Old Dubai in an afternoon: the creek, the souks and the abra

The Dubai people photograph is thirty years old. The Dubai worth an afternoon is a century older and costs a dirham to cross.

Start in Deira at the gold and spice souks, ideally after four when the heat drops and the traders are properly open. The spice souk is small and the gold souk is not; both reward walking through rather than shopping, unless you know what you are doing about gold rates.

Then take the abra across the creek. The traditional wooden boats run continuously between the Deira and Bur Dubai stations, cost one dirham, take five minutes, and are the single best-value thing in the city. They are also working transport rather than a tourist attraction, which is exactly why they are worth doing.

On the Bur Dubai side, Al Fahidi — the restored historic quarter — is a grid of wind-tower houses, small museums and courtyard cafés. It is the only part of the city where walking is the obvious way to get around, and an hour there resets whatever impression the malls have left.

Eat around the creek rather than heading back. The neighbourhoods behind both souks hold the city's best cheap food — Iranian, Afghan, South Indian, Emirati — served in rooms with strip lighting and no pretensions whatsoever.

Go late in the day, and go in the cooler months if you have a choice. Between June and September this itinerary is a four-hour walk in forty degrees, and no amount of history makes that pleasant.