Al Mankhool

Al Mankhool is a residential and commercial neighbourhood in Bur Dubai, on the western side of Dubai Creek. It sits between Umm Hurair to the north, Al Rifa to the west, Al Karama to the east and Al Jafiliya to the south, making it one of the central blocks of older Bur Dubai.

Why people call it Bank Street

Al Mankhool is best known locally for Khaled bin Al Waleed Street, the road that runs through it and which expatriates in Dubai have called "Bank Street" for years, because of the concentration of banking and financial institutions along it, including branches of Citibank and Emirates NBD. The street runs perpendicular to the other main route through the area, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah Street, which carries north to south traffic through the neighbourhood.

The area is small, at around a square kilometre, but it is one of the most densely populated parts of Dubai, with over 40,000 residents at the last count, reflecting the number of mid-rise apartment buildings packed into the grid.

Parks and local landmarks

Mankhool Sand Park is the neighbourhood's main green space, a small park used by residents for a walk or for children to play, tucked between the surrounding apartment blocks. The Al Mankhool Community Health Centre serves as the local public clinic, and there is a Bur Dubai Etisalat service centre in the area for telecoms and bill payments, both useful reference points for anyone new to the neighbourhood.

As in much of Bur Dubai, individual apartment buildings in Al Mankhool are often known locally by the name of the family or company that owns them rather than by a formal address, which is why searches for specific named buildings in the area are common: this is simply how people give directions here, and it is worth asking a landlord or agent for the building's known name as well as its official one.

Getting around Al Mankhool

The nearest metro station to Al Mankhool is ADCB, on the Red Line, just across the boundary in neighbouring Al Karama, within easy walking distance of the eastern edge of the district. BurJuman, one of only two stations in the entire network where the Red and Green lines meet, is a short distance further south and brings the rest of the metro system within reach. By road, Khaled bin Al Waleed Street (Bank Street) and Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah Street provide the main routes in and out, connecting onto the wider Bur Dubai and Sheikh Zayed Road network.

What living in Al Mankhool is like

Al Mankhool is almost entirely an apartment district, with a working mix of residential blocks, hotels, restaurants and banking branches at street level. Flats range from compact studios to larger family apartments, mostly in buildings that predate Dubai's newer tower developments, so condition and management vary considerably between blocks.

Freehold status in Al Mankhool is not uniform, in the same way it is not uniform across Bur Dubai more widely. Much of the older residential stock here was not built as part of a freehold investment zone, so most residents rent rather than own, and anyone considering a purchase should confirm exactly what ownership is on offer for a specific building rather than assuming it applies across the neighbourhood. Our guide to freehold property in Dubai sets out how that distinction works more generally, and our tenant guide covers the renting side, which is the more common route here. You can also browse what we currently hold to rent.

Day to day, the appeal of Al Mankhool is its location: close to Al Karama, Oud Metha and the creek, walkable to Bank Street's cafes and services, and within reach of two metro stations without the premium attached to newer central districts.

For anyone comparing neighbourhoods, Al Mankhool sits in the same bracket as Al Karama next door: central, affordable by Dubai standards, and built around older apartment stock rather than new towers. The difference tends to come down to street life, since Bank Street carries more banks, cafes and office workers during the day, while the residential side streets behind it are quieter in the evenings.

What is the postal code of Al Mankhool?

There is no postal code for Al Mankhool, because Dubai does not use a postcode or ZIP system at all. Post and deliveries rely on a PO Box at an Emirates Post branch instead of a coded address. Where an online form will not proceed without a postal code, the normal approach for a UAE address is to enter 00000, or to leave the field blank and describe the building name and nearest cross street, which is what a courier in Bur Dubai actually uses to find a flat on Bank Street or nearby.

Common questions about Al Mankhool