Masarat Al-Bahjah
A creative concept for Dubai Municipality's Ramadan Souq 2025 at the historic Bur Deira waterfront — designed as interconnected pathways that weave every Ramadan ritual, craft, and gathering into one heritage-rooted journey.
Dubai Municipality invited us to imagine the Ramadan Souq 2025 at the historic Bur Deira waterfront. We responded with Masarat Al-Bahjah — Pathways of Joy — a spatial concept inspired by the great Islamic souqs of Mecca and Madinah where commerce, craft, prayer, and entertainment never lived in separate quarters but flowed through the same lanes.
Every pathway carries its own ritual: arts, music, lanterns, food, storytelling, children's play, handicrafts, and live performance — woven together by Emirati architectural language and the riverfront's living heritage.
- Creative Concepts
- Creative Direction
- Art Direction
- Brand Strategy
- Spatial Design
Pathways of Joy
Inspired by the historic Islamic souqs of Mecca and Madinah our concept treats the Bur Deira souq not as a grid of stalls but as a network of pathways — each one carrying its own ritual: arts, music, storytelling, food, lanterns, prayer, play. Visitors don't browse a market; they walk a Ramadan.
Mapping the Journey
We illustrated the entire Bur Deira waterfront as a single, readable ground plan — every pathway, stage, kiosk, and majlis finding its place inside one connected world. The map became wayfinding tool and visual identity at once.
Joy, Everywhere You Look
A graphic system carries the souq's spirit across every printed and digital surface — from wayfinding to announcements introducing the season's experiences, performers, and traditions. The same language ties the whole journey together.
Unforgettable Joy
Sculptural installations with embedded screens turn moments of pause into shared memory — both photo opportunity and storytelling device. Around them, Souq Fawazeer revives the classic Ramadan riddle as a Millionaire-style quiz that travels through the souq.
Spaces Rooted in Heritage
Every built element draws from Emirati and Islamic architectural language. Retail kiosks combine mashrabiya screens with wind tower silhouettes; F&B carts are clad in heritage timber and reused boat woods; seating shaded with Sadu fabric and a VIP majlis under a great white tent carry the riverfront's living heritage into the public realm.
