A few days ago I mentioned my visit to the gold souk in Dubai. Imagine the tackiest little jewelry store in a mall... those kind that are crammed full of bangles and dangles, the more filigree the better.
Now imagine a very large mall with 100 versions of the shop.
Except every single one of those bangles and dangles are made of real gold. And every 20 feet or so is a cranky looking dude with some sort of machine gun in his hand.
Welcome to the Gold Souk of Dubai.
I was tired, hot, and very intimidated. Definitely feeling a bit 'backwards', so I didn't take a single photo while we were in there. We mainly walked from window to window with our jaws hanging.
At one shop as we looked in, the clerk (owner?) actually smiled and said 'hello' to me. We went in and looked around. Himself explained we were only looking and taking in the beauty of the craftsmanship. He said that was fine and that he'd enjoy telling us about anything in his shop.
As we visited, we shared hot (!!) tea and sweet dates. No pushing to sell something. It was a nice visit.
Then I saw her...
The cutest little camel I've ever seen. And look at that bling!
She knew I was smitten!
She showed me her secret... she is a tiny jewelry box.
A glittery little camel with golden feet!
Our shop friend whacked the price by 2/3 without a peep from me. He told us our visit was one of the best he had in a long time.
Could there be a more perfect trinket from Dubai?
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I love Jasmine, Teri! What a special gift to bring home! I collect pill boxes on my travels, but since they are sometimes hard to find I occasionally find a special little "box" like your camel -- most recently a starfish box from Key West. Hadn't thought to name them, but think I will!
ReplyDeleteJasmine! She is gorgeous. I know what you mean about these shopping experiences. A true love hate experience for me but have to say more on the love side! I have had many a sweet apple tea or mint tea on a rug with good parade before me! Jasmine is a true treasure of a trinket, the best kind with all those great memories associated. Thanks so much for contributing, loving your posts.
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