Bur Dubai - Bastakia

The Bastakia Quarter was built in the late 19th C as the home of wealthy Persian merchants. The merchants dealt mainly in pearls and textiles, and were lured to Dubai because of the tax-free trading and access to Dubai Creek.

Bastakia occupies the eastern portion of Bur Dubai along the Creek. Most of the sophisticated houses date back to the early 1900s and were built with coral and limestone. The buildings in Bastakia have weathered well because they are more durable and more valuable than the huts built with palm fronds.

Walls topped with wind towers shielded many homes of the wealthy families. The wind was trapped in the tower and funneled down in to the house as an early form of air conditioning. Wind towers were common