Persian-speaking companions in Dubai
Persian is spoken across Dubai's large and very old Iranian community, whose presence in Deira and along the creek predates most of the modern city by a long way. This is one of the deepest-rooted communities in the emirate.
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Older than almost anything else here
Iranian merchants have been trading across the Gulf to Dubai for well over a century, and the city's historic Bastakiya quarter takes its name from the Iranian district its builders came from. The wind-tower architecture that Dubai now preserves as heritage was brought across the water. Long before oil, before the free zones and before the towers, the creek ran on this trade, and the community never left.
Deira, the creek and the trade
The Iranian presence is concentrated in Deira and the older commercial districts, and remains heavily involved in re-export, wholesale and the markets. The Iranian restaurants and bakeries in those districts are among the best food in the city and among the least marketed. This is the part of Dubai that existed before the brochures, and a Persian-speaking companion knows it from inside rather than as a heritage attraction.
Persian, Farsi and the naming
The language is called Persian in English and Farsi by its speakers, and both refer to the same thing. The community in Dubai spans Iranian nationals, Emiratis of Iranian descent whose families have been here for generations, and more recent arrivals, and the relationship each has with Iran differs considerably. It is worth letting that emerge rather than assuming.
Where it is useful
The old city, the souks, the markets and any evening involving the trading community. The food alone justifies the filter: ordering well in a Persian restaurant in Deira is a different experience from ordering carefully from an English menu.
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