Discover the cultural, traditional and artsy side of Bastakiya in Bur Dubai

I haven't been traveling much the past month, so I thought I would spend my weekends discovering Dubai and its surroundings. And I have to say, it has been super pleasant. Expect few posts on that, and this is the first in that series.

My friend was visiting Dubai so I decided to take the day off on Sunday and show her around. To my surprise, I ended up discovering Dubai along with her. We decided to go to Bastakiya (located in Bur Dubai). Now I know everyone has heard of it, but weirdly enough there's still quite a few people who haven't been there. Here are some some photos from the day, with a caption to describe it and why I recommend you visit it. And I highly recommend you do!

The Artsy part:

 

Saw this while walking around on the way to find art galleries, exhibitions and show rooms

One of the exhibitions / art display within Bastakiya area

The cultural part:

Doors, and sculpting doors and they're just so beautiful

We stumbled upon this gem. You can see here the toolkit to do some sculpting.

And it's even setup to welcome students and tourists to take a class. I am personally interested in the tourist session, it's an hour session and it's for free. How amazing is that? It's all about preserving the culture of UAE. And we get to do something new as well. I am definitely coming back for this.

The place is called "Restoration House" and it's open every Sunday to Thursday from 8am till 2pm. If you're planning on participating in a session, make sure you show up by noon.

The traditional part:

Traditional Emirati living room setting

An angle view of one street in Bastakiya

One of the galleries in Bastakiya

The gourmet part:

 

If you're a coffee lover, this is a must visit. A MUST!

You will see different types of coffee from a variety of countries.

And get a sense of a traditional setting and perhaps even try some coffee beans. Apparently people eat them the same way as they do with nuts.

Egyptian way of making coffee, aka sand coffee. Here's more about the process.

Coffee bartender making coffee in some sophisticated way.

Most amazing Cappuccino I've had in a while. Coffee is a mix from Peru and Colombia.

This is XVA Cafe. Very cute place, courtyard style, it feels like you're in Paris maybe. The food is very innovative and interesting. Make sure you check it out when you're there.

I hope you enjoyed the tours. But I definitely recommend you experience it yourself, and there were still a bunch of things we didn't get to explore.

Ended up supporting an artist and getting this colored Arabic Calligraphy.