Dubai Gold Souk

Dubai Gold Souk has narrow lanes that are lined with hundreds of jewellery stores.

A Gold Souk store's exhibits.

Dubai Gold Souk or Gold Souk (Arabic: سوق الذهب‎), 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 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 at walking distance of Deira Bus Stand, Dubai Gold Souk can be reached by going down to creek and pick UBRA a water boat from Bur Dubai which may not take more than 10 minutes to the Dubai Gold Souk.

Trade in the gold souk 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).

External links

• Time Travel The Gold Souk.