In past years at the Global Village, the Turkey pavilion has been nothing special. However, this year all I can say is Wow.

The Global Village is a shopping and cultural event located outside Dubai running during the winter months. To find out more, see my post Dubai’s Global Village ~ Where the World Comes Together.

So, this year I spent a lot of time (and money) in the Turkey pavilion. Perhaps because I was in Istanbul a few months ago, many of the traditional items called out to me. It was like I was in the Grand Bazaar all over again. (Well, sort of…)

The first thing one encounters at the Turkey pavilion is this Turkish man at the entrance selling a cherry drink. I had it and it was good.

Here’s a sample of what you can find in the Turkey pavilion. For starters: Turkish teapots and samovars:

Turkish tea sets and textiles: 

Classic Turkish lanterns:

Colorful Turkish pottery:

For me, the main event of the Turkey pavilion was the jewelry. I spent a lot of time in this booth in the back of the pavilion. The jeweler’s name is Enes and he runs a jewelry business in Istanbul. He makes many of the pieces he sells, and he has a work station set up in his booth.

I bought two pendant necklaces here—including one Hand of Fatima (hamsa) necklace. They were actually cheaper than what I saw in Istanbul.

This type of Turkish jewelry is colorful and contemporary.

Here is another nice-looking jewelry shop called “Stonebul”. By the time I reached him, I was out of money.

Of course, there’s lots of food in this pavilion. This potato chip vendor asked me to take his photo. He was very proud of his swirly chips.

Near the front entrance is a Turkish pastry shop. Again, wow. I think this was the best baklava I have ever had. It was so moist it was practically dripping. And there was no weird ghee-taste, which is often found in Arabic baklava.

Naturally, you can find Turkish delight here. Grab a box on your way out.

To find out about other pavilions, see my posts: The Yemen Pavilion and The Iraq Pavilion.

What’s your favorite thing to buy at the Global Village?

The Iraq Pavilion at the Global Village is small and unassuming. I imagine many people walk by without a thought. However, there are some treasures inside and it’s worth a look even if you aren’t buying.

In case you don’t know, the Global Village is a Worlds’ Fair-like event located outside Dubai and runs November through February. To find out more, see my post Dubai’s Global Village ~ Where the World Comes Together.

The main attraction in the Iraq pavilion is the art. This is the real deal: original oil paintings and other art forms straight from Baghdad. Some of the art is sold directly from the artist. Here are a few of the shops.

 

The original paintings sell for about 400 dirhams to 5,000 dirhams and more.  I like this painting below (unfortunately out of my budget).

 You can have your portrait drawn if you like.

This vendor below is the artist who creates nearly everything sold in his shop. He works throughout the year and brings his pieces to the GV to sell in the winter.

But wait! There’s more. You can buy carpets in the Iraq Pavilion. (I think these are Afghani though.)

And music! This guy is selling the latest Iraqi and Arabic pop music. How can you resist? I love this photo. It reminds me that you think you know what you are going to see, but actually you don’t …

On your way out the door, you can pick up some Iraqi baked goods. Yum.

You can also read my posts  The Yemen Pavilion and The Turkey Pavilion.

Have you been to the Iraq pavilion? What is your favorite pavilion?

This year Dubai’s Global Village represents 26 countries and two continents. For sure, I have my favorites. One of them is Yemen.

If you’re new to the Global Village, it’s a huge fair-like shopping and cultural event that runs during the winter months and is located in Dubai Land. To know more, see my post Dubai’s Global Village ~ Where the World Comes Together.

Back to Yemen. When I’m in the Yemen pavilion, for those 30 minutes or so, I almost feel like I’m in Yemen. I’m surrounded by all things Yemeni. Each stall is manned by charming and chatty Yemeni men in their traditional dress—including daggers–selling their Yemeni goods.

I even get to practice my limited Arabic here because the vendors’ English is even more limited than my Arabic. I bought walnuts from these guys, who showed me photographs of their children back in Yemen. 

The pavilion is also a great place to buy spices. 

Of course, the prime attraction is the Yemeni honey. I buy it every year—pricey but tasty. If you are grey-haired and male, you will be offered “honey viagra.” … Don’t ask. 

The Yemen pavilion is the place to shop for silver Arabic jewelry, antique jewelry, stones, prayer beads and trinkets of all sorts and prices.

I bought a mother-of-pearl pendant from these two vendors. 

To sum up: Yemen is the place to buy honey, nuts, spices, jewelry, and silver trinkets. Oh yes! And daggers.

Please check out my posts on the Iraq Pavilion and The Turkey Pavilion.

What is your favorite pavilion?