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Abu Dhabi: Yousuf Mubarak Ali remembers the old gold souq and can vividly walk you through it with his words.
The short stocky Iranian man lights up when he talks about the old bazaar that stretched between Hamdan to Khalifa streets.
More than 700 shops piled and crammed with gold, textiles, frankincense, even furniture in any space they could find.
"This is the kind of scene that Hollywood spends millions of dollars trying to recreate," Ali says while referring to the market in the present tense as if to give you the impression that if you cross the street to Hamdan, the market will still be there.
"It isn't perfect. Actually, it is far from perfect. Walls are cracking; there is hardly any space to move. It looks out of place surrounded by [Abu Dhabi's modern] skyscrapers. But its shortcomings are what make it perfect," Ali says.
Built in the 1960s with more than 500,000 square metres, the old souq was demolished in 2003 and replaced with today's modern yet traditional looking Madinat Zayed Gold Market.
Boasting more than 70 shops mainly selling gold and diamonds, the Gold Market is a main attraction for tourists and locals, Ali adds.
He works at Al Jazir jewellery where he is surrounded by modern displays of gold, neatly sorted pieces, each with light fixtures.
"We have more than 10,000 customers who visit us daily," says General Manager of the Gold Market Abu Bakr.
"What makes the Gold Market unique from all others is that we specialise in gold and it's a one-stop destination for gold," he adds.
Intricate jewellery
With more than 12 tonnes of intricate and handcrafted jewellery that come from mostly Gulf countries, the Gold Market become a major tourist stop.
Thomas Burger, along with his family came from Germany on a seven-day cruise throughout the region.
"The reputation of the emirates in gold extends all the way to Germany. When our cruise ship stopped here, we asked our taxi driver to take us to the Gold Market and here we are," Burger says.
The Gold Market is run mostly by Indians, Pakistanis and Iranians and sells only 18 to 24 carat gold. While the price of gold has been steadily rising over the past six months, the market is not just an opportunity to shop but to invest in gold.
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