Life in Dubai Creek

Each dhow that lines the historic waterway, and each sailor that crews them, has a story to tell as they help to keep this piece of Dubai history alive. A visit to the creek will leave you intoxicated by the sights, sounds, smells and flavours of the past. Scores of rusty, paint-flecked dhows bob by the creekside as the scents of seaweed merge with exotic spices; steel clatters against wood as diesel engines chug into life. Washing machines, rusty tools, packs of chewing gum, traditional fabrics, piles of tyres and old dilapidated sofas line the 4.5km of waterside that arches from Deira’s Gold Souk down to the dhow wharfage.

For the thousands of weathered workers who toil every day at the waterside, lugging boxes on and off boats in an endless cycle of import and export, the creek is both a way of life and a lifeline. We meet Mohezakar, who has spent the past 35 years driving goods back and forth from Sharjah to the docks. He works long hours, starting at 6am and finishing 12 hours later, but the 55-year-old Pakistani seems content. ‘Yes it’s too hot [now],’ he says, ‘but it’s not a problem. [It’s] just go, go, go. I like it here.’

Above, an Iranian crew of sailors preparing to load up for another voyage: the men usually make two return trips a month.

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