souks and shopping

[Travel2Learn]

The shore excursions in Oman and travel guides for Dubai include souks. My next cruise is on the Voyager, Barcelona to Dubai, November 28- December 19, 2011. Does anyone have suggestions for Christmas gifts? Do the shore excursions in Oman allow enough time in the souks? Specifically, I was thinking about what to buy nephews and niece, ages 20-24, their parents, my elderly mother, my boyfriend, friends, etc.. Suggestions for other ports on the cruise are also welcomed. Gold cartouches in Luxor are one idea, but too expensive for all of them at the shops on the tour. Will merchants set up tents where the ship docks? All help is welcomed, especially what to buy for the men!

[chrispb]

What about silver cartouches with their names in Arabic? Cheaper than gold and often preferred by younger folk. If you really want to buy gold, then the gold souk in Dubai has really good prices. Lots of colourful scarves, perfume oils throughout most of the middle east. Also lots of alabaster (bit heavy for travelling home, though) and papyrus paintings which you could have framed when you get home, very light and they roll them up in tubes to keep them intact.

[Travel2Learn]

Chris, thank you for the suggestions. I already have enough papyrus paintings from a previous trip. Men seem to be more difficult to please than women. Women like jewelry.

[greatam]

For females, there are some absolutely FANTASTIC hair clips. They are actually made for Middle Eastern women to wear under their hijabs so the back is all poofy. They call it the camel hump.

 

I have purchased 2 very ornate ones and 4 just pretty ones (the black organza one with feathers is my favorite). They are absolutely great for just twisting your hair up and clipping on one of these. Festive hair with no hassle. I bet they would be BIG sellers on most cruise ships. I have given some to friends and if they don't have long hair, they just clip it on the side of their head. To give you an idea, see this link. Look for the ones made locally and NOT the ones made in China. Some have real stones embroidered in. Kuwaiti dollars (4US to 1KD) they are about $20US for the good ones (my black organza one) and I paid $20KD (about $80) for a really fancy one embroidered with real pearls.

 

http://khaleejia.blogspot.com/2009/08/khaleeji-hair-clip.html

 

Pearls are another BIG thing in Oman, Kuwait and somewhat in Dubai (but Abu Dhabi is better). The prices are usually pretty good. You don't have to buy strands-they set pearls into all kinds of broaches, lapel pins for guys and bracelets mixed with other metals. Kuwait and Oman used to be the pearl diving capitals of the world before cultured pearls.

 

For nephews and friends (depends on how old), a REAL hookah with the charcoal tray, tongs and shisa (the flavored stuff you smoke) is always a fun gift. PERFECTLY legal to bring back to the USA. They must ship thousands of them out of the US Post Office at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, as every time I have sent stuff home from the PO on the base, someone was shipping home a real, Middle Eastern hookah. They have some small, very ornate ones and then some that are as big as a big screen TV and everything in between.

 

There are also some very ornate materials (by the yard) which are really, really cheap. I brought home yards of fancy, sheer heavily beaded fabric that I had made into an off the shoulder dress with a long coat to go with it. All the material cost less than $80US (purchased that in Bahrain).

 

STAY out of the malls. There are no bargains any place in the Middle East that I have found. They all have money and the prices show.

[Keith1010]

I liked the Souks in Dubai. There was a wide range of items to purchase.

 

In Oman I really enjoyed the sites but have to tell you that I found the souks to be pricey and they didn't seem to want to negotiate a whole lot.

 

We brought back a good deal of spice for friends from Dubai. Some of it we purchased from the souk and others we purchased at the grocery store.

 

Keith

[Travel2Learn]

Keith, thanks for the reminder - my aunt wants coffee. That's the easiest gift on the list. Any ideas for nephews ages 22 & 24. their father and my boyfriend? If it wasn't the holiday season, I would not bother with gifts for so many.

[slidergirl]

Middle Eastern type scarves (I call them "Yasser" scarves) are still popular with young people to wear as neck scarves. Go to any university in the US in the winter and you'll see kids with them. Maybe for your nephews. Perhaps one for the niece or another pretty scarf. Or, some camel hair scarves or shawls. Easy to pack to bring home, too.

I went to the small souk in Aswan. Picked up some mixed whole peppercorns and a very nice spice mix. I used the spice mix to make some lamb and veggies several times after I got home - kept the memories alive.

[AmoMondo]

I'm going to Dubai, Abu Dhabi & muscat and am interested in visiting the souks, mainly to see different things I'd see in the malls (I get the impression they are similar to malls anywhere). I'm going on my cruise on my own, is it relatively safe for a solo female to wander around souks or should I only visit with other passengers or an organised tour?

 

Thanks

[Keith1010]

I'm going to Dubai, Abu Dhabi & muscat and am interested in visiting the souks, mainly to see different things I'd see in the malls (I get the impression they are similar to malls anywhere). I'm going on my cruise on my own, is it relatively safe for a solo female to wander around souks or should I only visit with other passengers or an organised tour?

 

Thanks

 

Just like the crew is encouraged to go out with others and not alone I do think you should do the same thing. It's not that it is unsafe but that it is always a good idea to go with one more people just in case you even get ill.

 

The souks are safe. In some of the souks the vendors can be on the aggressive side in terms of making a sale. We found that to be the case in Dubai where before you know it they are starting to wrap an item thinking they have made the sale.

 

Ideally try to go out with other passengers. You can visit the souks on tours but often you feel rushed whereas if you go out with a few people you'll have more time to browse.

 

Keith

[Keith1010]

Chris, thank you for the suggestions. I already have enough papyrus paintings from a previous trip. Men seem to be more difficult to please than women. Women like jewelry.

 

Can you list for me all the ports of call on your itinerary.

 

For example, for men, I think easy gifts to bring home are wallets and I am trying to see if you might have a good port of call to pick them up.

 

Keith

[lilybob]

In the old souks in Bur Dubai or Deira you will find spices and pistachio nuts to scoop up as you wish. Also, Arabic coffee pots both decorative and ones to use. Arabic style tea or coffee cups and colorful dishes and lanterns. The usual tourist stuff and "pashmina" shawls, a lot of cute handbags made in India. Be sure to bargain if you intend to buy. The vendors are aggressive salesmen.

 

If you still need some gifts and find yourself at Burj Khalifa and the Dubai Mall one of my favorite home accessory stores is TARRAB on the LG level of the mall down a little from the entrance to "At the Top" You will find small tagine dishes, trinket boxes with arabic silver designs imbedded on them and the quality is better than usual souvenir variety. Their items are made in the Middle East.

http://www.thedubaimall.com/en/shop/tarrab?page=1&filterTermId=155&type=1

The gift shop for At the Top also has chocolates made with camel milk which are good and something different.

You can also buy a wide assortment of Arabic sweets at Wafi Gourmet that are already gift boxed in different sizes or select the ones you want and they will put them in a small hard plastic box which makes them light weight and will travel well. They are fresh and will last a couple of weeks (if you don't eat them yourself.) Arabesque is a shop dedicated to selling savory and sweet snacks from the region arranged by country and gift boxed. And of course buttery dates stuffed with nuts, chocolate etc from Bateel

Also Gallery One in the mall and other modern souks has arabic note cards, calendars, and arabic designed wrapping paper. All of these are on the same level and wing.

[Travel2Learn]

I'm going to Dubai, Abu Dhabi & muscat and am interested in visiting the souks, mainly to see different things I'd see in the malls (I get the impression they are similar to malls anywhere). I'm going on my cruise on my own, is it relatively safe for a solo female to wander around souks or should I only visit with other passengers or an organised tour?

 

Thanks

 

There is a hop on hop off bus in Dubai. I was told it is safe for a woman traveling alone. Also, sometimes the hotel private cars are reasonable.

[Travel2Learn]

Lilybob, thank you for the food suggestions. A family gift of sweets sounds like an excellent idea! Will there be any restrictions bringing these foods into the US? (...Other than no meat and cheese.)

[Travel2Learn]

Can you list for me all the ports of call on your itinerary.

 

For example, for men, I think easy gifts to bring home are wallets and I am trying to see if you might have a good port of call to pick them up.

 

Keith

 

Keith, the ports are Barcelona, Malta, Rhodes, Cyprus, Israel, Luxor, Aquaba/Petra, Salalah, Muscat and Dubai. As you may have guessed, I'm not much of a shopper and tend to stick to shore excursions rather than going off alone. I will have hotel stays in Barcelona and Dubai. The Salalah tour includes Al Husn Souk, and the Muscat tour includes Muttrah Souk. I don't know how much time is allowed for purchasing items on the tours. On some cruises, vendors set up tents and tables near the ship's gangway. Is that the case with these middle east ports?

[lilybob]

Lilybob, thank you for the food suggestions. A family gift of sweets sounds like an excellent idea! Will there be any restrictions bringing these foods into the US? (...Other than no meat and cheese.)

 

No, you can brink the sweets, nuts, dates in without a problem The arabic baklava sweets are much lighter, crisper, more flaky than what I have tasted in the US and come in many varieties (pistachio, cashew, peanut) and different shapes. As there is a large Indian population in Dubai, you will also find a variety of salty or spicy snacks from there that might be an interesting addition when entertaining or for the guys to munch in during the game! If you don't see them in the souks check out the grocery stores.

[chrispb]

I would forget about Barcelona for shopping - no good prices due to the mess with the Euro but it's a lovely city for the ho-ho bus. You may get nice leather belts for the men in your life but you would also get them in the other ports for a better price.

I'm always stuck for the men in my life and usually end up with spices/tea or other foody stuff but in an emergency will pick up aftershave at the airport on the way home - cop out, eh?

[Keith1010]

Keith, the ports are Barcelona, Malta, Rhodes, Cyprus, Israel, Luxor, Aquaba/Petra, Salalah, Muscat and Dubai. As you may have guessed, I'm not much of a shopper and tend to stick to shore excursions rather than going off alone. I will have hotel stays in Barcelona and Dubai. The Salalah tour includes Al Husn Souk, and the Muscat tour includes Muttrah Souk. I don't know how much time is allowed for purchasing items on the tours. On some cruises, vendors set up tents and tables near the ship's gangway. Is that the case with these middle east ports?

 

You will have limited time at the souks. Some people will just buy things up but sometimes it does take time to look things over.

 

I am not sure what you have planned in Israel. If you end up walking in Old Jerusalem or you go to Bethlehem you may be able to pick up little gifts as we have.

 

Many of the ports will not have any tables set up at the cruise ship terminal.

 

If you have time when you are in Rhodes the old walled city is literally a five minute walk from the ship.

 

I think your best bets in terms of having time will be in Barcelona and Dubai.

 

In Barcelona two things to consider for the men are wallets and also t-shirts.

 

In Dubai, we have brought back spices as I mentioned earlier. I would recommend one of two options. At the spice souk we bought the spices that came already packaged where you could get a nice sample of several spices. The other option is to purchase spices at a supermarket which we did the last time we were in Dubai. There are several malls in Dubai. We picked up the spices at the mall named Dubai Mall. It is a beautiful mall and included a supermarket along with another supermarket similar to whole foods. You could also purchase other items such as candy there.

 

Keith

[AmoMondo]

Thanks to thosebwho responded to my post. Much appreciated.