Time Frame: Only boxes remain of the Abu Dhabi market scene

Courtesy of the BP archive

Almost every aspect of life as portrayed in this sleepy Abu Dhabi market scene has long vanished. Except one.

It is still possible to buy the painted metal storage boxes seen piled outside the vendor's shop on the far right of this photograph. You can find them in at least one shop in the streets behind Hamdan Street and Marks & Spencer.

The area where this photograph was taken is now dominated by Central Market, which opened for business late last year. Rising into the sky in the same area are The Domain residential tower, the Trust Tower and two hotels.

The souq sits on almost the same spot as the old one, and was constructed in the late 1970s on the orders of Sheikh Zayed. It replaced the city's original market, which had occupied another space nearby between Al Hosn fort and the Corniche.

Time Frame is a series that opens a window into the nation's past. Readers are invited to make contributions to [e-mail]