I have visited Dubai 3 times - in 2001, 2009 and 2016. Each time, I have been amazed at the pace at which development has taken place in the city in terms of infrastructure and attractions. It is one of the world's most developed cities, with a huge number of towering skyscrapers, luxury hotels and enormous shopping malls.
Each time I've gone, my hosts have been my cousin Dilip and his wife Shobha. Their kids Lavanya and Vidyut are now away, but the first time I went, they were still small and I got to spend a lot of time with them. Dilip and Shobha have taken out a lot of time to take me around the city, and it has been great to get to know the city from people who have been there for over 2 decades and know it so well. They really did spoil me a lot during my visits.
With a
population of close to 3 million, Dubai is the largest city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Close to 70% of the city's population consists of people from South East Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka), while just over 20% are locals. Dubai is the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, one of the seven emirates that make up the country. The city saw its early growth coming in the 1970's from oil and trade. Today Dubai is a global city and a major business hub for the Middle East. Apart from oil, Dubai's economy relies in a big way on tourism, real estate and financial services. The city is famous for some of its large construction projects, like Burj Khalifa (the world's tallest building) and Dubai Mall (the world's largest mall).
Dubai had its origins as a fishing village in the early 18th century. The city has been ruled by the Al Maktoum family since 1833. It is an absolute monarchy, with no elections.
In 1971, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Quwain and Fujairah joined to form the United Arab Emirates, with Abu Dhabi as the capital. In 1972, Ras Al Khaimah joined the UAE.
Burj Al Arab is a luxury hotel that is one of Dubai's best known landmarks.
It has a height of 280 meters and was completed in 1999. The building resembles
a ship’s sail. It has a helipad at the top. Visitors can’t enter the hotel
unless they pay a fairly steep cover charge which also allows them to
have a meal at the lounge, and experience the plush, colourful interior
of the hotel.
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| Burj Al Arab |
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| Ceiling, Burj Al Arab |
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| Mezze Platter, Burj Al Arab |
Jumeirah Beach Hotel is another one of Dubai's famous hotels. It is a wave shaped
hotel that opened in 1997. It is close to Burj Al Arab. The
large hotel has about 600 rooms, and has a height of 93 meters. The hotel’s
conference room is shaped like a boat.
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| Jumeirah Beach Hotel |
Dubai Museum is housed within Al Fahidi Fort,
which dates back to 1787 and is the city’s oldest building. The museum has figures of people engaging in traditional
jobs before the discovery of oil changed the city’s fortunes. There are also
archaeological finds from the area, stuffed birds & animals, boats and
ships.
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| Dubai Museum |
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| Boat, Dubai Museum |
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| Wax Figure of a Fisher Family, Dubai Museum |
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| Sea Gull, Dubai Museum |
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| Wind Towers, Dubai Museum |
Burj Khalifa was opened in 2010. At a height of 829 meters, it is the
world’s tallest structure. It has an observation deck on the 148th floor, and an outdoor observation deck on the 125th floor. It houses the Armani Hotel, residential floors
and the famous At.mosphere restaurant on the 122nd floor.
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| Burj Khalifa |
Emirates Towers consists of 2 towers,
one 355 meters and one 309 meters in height.
The complex was completed in 2000. The towers stand on Sheikh Zayed Road.
The two story “Boulevard” retail complex connects the towers.
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| Emirates Towers |
The Al Yakoub Tower stands at
a height of 328 meters. It was completed in 2013 and lies in the heart of the
financial district. The building was inspired by London’s Big Ben, but it
doesn’t have a clock like the original. The tower houses a hotel.
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| Al Yakoub Tower |
Jumeirah Mosque is
Dubai's best known mosque. It is built in the traditional Fatmid style and
construction began in 1976.
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| Jumeirah Mosque |
Dubai Mall opened in
2008 and has about 1,200 outlets. It is the world’s largest mall.
The mall boasts of attractions like Dubai Aquarium, Dubai Ice Rink, a full
dinosaur skeleton, a recreation of an old souk, and a waterfall with sculptures
of diving figures. The impressive Dubai Fountain and Burj Khalifa lie
close to the mall.
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| Entrance, Dubai Mall |
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| Dinosaur Skeleton, Dubai Mall |
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| Grand Dome, Dubai Mall |
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| Ice Rink, Dubai Mall |
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| Fountain, Dubai Mall |
Mall of the
Emirates opened in 2005.
The huge mall has over 600 outlets. The mall has Ski Dubai (a large
skiing facility, a ski lift, ice sculptures and penguins), food courts, fine
dining restaurants, entertainment centres and the glass domed galleria.
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| Mall of the Emirates |
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| Fountain in restaurant area, Mall of the Emirates |
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| Penguin in Ski Dubai, Mall of the Emirates |
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| Ski Dubai, Mall of the Emirates |
Ibn Battuta Mall is a large themed mall with over 270 outlets. It opened
in 2005. The mall has 6 courts – the China Court, the India Court, the Persia
Court, the Egypt Court, the Tunisia Court and the Andalusia Court. The 6 courts represent the 6 countries that
the 13th century
explorer Ibn Battuta visited. The architecture and design style of each
court is symbolic of that particular country.
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| China Court, Ibn Battuta Mall |
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| India Court, Ibn Battuta Mall |
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| Persia Court, Ibn Battuta Mall |
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| Egypt Court, Ibn Battuta Mall |
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| Tunisia Court, Ibn Battuta Mall |
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| Andalusia Court, Ibn Battuta Mall |
Madinat Mall is an uparket recreation of a traditional Arabian souk. The plush air
conditioned mall has souvenir shops, boutique stores, restaurants and cafes.
There is an artificial lake in the complex. One gets great views of the nearby Burj Al Arab
Hotel.
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| Entrance, Madinat Mall |
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| Lake, Madinat Mall |
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| Oriental Plates, Madinat Mall |
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| Oriental Carpet, Madinat Mall |
Deira City Centre is a mall that opened
in 1995. The large mall has around 370 outlets, and also has a multiplex, a
bowling alley, fine dining options, a food court and the Magic Planet
entertainment centre.
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| Interior, Deira City Centre |
Dubai Festival City Mall is part
of Dubai Festival City, a large complex
built around a waterfront that also has hotels, residential units and offices.
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| Festival City Mall |
Wafi Mall is another of Dubai’s favourite malls.
The theme of the mall is ancient Egypt. The complex has pyramids, sculptures of
pharoahs, a souk,
restaurants. The mall dates back to 1997.
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| Bosphorous Restaurant, Wafi Mall |
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| Camel Sculpture outside Wafi Souk, Wafi Mall |
Gold Souk is a traditional market situated in Deira. The souk has around 300 stores dealing
largely in gold jewellery.
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| Gold Bangles, Gold Souk |
The Deira Old Souk has its interesting shops, selling things like spices and other traditional items from the region.
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| Deira Old Souk |
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| Spices, Deira Old Souk |
Deira
Clock Tower was built in 1965 and the landmark structure stands in
the middle of a busy round about in Deira.
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| Deira Clock Tower |
The traditional dhows are still a popular way of crossing the creek between Bur Dubai and Deira.
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| Dhows |
National Bank of Dubai, Sheraton Dubai Creek, the Etisalat Building
and Dubai Creek Tower all stand next to each other in Dubai and are important
landmarks of the Dubai Creek Waterfront.
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| National Bank of Dubai |
A favourite activity for tourists visiting Dubai is to go on a Desert
Safari. There are many camps situated within an hour’s drive
from Dubai. One goes in 4 wheel drives, which go off the road and take the
visitor up and down the sand dunes to one of the camps. In the camps, one can
experience activities like camel rides, dune bashing on scooters, smoking
hookahs, seeing belly dances and enjoying a barbecue meal.
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| Belly Dancer, Desert Safari |
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| Camel, Desert Safari |
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| Stalls at the Base Camp, Desert Safari |
So if you're a shopper, certainly go to Dubai, because it's hard to match Dubai when it comes to its shopping malls and traditional souks. For luxury travelers, it's again a great option, with its high end luxury hotels. For history lovers, there probably isn't too much apart from Dubai Museum, because Dubai is such a modern city. For adventure sports and theme parks, it's again a great place. I've heard mixed accounts from people who have visited Dubai, but I've certainly enjoyed my visits and I found myself quite overwhelmed with this bustling ultra modern city that has been built in the middle of the desert.
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