In pictures: Deira's thriving gold souq

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  Dubai, United Arab Emirates - January 07 2013 - A salesman at the Gold Souk in Deira shows a display board of gold rings to a customer. Unlike the malls, the Gold Souk is still a popular place to buy and sell gold for many tourists and residents of Dubai. (Razan Alzayani / The National)

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  Goldsmiths work on items at the workshop of Nirali & Mickey Diamond and Jewellery at the Gold Souq in Deira.

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  Suprabhat Das, a goldsmith works on a ring. Five men work in the Nirali and Mickey Diamond and Jewellery workshop each have a different skill. One is an expert in mounting, another in welding and another in engraving. There is also machinery used to melt ???

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  There is also machinery used to melt down pieces of jewellery so the molten metal can be reshaped into something new.

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  Nandita Sharma takes a photo of her husband Atul Sharma in front of Kanz Jewels at the Gold Souq in Deira. The couple are tourists in Dubai and are visiting from New Delhi. "Although the price difference in gold is minimal between here and India, at least???

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  Salesmen attend to customers at Kanz Jewels. “Everyone bargains, but not like the Indians,� jokes Deepak Dhora, 30, the manager. “It’s not the language, but for them it is an investment so there is more in it.�

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  Three electronic screens were set up at the entrances to the Deira Gold Souq tracking the price of 18, 21, 22 and 24-carat gold a gram. “The televisions actually makes it easier for us,� says Vishal Mandaliya, sales executive with Barakat Jewellery.

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  The gold sold at the souq is imported from across the world, with most coming from Singapore, Italy and India.

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  Each shop will buy whatever they know best suits their market. Some shops, for example, will try to cater more to the African market, while others focus on Europeans.

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  Bimal Kumar, a 28-year-old salesman at Dhanji Motiram and Sons Jewellers is a third generation salesman at Deira Gold Souq. His father Kirti Kishor Dhanji, 56, was brought to Dubai in 1958 by his father to set up the shop.