The quayside building is covered with graffiti. Most of the vendors who have operated in Abu Dhabi for years have returned to Iran after failing to get renewals of the visas they need to sell their wares.
The majority of the traders visit the country on 21-day visas and pay a fee of 5 per cent of the value of their goods to Abu Dhabi Customs. In return, they receive a stall to display their goods at no additional charge. The few traders who remain are mostly Iranian businessmen who have teamed up with local sponsors and have resident visas.
“Only a few months ago, this place was so busy that it would be hard for customers to walk between the stalls and items on display,” Reza Mohamed, an Iranian who has sold pots from his stall for more than a decade, told The Nartional. “The traders, who used to come on a 21-day visa to capitalize on tourists to the city are coming far less often.”
At the Persian Bazaar, not all the traders have returned home. Ahmed Ghulam Abbas, who sells pots and pans and other household goods, has partnered with a UAE national and so does not rely on a short-term visa to stay in the country. Still, his business has been affected by wild fluctuations between Iran’s currency and the UAE dirham, which is pegged to the US dollar.
An official at Abu Dhabi Terminal in Port Zayed said many of the Iranian traders had overstayed their visas and so had not been allowed to continue trading.
“We have run into problems,” said Mustapha Ali, a manager at the terminal. “Many of them exceed the 21 days in an effort to sell more, or try to sell more of their products outside the souq, which is illegal.”