Brightly coloured dhows, precariously loaded to the hilt with everything from air-conditioners to chewing gum to car tyres. This type of long flat wooden vessel used in the Indian Ocean and Arabian Gulf has docked here since the 1830s when the local Maktoum rulers established a free-trade port, luring merchants away from Persia.

Today’s dhows trade with Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Oman, India, Yemen, Somalia and Sudan. Most of the wares are re-exported after arriving by air or container ship from countries like China, South Korea and Singapore.