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DUBAI | |
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The Emirate of Dubai
encompasses of only a minute percentage of the UAE's land. It contains the city
of Dubai, the Hajar Mts. and the enclave of Hatta. Despite this however, Dubai
(the city) is in many ways the treasure of the Arabian Gulf. It is the
commercial capital of the Arabian World and a place where westerners, after
absorbing the initial shock of the soaring heat, will feel most at home.
With a Planet Hollywood, Hard Rock Cafe, revolutionarily engineered five star hotels, western style shopping malls and even an annual PGA Golf Tournament; Dubai is to the Middle East what Amsterdam is to Europe or even better, what Hong Kong is to the Far East. A smorgasbord of anything goes capitalism somehow geographically displaced in the middle of one of the most radically Islamic parts of the world. Left: The Dubai Golf Course - well established stop on the annual PGA tour. |
| Ironically, Dubai is one of
the few metropolitan renovations in the Gulf not to have been founded mainly on
oil reserves. In fact it was trade; especially that of gold, that made Dubai
rich. Dubai became an Emirate when it separated from Abu Dhabi in the 1830's.
For its first 60 years, Dubai was a relatively barren coastal town with a small
pearling industry. In 1894, Sheikh Maktoum Bin Hasher Al-Maktoum levied taxes on foreign traders. Utilizing its strategic location at the heart of the Persian Gulf Dubai became the capital of trade between Persia, (British) India and Britain. Dubai built it's economy by "re-exporting" goods, i.e.; importing goods and then selling them to other ports. In the 60's smuggling gold to India took off and in 1970 and estimated 259 tons of gold went through Dubai. The already wealthy Emirate became even more opulent when oil was discovered in 1966. Both smuggling and duty free trade are still big today. The gold smugglers nowadays however are more apparent in the many Iranian merchants who bring in carpets in exchange for VCR's and Levi's jeans. Exporting goods like these may not be illegal to the UAE's standards however might still be considered smuggling back in their hometown. Duty free shopping however is a major source of revenue for Dubai and the duty free shopping at the Dubai International Airport is one of the biggest in the world. |
 The world's only 7 star hotel; the Burj Al-Arab |
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Dubai is a tax haven as the
UAE levies no income tax, purchase tax or value added tax and offers one of the
most generous tax free limits to those bringing goods into the Emirates. The
present leader, Sheikh Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has given everything to
promoting Dubai. Tourism is being encouraged to a maximum and luxury hotels
such as the Burj Al Arab and the Jumeirah Beach Hotel have become national
landmarks. Sports is another way in which Dubai is promoting itself. Camel racing, horse racing and desert safaring are all huge events. The Dubai Golf Course however is now home of the Dubai Desert Classic, a PGA tour regular stopover. Left: crime is kept to a minimum in Dubai. Swedish hooligan gangs causing havoc in the Gold Souq has become quite a problem as Cristoph and Paula & Robin Lunden go on the rampage |
| Even if shopping, visiting
western chain restaurants overseas and 5-7 star hotel skipping isn't quite
you're forte; there's still plenty to do in Dubai. The Khor Dubai is a 10km
long creek that runs straight through the heart of the city; dividing it into
Bur Dubai on the east and Deira on the west. Dhows, abras and other Arabian
styled ships constantly run up and down the creek. One must do for any tourist
is to take an abra down the Creek at night time. Renting an abra can cost up to
100 dirhams ($30) but that already bargain price can be negotiated down to
about 40 dhs ($10 (approx))! There's also the Dubai Museum which has been renovated from the Al Fahidi Fort into a superb time warp-like experiencing walkthrough museum! The old Dubai Souq is also worth visiting. Despite being overshadowed by its modern day western shopping mall rivals, it still offers plenty of the charm of a classic Arabian marketplace. The Dubai Gold Souq is definitely worth a visit. The wooden roofed streets are lined with shops displaying 24 and 22 carat gold items ranging from watches to necklaces and jewelry to house hold furniture. Even though you may not be able to afford anything, this sparkling walkthrough is definitely a must do. As you can see; there's more to the Middle East than just desert and Dubai is as close to a western city as you can get. You find everything you could possibly desire in Dubai and on top of that the city is scattered with multicultural attributes to truly make this fine city a "melting pot" of east meets west. A mosque will stand in between a Starbucks and a curry house unassuming. On top of that, the crime here is almost non-existent which brings a rather tragic sigh every time one of my friends asks, "......isn't it dangerous in the Middle East? ....." The sad fact being that cities in the Middle East are by far more peaceful than anything you'll ever see back in the States. |
 Above: the Dubai Creek |
So this concludes my short little write up of Dubai. While you're there, be sure to take a day out and stop off in Abu Dhabi for a pop......... or you could always save yourself the hassle and just check out my website.....
Questions or comments? E-mail me @ glennaldo_sf@hotmail.com
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