Gift ideas United Arab Emirates

The Qasr al Watan shop is inside the palace, near the exit before getting back on the bus. Several jewels, beautiful books, camel milk chocolates, some reproductions, souvenir magnets for the refrigerators. But what really gets us excited in this souvenir shop are the postcards which are, without any doubt, the most beautiful we have seen in the Emirates: desert landscapes, monuments, traditional boats.

In the heart of the artisans' house, you will find this wonderful shop selling souvenirs made by Emiratis. Pouches, bookmarks, wallets woven according to the traditional sadu method, but also basketry made from palm leaves, not forgetting the teli, woven gold and silver threads. Everything is made locally, even the souvenir bags. We like everything all the more because it is rare, if not impossible, to find this kind of shop in the capital. The fruit of the sales goes to the women who have formed a cooperative.

In the superb house of this former pearl merchant, called Bait Al Mazroi, and composed of 17 rooms around a central patio, there is a very pretty shop. This handicraft centre offers first of all a visit to discover the different techniques and hosts workshops throughout the year. A small souvenir shop allows you to buy some objects from this often unknown but ancestral craft still perpetuated.

It is in a villa in the Jumeirah district that this concept store is installed, which is also a space for exhibitions and a café where many people who telework come. In a heterogeneous decor, composed of superimposed wallpapers and paintings from every corner of the globe, one finds a multitude of decorative objects and crafts mainly from Morocco. The café serves dishes largely inspired by Mediterranean cuisine. An address mostly frequented by expatriates in the neighbourhood.