Dubai is a fascinating mix of western and middle eastern culture. Lots of things impress me about this city. The UAE is doing all sorts of infrastructure building so that their economy is not strictly based on oil. One of the many things they have built is Global Village.
Global Village is a cross between a county fair, amusement park and shopping center. What they've done is established zones for vendors from specific countries to come in and sell their handicrafts and wares. You can enter the Africa pavilion and see hand carvings from Kenya, leather goods and baskets from the Congo. The Indian pavilion has saris, sugar cane drink stands, and brass fitted hand carved chests.
There are more than 39 countries represented in this seasonal venue. I can't imagine what it would be like with more places to shop.
I'm pretty sure we didn't make it to one quarter of the country pavilions, but did we see some stuff. Like any fair promotions, there is quality hand goods and just plain junk. But it was fun to see it all the same.
I was quite taken by the lights and lamps available in the Turkish section.
They are acrylic globes that are mosaiced with glass tiles and beads. The tops and bottoms are solid brass and the resulting fixture is pretty, stout and individual. Like many things, they are available in all sizes, colors and shapes.
If I only had a home to hang one in!! I would totally buy a giant chandelier.
Our friends bought a giant globe fixture to take home to the states. It's going to look amazing in their two story entryway.
We wandered through some of the shops and stalls, all of which are open only for the season (November 1st through March 3rd) then headed to the food court. There are as many food stalls as there are countries exhibiting their wares. Of course, being the world traveler I am, I ate at Pizza Hut!
Then we went to the midway. The two kids had been so patient with the grown ups shopping, they deserved a few rides. I liked the double-decker Merry Go Round!
There were lots of rides for big kids and an equivalent number for the little tykes. It's wonderful to see so many families out enjoying a place like this.
We dropped all kinds of tokens, ate cotton candy and popcorn. Fairs over the world are the same in some ways, different in others. There was not an Indian Taco, Scotch Egg or Belgium Waffle stand. No funnel cakes or turkey legs.
There were all kinds of Arabic sweets, Egyptian breads that they tossed like pizza dough, and nuts I've never even heard of. We ate our way through the park. In that way, it was just like a county fair at home.
Best of all, since this is their final weekend open, lots of the vendors were offering deep discounts. We had fun at Global Village. We will definitely be going back next year.
-- Sandee Wagner
Global Village is a cross between a county fair, amusement park and shopping center. What they've done is established zones for vendors from specific countries to come in and sell their handicrafts and wares. You can enter the Africa pavilion and see hand carvings from Kenya, leather goods and baskets from the Congo. The Indian pavilion has saris, sugar cane drink stands, and brass fitted hand carved chests.
There are more than 39 countries represented in this seasonal venue. I can't imagine what it would be like with more places to shop.
I'm pretty sure we didn't make it to one quarter of the country pavilions, but did we see some stuff. Like any fair promotions, there is quality hand goods and just plain junk. But it was fun to see it all the same.
They are acrylic globes that are mosaiced with glass tiles and beads. The tops and bottoms are solid brass and the resulting fixture is pretty, stout and individual. Like many things, they are available in all sizes, colors and shapes.
If I only had a home to hang one in!! I would totally buy a giant chandelier.
Our friends bought a giant globe fixture to take home to the states. It's going to look amazing in their two story entryway.
We wandered through some of the shops and stalls, all of which are open only for the season (November 1st through March 3rd) then headed to the food court. There are as many food stalls as there are countries exhibiting their wares. Of course, being the world traveler I am, I ate at Pizza Hut!
There were lots of rides for big kids and an equivalent number for the little tykes. It's wonderful to see so many families out enjoying a place like this.
We dropped all kinds of tokens, ate cotton candy and popcorn. Fairs over the world are the same in some ways, different in others. There was not an Indian Taco, Scotch Egg or Belgium Waffle stand. No funnel cakes or turkey legs.
There were all kinds of Arabic sweets, Egyptian breads that they tossed like pizza dough, and nuts I've never even heard of. We ate our way through the park. In that way, it was just like a county fair at home.
Best of all, since this is their final weekend open, lots of the vendors were offering deep discounts. We had fun at Global Village. We will definitely be going back next year.
-- Sandee Wagner
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