Global Village

This weekend I visited  Global Village, which is just outside Dubai. It's the largest fair I've ever been to-- rides, food, and shopping for items from all over the world. The fairgrounds are divided into pavilions for continents/countries such as China and Europe. Global Village is open from November-February, so this was the last weekend of the season. The good news is we could bargain for better prices since vendors were trying to get rid of their merchandise, but of course thousands of others were there for the same reason!

Emirati woman making a traditional fried dessert.

 

In a few hours, I found Africa to offer the best bargains, India to have the prettiest pashminas, and Yemen to overwhelm my senses with huge open bags of nuts and spices. But the real spectacle at Global Village is the crowd... without organization or administration, the people of the world--Indian, Filipino, Emerati, and Americans-- really do come together to shop, relax, eat, and enjoy each other's cultures. Although the gathering has commercial purposes, it is also a fascinating opportunity to gather together.


Some of my finds. 

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I'm sorry to add the sad news that a day after my friends and I visited Global Village, the roof in the India Pavilion collapsed, killing one woman and injuring others. See the article here.