Dubai Creek

The Creek, a natural sea-water inlet which cuts through the centre of the city, is the historic focal point of life in Dubai. A stroll along its banks evokes the city’s centuries-old trading traditions.Visitors will be captivated by the colour and bustle of the loading and unloading of dhows which still ply ancient trade routes to places as distant as India and East Africa.An attractive way to view the Creek and the dhows is from an abra, one of the small water taxis which criss-cross the Creek from the souks of Deira to those on the Bur Dubai side.Boatmen will also take visitors on a fascinating hour-long trip from the abra embarkation points to the mouth of the Creek and inland to the Maktoum Bridge, passing on the way many of the city’s historic and modern landmarks.Redevelopment work has transformed parts of the Creek’s banks. On the Deira side, a broad and well-lit, paved promenade extends from the Corniche, which faces on the Arabian Gulf, all the way to the attractive purpose-built dhow terminal constructed beside Maktoum Bridge.On the Bur Dubai side between Maktoum and Garhoud bridges, Creekside Park provides pleasant paved walks and extensive landscaped public gardens.At the inland end of the Creek is a large, shallow lagoon, now a wildlife sanctuary which has become a haven for migrating shore birds. Some 27,000 birds have been counted here at one time during the autumn migration. The most spectacular are the many Greater Flamingos which have made the Creek their permanent home.