Preserving tradition Dubai is a city that barely stays the same from one week to the next. Skyscrapers appear on the horizon at lightning speed; whole areas are populated with fashionable new houses, shops and restaurants quicker than it takes to dig a hole elsewhere. Yet Dubai is steeped in living, breathing history and tradition.

Dubai has always been a trading settlement, and it is this history that gives it the character it has today, not least the business ethos. A walk through the old bazaars beside the Creek, the lifeblood of the city for so long, down alleyways and across courtyards, reveals the houses, shops and market traditions that have kept Dubai going, throughout the years.

There are tiny mosques and ancient forts. Wind towers crowd the roofs of buildings that were home to most national families until as recently as 20 years ago. Many of the oldest buildings are now museums, allowing you to get a real feel for what life was like in bygone years.

From Bastakiyya in the centre of Dubai to the forts and villages of the Hajjar Mountains, Indian Ocean coast or even further afield in Mussandam to the north or the Sultanate of Oman to the south, there is a vast amount of culture and history to experience.