Before the skyscrapers, before the malls, before the artificial islands, there was the Creek. A narrow saltwater inlet running through the heart of old Dubai where pearling boats unloaded their catch and traders from Persia, India, and East Africa haggled over saffron, frankincense, and dried limes. This 90-minute experience brings that older Dubai back into focus.

You meet your guide at Al Seef, a beautifully restored stretch of the Bur Dubai waterfront where the buildings still look the way they did a hundred years ago. From here you board an abra, one of the low wooden motorboats that have been ferrying people across the Creek since long before anyone thought to build a bridge. The crossing takes four minutes and costs almost nothing, which is exactly why it has survived.

On the Deira side, the Spice Souk opens up immediately. Sacks of turmeric, cardamom, dried rose petals, and loomi line the narrow covered lanes, and the air is thick enough to taste. Your guide points out what is what, explains what gets used in which dishes, and negotiates a small mixed bag of spices for you to take home. Then it is a short walk to the Gold Souk, where some 300 retailers display more gold jewelry per square meter than almost anywhere else on earth. You are not here to buy, just to look, and looking is completely free.

It is the quietest, most human version of Dubai, and it costs almost nothing to see it.