Old Bastakia

Dubai Creek Wharves: Dubai Side

Dubai has a long history of trading with the Countries of the Gulf Region, India, Iran and East Africa. Cargoes arrived in Dubai from around the world, carried in sea going cargo ships of all nationalities. These ships anchored offshore from Dubai and discharged their cargoes into barges. These barges were towed into the Creek to off load in a Customs Storage Area located on Dubai side where today the Ruler's and Government Offices are located.

Unloading was Slow!

Unloading the barges was a slow process and usually carried out by Labourers. To make the unloading faster a dockside crane was bought from Scotland. The crane was hand operated so considerable manual labour was still required. Once discharged, the cargo was stored in open sand areas or put into one of storage sheds. Damaged goods were put into a dedicated “Damaged Goods” shed where often they would stay unclaimed for years. By 1971 the Damaged Goods Shed was an "Aladdin's Cave" items such as fur coats, medicines, leather goods, children's toys, machinery parts.

....Cargo Wharves on Dubai-side were an important part of Dubai's development....

Transport and Export

From here the Traders would collect their cargoes and move them to their “Godowns” or Warehouses and from there to the Diera-side Wharves for export by Dhow. Opening of the Al Maktoum Bridge in 1963 made transportation between Dubai-side and Diera-side much easier and contributed significantly to Dubai's growth.

Impact of Port Rashid Opening

The opening of Port Rashid in 1970 removed the need for cargo storage in the Creek. Traders could now get delivery of their cargoes in Port Rashid and transport to their Godowns. What had previously been the hub of Dubai's trade became the site for the Government's Administration Complex. The sheds and offices were demolished together with some of the Bastakia buildings to make way for the modern buildings of the Diwan. Only relic remaining is the Creek-side Crane.

Sheikh Rashid