A journey into Dubai’s past could well begin through the door of a quaint tea house in the Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood, once known as Al Bastakiya. As you step into the Arabian Tea House (although old-timers would still prefer to call it the Basta Art Café), you transported into the old times, authentic style with turquoise benches, white rattan chairs, lace curtains and beautiful flowers, enjoying your cup of gahwa (traditional Arabic coffee) in the shade of an old tree and the languid air swoons around you, dreamlike, as if it were always afternoon. You sit here savouring your cup of gahwa (meaning coffee in Arabic, but also used to refer to tea in the context of a tea house) under a grand old tree that bears little apples, hear the birds sing and marvel at the architecture of the stone house with wind towers that once belonged to a tawash, or pearl merchant.

Category: Arabic foods

Country: UAE

City: Sharjah

Area: Al Mareija

Address: Souq Al Shanasiyah - Corniche Street - Heart Of Sharjah