Local trade in the Middle East is primarily by dhow, the same old wooden boats that have plied the Persian Gulf for millennia. Dhows are basically wooden cargo ships of 30 to 130 feet that go between all the small ports on the Persian Gulf, plus around to Pakistan and southern Iran. At Dubai, the dhows are unloaded, and lorries come pick up the goods. Totally overloaded, they then head off. Manufactured goods generally get loaded in Dubai for shipment to the hinterlands. Since dhows aren't exactly FedEx, giant piles of goods get stacked along the wharfs waiting for shipment. Crew often sleep atop the goods, presumably to prevent theft, although Dubai is generally an orderly society. These three pictures were taken along Dubai creek, just inland from the Persian Gulf.

Dhow workers are some of the coolest people I met in the whole world. Their English is quite limited, but many will strike up a conversation with a foreigner just to find out where they're from. I had one fellow explain that he was from Iran and asked where I was from. I had to say a bit sheepishly that I was from the U.S., which took him quite by surprise! I had dinner at a cheap restaurant along the wharf and joined several Pakistani dhow workers as "our President" spoke on television after the Agra Summit collapsed.

The big container companies like Maersk Sea\Land or P&O Nedlloyd haven't taken over local Gulf shipping, but they do have a big nearby container port used on the India to Europe routes. The smattering of small towns along the Gulf are too small to serve profitably by any vehicle except by dhow.