Christmas in Dubai, UAE - Part III The Global Village

Global Village started 15 years ago, in Dubai, with less than 18 kiosks.  When I visited this place at Christmas time, there were more than 25 countries represented. There were lots of handicrafts and merchandise to be bought and admired.  The following selection of pictures should give you a taste of what there was to see.  I truly believe this is one of my favourite spots in Dubai.  Thankfully it is only open from the beginning of November to the end of March.   Can you imagine how many pictures I could take and share if it was open year round?

This is but a tiny taste of the material that could be found for sale.  I have never seen so many different types of fabrics since I have been in the Middle East.  I wish I could bring home a little bit of all of them for "show and tell".  It is definitely a dressmakers paradise.

The picture above is of a display of burkas.  The picture below is of a different type of burka than I had ever seen before.  When we first arrived at the Global Village, we actually saw a couple of women wearing this style of burka.   

This is the canal that runs through the Global Village.  I believe that you could even take a boat ride if the spirit moved you.

The pictures above and below are two doors that were for sale.  Good thing they wouldn't fit in my suitcase.  They were beautiful though.

 The blue colour of this gorgeous plate caught my eye.  Okay - to be honest, the entire store caught my eye. 

One of many displays on the outside of the above mentioned shop.

If you look really closely at this picture, you will find me.  And if you can't find me, you can check out all the light fixtures.

There was table after table of the type of ware seen in the picture above and below.  It was all so incredibly beautiful.

This fellow went around and poured coffee.  The picture below shows him pouring coffee.  It isn't that clear, but hopefully you get the idea.

The light fixtures that were displayed in the various pavilions were as varied as the people.  Some were so ornate and others were rather gaudy.  I will let you decide where the one above fits in.

This area sold spices.  You name it, they probably had it.  The only problem I had, was I don't read or speak Arabic and the vendor's English wasn't much better.

These towers of spice were pieces of art work.  I am not sure just how they worked, but you could see spots in the towers where scoops of spices had been taken out.  And each tower was so different. 

I can honestly say that I have never tasted so much honey as I did this night.  And that is quite a feat.  I don't like honey!  However, after tasting the different varieties of honey that could be sampled, I have changed my mind.  What an unbelievable experience.  If I had had any room in my suitcase, I would have been bringing a jar of honey back to Kuwait.  I am certainly going to plan my purchases so that I can bring some back the next time.