.

Dubai Museum
The Dubai Museum is housed inside the Al-Fahidi Fort, which was built in the late 1790s, and is believed to be the city's oldest building. The museum has collections of everything from Arabian sailing boats to the curved daggers known as khanjars. There are multimedia and interactive displays, and all the exhibits have captions in Arabic and English.

Electronics Souq
The Electronics Souq is the place to get all the televisions, calculators, stereos, digital cameras, video games, DVD players and karaoke machines you've ever wanted. It's all almost tax free, and once the haggling is done, can be got for rock bottom prices.

Grand Mosque
This multidomed mosque boasts the city's tallest minaret. The mosque might appear to be a beautiful example of restoration work, but it was in fact built in the 1990s. As well as being the centre of Dubai's religious and cultural life, the original mosque was also home to the town's kuttab (Quranic school) where children learnt to recite the Quran from memory.
Maintaining the style of the original Grand Mosque, which dated from 1900 and was knocked down to make way for another mosque in 1960, its sand-coloured walls and wooden shutters blend in perfectly with the surrounding old quarter of Bur Dubai.

Perfume Souq
While the Perfume Souq is really just a group of shops, it sells a staggering range of Arabic and European perfumes. The European perfumes are a mixture of designer originals and copies. The Arabic perfumes are much stronger and spicier. It's worth buying some of the Arabic perfumes for the kitsch packaging alone.

Sheikh Saeed al-Maktoum House
Built in 1896, this was once the home of the ruling Al-Maktoum family. It was built using traditional methods, from coral coated with lime and plaster. Inside there's an interesting exhibition of photographs showing how little time it took for Dubai to go from a little fishing and pearling town to a big money, resort-style oil city.

Spice Souq
The Diera Old Souq is a wonderful place to wander round and take in the scents of spices and fruits. In the eastern part of the market you'll find sacks brimming with frankincense, dried lemons, ginger root, chilli and cardamom. The rest of the market is full of rugs, shoes, kitchenware, glassware and amusingly tacky little trinkets.

Off the Beaten Track

Dhow Building Yard
Down at the dhow building yards you'll see various kinds of Arabian sailing boats still being built by hand, using traditional tools and teak and shesham woods. However, not everything at the yard is done as it has been for centuries: sometimes, after the sails are done, the boys will pop an engine in.

Hatta Rock Pools
Hatta, an enclave of Dubai nestled in the Hajar Mountains, is a great weekend getaway. The main attractions are its relatively cool, dry climate, the mountain scenery, excellent 4WD options and the magnificent Hatta rock pools, which are great for a swim, roaring year-round with plunging waterfalls.

Jumeirah Archaeological Site
Built sometime in the 6th century AD, this township is now the biggest and perhaps the most significant archaeological site in the UAE. You'll see the remains of stone walls, a souq, several houses and what is thought to have been a governor's palace. Objects found on the site, such as pottery and coins, are on display at the Heritage Village in Diera.

Jumeirah Beach Park
This lovely grassy park adjoins Jumeirah Beach. It has walkways, kiosks, barbecue pits, picnic tables and a children's play area. The long stretch of beach is clean, lined with shady palm trees, and regularly patrolled by lifeguards. The women's only days are an opportunity for the ladies to get a tan without unwanted male attention.

Activities
Plenty of water sports, including jet-skiing, water-skiing, scuba diving, snorkeling and deep-sea fishing are offered by dozens of operators.
It costs a fortune to maintain the greens, but golfing is a huge draw and Dubai has most of the Arabian Peninsula's courses. If it's too hot to don the requisite collared shirt and slacks, consider a visit to the slides at Wild Wadi Water park or one of the city's two indoor ice skating rinks. Dozens of health clubs make working out a breeze.
The Dubai Explorer or What's On have more comprehensive listings of the the city's activities and organizations.