Dubai - The City

A stuffed camel in the Dubai Museum.

I must admit that I knew very little about this city before signing on to this internship, aside from a vague idea that it was the “Vegas of the Middle East”. That’s partly true, but there’s quite a lot of history and culture here that make its present day state even more intriguing.

Studying the Quran - a display in the Dubai Museum.

Early settlers in the region established themselves in fishing and pearling villages along the Dubai Creek, whose mouth opens into the Arabian Gulf. This ideal location and the friendly trading atmosphere of the city made Dubai the main trading port along the Gulf Coast in the 1800s, with dhows (sailboats) arriving from all over to trade in the souks (markets). By the mid-1900s, the fishing and pearling industries had died down, and the discovery of oil ramped up local development and set the stage for ‘today’s’ Dubai to emerge.

Window shopping for pearls in the Gold Souk.

To understand how Dubai established itself as a major entertainment destination, it’s important to understand its surroundings. To the south of Dubai lies Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. I’ve heard the city described as Dubai’s “older, richer cousin”, as a result of the massive wealth derived from the oil industry there. As progress started to be made in Dubai from the 1950s and onwards, local leadership (still under the framework of a constitutional monarchy) sought to set Dubai apart from its southern sibling by creating a city that would not rely so heavily on oil (Dubai’s reserves are already running out), but on a more sustainable economy – trade, manufacturing, financial services, and tourism. Trade has been promoted by the creation of several ‘free zones’, such as Dubai Healthcare City, where the taxation and regulatory rules are different and are more accommodating of foreign investment.

With a strategic plan in place, development marched on... rather, sprinted ahead. With a population of about 1.5 million (establishing an accurate current and projected population for Dubai is a major challenge... the bane of my existence in the office these days), less than 15% are actually Emirati. Over half of the population are South Asian labourers – the UAE is actually the top destination for Indian emigrants – and the remaining 35% come from other Arab countries, Asia and the West. Armed with the necessary manpower, the city is literally springing up from the sand – if you recall the photo of the fountains from my last post, which surround the base of the massive Burj Dubai... those fountains didn’t exist 6 months ago. I’ve heard that 25% of the world’s construction cranes are here in Dubai, and Google Maps can’t give you directions anywhere in this city because the roads change weekly to accommodate new buildings.

Construction... everywhere!

They really are striving to build the biggest and the best of everything in this city:

- The Burj Dubai, the world’s tallest building... the exterior construction is mostly done now but there are delays on completing the interior, so we’re not sure when it will open – home to an Armani Hotel, offices, and private apartments... an outdoor pool on the 78th floor, an observation deck on the 124th floor, and I’m sure there will be a swanky bar up near the top, as always...

- The World and Palm Islands – all artificial islands dredged up from the sea ... home to luxurious villas and hotels including the Atlantis Resort... rumoured to be sinking in places but at the moment still quite spectacular.

- The Burj Al Arab, home to a seven-star (!!) hotel where suites start from $1,500+ USD a night, but come with a Rolls Royce chauffer ‘shopping experience’, butler service, a pillow menu (so you can choose from 15 different pillows to sleep on)

- The Dubai Mall – bigger than the Mall of the Emirates, which was previously the biggest mall outside of North America ... they’re right down the road from each other...

The Burj Al Arab (view from 360).

Not to be outdone, Abu Dhabi is home to the Emirates Palace (“the most expensive resort ever built”... though I wonder if that hasn’t already been trumped by another development here), and the creation of man-made Saadiyat Island, which will host the Louvre Abu Dhabi and the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi (designed by Frank Gehry) alongside 8000 villas, 38,000 apartments, 29 hotels, 2 championship golf courses, 3 marinas... you get the picture.

There are drawbacks to all this glitz and glamour... the structural quality of these buildings has been called into question; for a time, there was no thought given to the environmental impact of these facilities that require enormous amounts of electricity to cool and maintain; and working safety conditions are not at all what they should be (the Trauma Centre staff claim to have never seen injuries like the ones that roll through their doors when workers fall massive heights from improper scaffolding). I am still forming my opinions about the sociocultural issues in the area, and will save that for another post.

I hope that this has painted a clearer picture of this new city of mine... I have appreciated the opportunity to learn more each day about the spectacle that is Dubai.

An atrium in the Mall of the Emirates.