I've loved gold jewelry from the moment I stepped foot in the gold souks of my childhood. Living in the Middle East during my formative years gave me an appreciation for the finer things in life and jewelry was the first luxury I came to appreciate. The souks are like gold cities; the shops are filled from top to bottom in shiny gold and brilliant jewels that spark the imagination. It really is a sight to behold- akin to feeling like you are in an Indiana Jones movie set.
It was always a treat to visit the souks with my Mom. Instead of barbie dolls I would plead for a little gold bangle or charm. Back in the early 90's it was really popular to wear a necklace aka Carrie in Sex in the City but with your name in Arabic instead. Or wear stacked gold bangles. I would stack my favorite shiny gold Indian bangles and flick my little wrists to hear them clink. Alas my little gold bangles don't fit me anymore but hopefully someday our future children/nieces will put them to good use. Gold help me if they find jewelry as fascinating as I did!
The best gold souk to visit in the Middle East is the Dubai Gold Souk in the United Arab Emirates. It's easy to get to and it's located in the old Deira district. Most of the gold and diamond sales comes from India with Belgium being a close second for diamond sales. My mom always preferred the jewelry imported from Italy but Indian jewelry just has more flair. I love it!Jewelry is far more affordable in the Souk and fashion forward to boot than what you can get in the States with it's tremendous mark-up.
Here are some tips if you happen to be fortuante enough to be headed to the Souk:
1). Go early so you can avoid the crowds and sweltering hot weather
2). Don't be afraid to negotiate down the price. The vendors expect it... otherwise you might offend them. Strange I know. But that's how it's done. It shows that you value their product by taking the time to offer for it. Negotiation is an art form and in the Souk it's a sink or swim environment!
3). You will be offered tea or juice upon entering the store as a sign of curtesy. It's bad form to not accept the offering; if you really don't want it (you probably will after walking around in the hot weather) just take a little sip and put it down. Oh, and just because you are offered a drink does not mean you have to buy anything.. it's just a sign of curtesy.
I haven't been to Dubai in ages but when I last lived there, it was just starting to boom. It's now an international hot-spot and it really is an amazing place to visit. Down the road I'll create a little Dubai travelogue of things to do and places to see. It will probably be more "honeymoon" oriented since I'm in that frame of mind. I already have my favorite places to highlight but if you want something included let me know!
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