Bits of Information about Life in Old Dubai
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Mostly not enough to fill a page so presented in an easy to read format. Hope you enjoy  
Dubai did not have a Cement Works in 1971. Most of the cement used in the construction of all Dubai's major projects in the early 1970s was shipped from Kenya supplied by Bamburi Cement. Port Rashid's Berth 6 was known as the Cement Berth. Bulk Cement Ships regularly berthed at No 6 to discharge their cargo either directly into specialised Cement Trucks or to be stored in Bulk Cement Tanks installed by Bamburi Cement. These Bulk Storage Tanks can be seen in the centre of this photo of Port Rashid. Cement Trucks were filled from these storage tanks. The truck's loads were checked on a weighbridge before departing to the various construction sites. Some of the cement was transported outside Dubai to projects in other Emirates. Shipments were slow and did not always match demand. Eventually Dubai built its own Cement Works and the shipments from Kenya slowly faded away. Hatta was an isolated community in 1971. There was no road to Hatta. Hatta could only be reached either by camel or Landrover travelling over the desert. But it was a thriving community growing and exporting tobacco relying on water from the Wadis for irrigation. Sheikh Rashid also kept a house in Hatta alongside the old Hatta Dam. He and his entourage frequently stayed in Hatta. The road to Hatta from Dubai was finally built around 1974. 
Dubai's new Metrois not Dubai's first railway. Five locomotives and ten flat bed rail trucks were installed to carry construction material for building Port Rashid. The trains operated from a construction yard located on the Dubai side of where the entrance to Shindaga Road Tunnel is today. The railway moved toMushrif Parkafter Port Rashid contruction was completed. The flat bed rail trucks were converted to passenger carriages and carried passengers aroundMushrif Parkfor several years before the trains were retired. Safa Parkalso had a small railway with a tunnel! More information about Dubai's Railways isHERE... 
Safa Park did not exist in 1971. The area was desert and home to many of the illegal Immigrants who came from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka to find work. Often they had traveled by sea in Dhows to be put ashore illegally on what is now UAE's coastline. They would find their way to Dubai to find work and a place to live. The area that eventually became Safa Park was where these illegal Immigrants established an unofficial township. The "houses" were made of wood and plywood with no sewerage or running water. Their living conditions were poor. The Immigrant Town was tolerated by the Authorities because Dubai's development needed the skills and labour these illegal Immigrants provided plus the area was sufficiently out of town not to cause a nuisance. Many of the children living in this "town" were undernourished. "Save the Children" Charity ran a regular feeding programme for the children of this and other Immigrant "Towns" in Dubai. Dubai's growth eventually meant this area had to be cleared. Also the Authorities wanted to regularise these Illegal Immigrants. They were offered an Amnesty whereby Identity Cards were provided that allowed them to work legally. The photo is of the new Safa Park. More photos are availablehere... 
Fresh eggs were non existent in 1971 unless you owned chickens. Most Grocery Store eggs were pickled. Maybe you could find fresh eggs for sale outside Dubai. An Expatriate capitalized on this scarcity. His brother owned a chicken farm near Heathrow Airport in London. They arranged for fresh eggs to be flown to Dubai by BOAC's new daily VC10 service from London to Dubai. The eggs were then sold initially to friends. Word of mouth meant the list of "friends" grew and the quantity of fresh eggs being shipped into Dubai also grew. Soon the local Grocery Stores began importing fresh eggs and before long all the Grocery Stores had fresh eggs. The demand grew until it became viable to develop and operate Chicken Farms in the UAE. Each evening around 5pm a small truck arrived and parked on the sand area next to Dubai Creek in Bur Dubai. The Driver sold freshly baked bread from the back of the truck. Dubaian's and Expatriates all bought bread from the truck as this was the only convenient source of fresh bread. The truck usually sold out quickly such was the demand. The Bakery who owned the truck had other trucks they sent to various locations in Dubai to deliver the daily bread. People who have not visited Dubai automatically assume Dubai is Alcohol free! The equation is simple. Dubai is Arab therefore it must be alcohol free. Visitors are surprised to find Alcohol available in hotels and liquor stores. But in the early 1970s Alcohol could be found on sale in restaurants and cafes all over Dubai. There were no restrictions on the sale of Alcohol. A favourite spot for Friday Lunch was the Chalet Swisse on Al Maktoum Street. Food would be quickly ordered for the kids. Mum and Dad would ponder the menu and scan the wine rack covering the far wall housing a magnificent range of fine French Wines! The new Iranian Foreign Minister's pending visit gave Sheikh Rashid the opportunity to ban the sale of Alcohol throughout Dubai. This was generally regarded as Sheikh Rashid keeping the new Islamic Iranian Regime happy. In reality the Dubai Government has lost control of the Alcohol situation and the Iranian Foreign Minister's visit provided an opportunity for the Government to regain control of alcohol distribution. After the Iranian Foreign Minister's visit, Dubai's Government introduced a Liquor Licensing Law. Slowly Alcohol was reintroduced to Clubs, Hotels and Liquor Stores and non Muslim Residents as they complied with the new Liquor Licensing Law. However Alcohol never became as freely available as it had been in the early 1970s. More snippets will be added.... |
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Bits
of information about how life used to be in Old Dubai.