Monday, Jan 23, 2017

Dubai: Carpets, tea, art, nuts and spices are just some of the items on sale at the Iran pavilion at Global Village.

Through a grand entrance modelled on an ancient Persian civilisation, visitors can view and shop for a wide variety of authentic products imported from Iran.

The Iran pavilion is one of the 75 countries represented across 30 pavilions — and one of the busiest.

A booth selling saffron tea, walnuts, almonds, figs, pomegranates, and apricots said that most of their customers came from the UAE or Saudi Arabia.

“Some [come] back every season especially to purchase from us,” said Rida Hassan Norozi, a seller at the Hai Fai nuts shop.

The shop also sells sweets, including nougat, pureed sesame seeds, and sugar-coated pistachios, from a firm back in Iran that has operated for more than 100 years.

Other products on sale at the pavilion include 3D paintings by Semen Tagyk, an artist who has sold her works at Global Village for 18 years.

Several loyal customers from the US and Europe who come to Global Village specifically to buy her paintings, she said.

Some of the pavilion’s most popular products are Iran’s most iconic export: colourful, silky Persian carpets.

These carpets are Iran’s cultural inheritance and considered to be pieces of art, said Mohammad Zahid, a carpet merchant at the pavilion.

They are distinct in their details and inscriptions, using silk threads and natural wool. Some shops there display antique rugs that date back to more than 1,000 years.

Timings and tickets

Global Village is open from 4pm to midnight from Saturday to Wednesday and 4pm to 1am on Thursday-Friday and public holidays.

Mondays are family and ladies only days.

Entry tickets cost Dh15

Global Village runs till April 8.

Staff Report

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