Gold Souq, Dubai

One of the recommended goods to buy in Dubai is… gold.

Well, the gold souk is astonishing: hundreds of shops side by side, with all kind of gold and golden artefacts may turn into any woman’s dream. But for me it was somewhat constraining: too many qualities, too hard to bargain too much money for a "cheap" item that may be lost or stolen during our trip.

Fernanda felt in love with really beautiful earrings, that didn't match her price. And I escaped, this time.

Good! I really appreciated the gold souk. No kidding! It is something that really has to be visited.

this will be my Dubai Gold Souk Things to Do Tips. i will have a separate shopping tip for it.

The Dubai Gold Souk is more famous than the Larger Dubai Old Souk, and the Gold Souks is only one area of the sprawling Old Souk in Deira. This souk adds to the Glitter of Dubai as the City of Gold, plus it is a major trading area for gold an jewellry around the middle east and some tourist just go to dubai just to buy gold and gold plated jewelries! Streets and streets of shops are aligned with sparking windows and the choice is impressive,as are the prices and if you are a shopper, then the good news is that haggling is allowed here (and you must haggle a lot too!).

you can buy and sell gold bars as they have several computerized billboards that show the international gold prices per ounce and the local price per ounce. you can see all the gold bling here from the 14k to 24k, white gold, rose gold, yellow gold, gold plated bracelets, earrings, gold necklaces line with precious stones like diamonds or rubies or pearls and a lot more! plus you can buy all the bling you want, provided that you have the dough or the platinum and titanium credit cards to boot!

All City Tours, Shopping Tours and the Dubai Big Bus Tour have allocated stops here and RTA Public Bus 5, 16, 19 or 20 all drop off at souks in both Bur Dubai and Deira area if you are into public transport.

opens: Daily 0700-1200 and 1700-1900; Fri 1700-1900.

according to wikipedia:

Dubai Gold Souk or Gold Souk (Arabic: ÓæÞ ÇáÐåÈý), is a traditional market (or souk) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The souk is located in the heart of Dubai's commercial business district in Deira, in the locality of Al Dhagaya. The souk consists of over 300 retailers that trade almost exclusively in jewellery. Retailers in the souk include both well established stores like Damas, ARY Jewellery, Shyam Jewellery and Joy Alukkas as well as smaller stores that operate mainly in the gold souk. By some estimates, approximately 10 tons of gold is present at any given time in the souk[1] It is bordered to the north by the Dubai Fish and Vegetable Market and the Deira Corniche near Baniyas Square at Sikkat al-Khali Street which is walking distance from Deira Bus Stand. Dubai Gold Souk can also be reached by taking the Dubai Metro to Al Ghubaiba and a regular Abra (boat) from nearby Bur Dubai across the creek. The Dubai Gold Souk is 5 minutes walk from the Old Souk marine station.[2]

Trade in the gold grew during the 1940s due to Dubai's free trade policies that encouraged entrepreneurs from India and Iran to set up stores in the souk. Despite a general slump in the global gold market, Dubai's share of value of trade in gold and diamonds to its total non-oil direct trade increased from 18% in 2003, to 24% in 2004. In 2003, the value of trade in gold in Dubai was approximately Dh. 21 billion (US$5.8 billion), while trade in diamonds was approximately Dh. 25 billion (US$7 billion) in 2005. India is Dubai's largest buyer of gold, accounting for approximately 23% of the emirate's total gold trade in 2005. Switzerland was Dubai's largest supplier of gold ingots, wastes and scrap. Similarly, India accounted for approximately 68% of all diamond-related trade in Dubai; Belgium's share in Dubai's diamond trade was about 13% (2005).[3]

Gold Souqs are an integral part of any traditional Arab Souq. I suppose that that is why the designers of Dubai Mall decided to include one in their floor plan, as it lends the mall more of a marketplace mystique and keeps it from being just another fortress of suburbia. To their credit, the planners managed to create something that at least has the feel of a modern version of a gold souq, with traditional designs and decoration, rather than a cheap knock-off of one. Within the Gold Souq, you will find the usual jewelry and precious stone merchants, as well as a few shops selling other traditional luxuries, such as bukhour and perfumes.

A dazzling spot, whether you're out to buy or just browse, the gold souk is a must-do whilst in Dubai. Unless you work in the vaults of Fort Knox (or a few other choice spots), it's unlikely that you will have seen so much gold in one spot. It's extraordinary - window display upon window display of gold - rings, necklaces, earrings, bangles, pins - you name it, it's there.

The selling of gold is controlled, so you should be safe if you're out to purchase, and, through haggling, you can get anything pretty cheap (although it's still gold so don't expect bargains!).

But sign of the times - all the stalls are shops - plate glass windows etc - and you can't move without being offered fake watches, perfumes etc...

Souq is the Arabic word for market. Even today "Dhows" (wooden cargo ships) from the Far East, China & India discharge their goods at the docks adjacent to the Souqs.

I'm no great fan of jewellery (isn't my fiance lucky!) but a trip to the Gold Souq truly demonstrates why Dubai has earned itself the title of "City Of Gold". It's worth a visit even if you have no intention of buying, just to soak in the atmosphere of more than 300 shops glinting with 18, 21 & 22 carat gold, showing-off the abundant riches of the region.

Gold is aggressively promoted with special offers & raffle draws during Dubai Shopping Festival & Dubai Summer Surprises. Many different shades of gold are available: white, pink, yellow & even purple. There are also a few shops selling silver jewellery, semi-precious stones, diamonds & platinum.
Prices here are among the lowest in the world (also lower than in the airport's Duty Free) & largely determined by weight; also depending on whether the piece is machine-made or by a craftsman.

TIP: Don't forget to bargain; don't accept 1st price & be sure to compare the numerous shops.

In the narroweside streets, enjoy a relaxing break with a cup of tea or Arabic coffee in small restaurants. These side-street shops offer souvenirs, jewel-studded belly-dancing belts, Local & Indian clothes & fabrics, coins for collectors, etc.

TIP: Women should please make sure their legs & shoulders are covered. The Souqs are male-dominated areas where every bit of female skin is gawked at. You may even find that some men will follow "indecently" dressed women around, believing they are prostitutes.
UPDATE early 2008: There is now a WEBSITE for the Gold Souq. See below in the contact details!

Opening Hours: Sat to Wed 10:00am-01:00pm & 05:00pm-10:00pm.
Fridays: 05:00pm-10:00pm.
NOTE: The main walkway is open to the elements, only the shops have air-conditioning. In summer, only visit after sunset.

(Cross the creek & explore the Textile Souq on the opposite shore.)

Gold Souq is a place to visit, buy jewelry or just probably be amazed with the intricate designs the jeweller have!
Riding a Sabkha (local boat) cross the creek is also a must do experience!
Of course, never forget to visit the Burjs' (Burj al Arab - the hotel & Burj Dubai - the tallest building)!

The 'tallest Fountain' below the tallest building is now open! Amazing and worth a visit! I will post pictures next week!

The Gold Souk of Dubai is famous all over the world due to its concentration of more than 400 jewelleries, where you can find really good deals related to all kind of gold jewellery.

It is open until very late in the evenings (around 10 pm), 7 days per week.

The Gold Souk is where modern Dubai luxury meets old souk atmopshere and local goldsmith art. Many shops are seen with windows full of jewellery. There are a couple of shops selling other kind of items and some of the jewellery shops also sell souvenirs. However, the main thing here is gold. One thing I found really annoying were the people here and furthern down the electronics souk, trying to sell you fake high-class-brand – watches or purses. Just give them a friendly no and continue with the real things.

As with all souks, haggling and price-comparing is essential. Never take the first offer you get. As souks are one of the most traditional parts in arab cities, it is a part where you should pay a little more respect to local cultures than elsewhere. Women should cover legs and shoulders, if they do not want to attract unwanted attention.

The gold souq is located at Deira near Baniyas Square. The glittering glimmer of golds and diamonds along the streets here would blind you! I’ve never seen so many golds in one place and the sight of it is magnificent. Although I would not really shop for gold, it still makes a nice walk down the souq and enjoy the golden feel. No wonder Dubai is also called the City of Gold!

Deira Gold Souk offers a wide variety of jewelry items. Emeralds, rubies, rings, bracelets, anklets and much attractive stuff could be found at the Deira Gold Souk, Dubai has it. Available in the latest designs these gold items are sure to please the buyers. Dubai has streets lined up with innumerable shops selling gold jewelry. Owned by people of varied origins, these shops are places where you need to do heavy bargaining, and also beware of hagglers selling artificial stuff.
Going around the souk you will meet many sellers offering you fake labl watches or glasses, but I must say this is the first time I hear these sellers clearly say that their label stuffs are fake.

Dubai is known for its large number of American style shopping centres/malls. However, a more traditional form of the shopping mall existed in Dubai well before the arrival of the air conditioned shopping centre, known as the souk. The most famous souk in Dubai is the Gold Souk, where jewellery and watches are sold in abundance. 24 carat gold is common sight, as well as intricate Indian jewellery. There are also many seller of new and second-hand watches. A trip to the souk is worthwhile, if simply to see the dazzling windows (see attached photos).

This is THE place for Gold shoppers in Dubai. The whole area has jewellery stores lined up one after the other. Most of these stores are owned by Indians and due to the competition you could get quite some bargains there.

Beautiful jewellery is stacked up in every store. Inbetween you have tourists, guides and street vendors selling refreshments.

Located underneath a wooden lattice roof, Dubai's gold souk is probably the largest such market in Arabia. Dozens of shops line the wide covered aisles whose windows are full of gold necklesses, bracelets, rings and brooches of all shapes, sizes and quality. I went into one and found that the prices well extremely reasonable and I was very tempted I can you!

The old Gold Souk is a place not to miss, even if you are not interested in buying gold. People call Dubai the "City of Gold" and the reason is very simple: in a small area you can find more than 300 jewelleries - at a good price. The entire souk glitters like gold, but it's not the only thing that's on sale; you can also find diamonds, emeralds and sapphires. Look at the siye of those gold bracelets and those gems: they are amazingly big...

If you want to know what's on sale, just linger about... someone will approach you and list (very fast) all the items he has on sale... everything from jewels to designer handbags to anything. The first time a salesman produced us his "selling" list, we were left speechless... over here one would need a supermarket to display all those goods: he had one cosy tiny shop.

I have never seen so much gold in my life as in Dubai Gold Souk.

If you are looking for some, price is low and this is the place for gold shopping. Watch out for annoying watch sellers though....

This area is also a good exploration spot if you want to experience typical local atmosphere.