Dubai: Sweets, soaps and souvenirs from Eastern Europe are just some of the products on offer at Global Village’s newest pavilion.
Above the mock cathedral-arch entrance to the pavilion, topped with colourful spires and onion domes, lit-up signs promise a glimpse of Serbia, Romania and Ukraine.
A Ukrainian grocery store, close to the back of the pavilion, sells sweets, cheeses, sour cream, ice cream and eggplant paste. Ukrainian rock music plays through the store’s speakers.
“Sales are good so far,” said the owner, Oleg Kopach, who is still setting up the store. There’s still no name placed on the colourful storefront, and his two hastily-hired workers scramble to set up a space for a cashier.
The stand is the first store selling Ukrainian foodstuffs in Global Village’s 21-year history, according to Kopach.
A doctor and then medical equipment salesman by profession, Kopach believes his booth fills a niche. “People know and people come specially to find us. So, no complaints.”
Soon, Kopach plans to sell Vareniki — hot, filled dumplings loved by Ukrainians, particularly during the country’s icy winter months.
Another stand is occupied by Yulia, a Ukrainian who uses glue and powder to make temporary tattoos. Prices range from Dh60 to Dh120, depending on their size.
“Henna is very common, there’s a lot of people who make this already,” she said. The artist comes to Global Village every year for business. During the summer months, when Global Village is closed, she works as a face painter back home in Odessa.
However, despite the pavilion’s European vibe, many of the offerings stretch the continent’s boundaries. Some stalls sell fresh juice, while another sells lemonade and compote from Azerbaijan. One store sells portable, made-in-China steam irons.
Plates and pottery
In the astroturf square around an ornate fountain and rustic mock-up cottage, two artists from Uzbekistan sketch charcoal and pencil portraits. And as the pavilion opened just days earlier, many of the stalls have not yet opened.
One stand sells traditional drinking horns, snow globes and decorative plates and pottery from Georgia. According to the store worker, goods from the former Soviet state, which is fast becoming a popular destination for tourists from the Gulf, are in high demand.
“We’ve already sold too many Georgian items,” said Sabina, who hails from Russia. “We’re waiting for new stock.” Nearby, another stall sells scented soaps from Bosnia.
Many of the visitors to the pavilion were tourists.
“We just want to see what are the cultures of Eastern Europe and what exists from these places,” said Mohammad Amir, an Indian holidaymaker who walked around the pavilion with his wife.
The Eastern Europe pavilion joins several new areas of this year’s Global Village, which runs until April 8. This year sees a Far East pavilion representing Indonesia. Japan, the Philippines, and South Korea, and a separate Algerian pavilion.
Entry tickets cost Dh15.
