UAE then and now: the Abu Dhabi souq where dreams came true

Use our interactive slider and view the photo gallery to explore the place that brought Heinz baked beans and Wrigley’s chewing gum to the city

Today, life in the Emirates moves in the fast lane. In a regular series to mark the 50th anniversary of the UAE we take a little trip back in time to see just how much the country has changed.

Visiting the area today, it is hard to tell that this was once the commercial heart of old Abu Dhabi.

The district behind the Corniche, south of Khalifa bin Zayed Street and between Al Lulu Street and Sheikh Rashid bin Saaed Street (Airport Road), was the city's original souq.

It was a haphazard warren of barasti and coral stone stalls. Its origins are lost in the mists of time, or at least the 19th century.

In the beginning, mostly fish, vegetables and dried goods were sold.

The influx of oil money in the late 1950s led to the introduction of exotic goods such as Heinz baked beans, tinned peaches and Wrigley's chewing gum.

A cheerful trader shows off his wares in the Abu Dhabi souq in 1962. They include Heinz beans, tinned peaches, and, of course, Vimto. Courtesy: Guy Gravett

The view over Abu Dhabi souq around 1966. Courtesy: Al Ittihad

Another trader in the Abu Dhabi souq around 1962. The Flower Box matches he is selling still use the same packaging today. Courtesy: Guy Gravett

The interior of Abu Dhabi souq around 1960 with a shop selling bride chests or mandoos. Courtesy: BP Archive

An atmospheric shot of the Abu Dhabi souq taken around 1960. Courtesy: BP Archive

The Abu Dhabi souq taken at some point in the late 1970s/early 1980s. Courtesy: Shaukat Ali Sufi Muhammad / Al Ittihad

Traders wait for business as a potential customer passes by in the old Abu Dhabi souq around 1962. Courtesy: Guy Gravett

Your weight for the price of a few coins. Abu Dhabi souq in 1974. Courtesy: Jack Burlot

Posing for a street photographer in the Abu Dhabi souq in 1974. Courtesy: Jack Burlot

A video and cassette shop specialising in Bollywood films and music from the 1990s-era Abu Dhabi souq. Courtesy: Al Ittihad

The Abu Dhabi souq taken possibly at late 1970s/early 1980s. Courtesy: Shaukat Ali Sufi Muhammad / Al Ittihad

How the Abu Dhabi souq looked in 1971, the year the UAE came into existence. Courtesy: Alain Saint Hilaire

Abu Dhabi's old souq in the early 1980s. Courtesy: Clive McNeil

The 'Modern Radio Centre' shop in Abu Dhabi souq. Courtesy: Al Ittihad

The spiral walkways to the pedestrian bridge across Khalifa bin Zayed Street in the 1990s. The Abu Dhabi souq stretched across both sides. The World Trade Centre stands on the same site today along with Burj Mohammed bin Rashid - Abu Dhabi's tallest building. Courtesy: Al Ittihad

The Abu Dhabi souq in the 1990s taken from Hamdan bin Mohammed Street. Courtesy: Shaukat Ali Sufi Muhammad / Al Ittihad

A 2003 fire destroyed a lot of Abu Dhabi's original souq. Courtesy: Al Ittihad

It was demolished a year later. Courtesy: Al Ittihad

Larger plans were in place for the site and construction of the World Trade Centre started soon after. Huge progress can be seen in this 2013 photograph. Jaime Puebla / The National

Inside the construction of the World Trade Centre mall project in 2013. Jaime Puebla / The National

The World Trade Centre opened in 2014. Part of the development was built in a souq style to mark that history. Ravindranath K / The National

Burj Mohammed bin Rashid, Abu Dhabi's tallest building. The tower is part of the World Trade Centre development and represents the city's ever-modernising skyline. Mona Al Marzooqi / The National

Ambitious plans by Sheikh Zayed, the UAE's Founding Father, for a new modern city in the late 1960s led to the old souq being swept away, along with the Brahman cattle that once roved the stalls and a dusty path that led directly to Qasr Al Hosn.

It was replaced with a concrete version, covering the old site but much expanded. The 1970s souq extended up to Hamdan Street, bisected by Khalifa bin Zayed Street, which was crossed by a pedestrian walkway.

Particularly popular with the city's growing South Asian population, this second souq did not age well, and a fire in 2003 that gutted large sections prompted a decision to knock it down.

It was eventually replaced in 2010 by a complex that includes the World Trade Centre mall and souq, which covers the original footprint. Many of the traders from the 1970s souq still conduct business on the streets around the area.

The older of these photographs shows the second souq and the bridge over Khalifa bin Zayed Street, which has also since been replaced.

It was taken from the large roundabout on Airport Road next to Etihad Square, which has a history of its own, being the site of the Al Fahim Mosque that dated back to the 1940s.

Commissioned by Mohammed Abdul Jalil Al Fahim, of the famous Abu Dhabi business dynasty, its numerous turrets and minarets made it popular with photographers, until it, too, fell to the sands of time. Trading on this spot, then, has been conducted for three centuries.

Today shoppers browse in air-conditioned comfort, with everything on offer from cupcakes to women's lingerie.

There is a Spinneys at the mall and a Lulu hypermarket at the adjacent Central Market.

Customers of the old souq, more accustomed to rice and dried fish, would surely be much impressed at the selection on offer today.