Dubai

Dubai is a beautiful city along the southern coast of the Persian gulf of the Arabian Peninsula. The metropolis is the capital of the United Arab Emirates, which is one of the seven emirates containing the highest density of population in the country. Now Dubai has become an ideal location for wanderers, holidaymakers, picnickers, and honeymooners. This is the place where desert meets the sea.

Dubai is the oil rich desert oasis. There is myriad of shopping malls, flamboyant hotels and a dizzy array of dining options in Dubai. Clubs and bars are also available in the city.

Dubai is a desert landscape with extensive sand dunes, oases, and wadis. It is a spectacular offshore island, comprising several coral reefs and sabhka, or salt marshes.

The most interesting feature of Dubai is the Dubai Creek. That is a natural inlet in Persian Gulf which divides this beautiful city into two parts: the Deira to its north and the Bur Dubai to the South.

A cache of jewels is there in Dubai, including the Burj Al Arab (the world’s second tallest hotel), the Dubai Marina (the world’s second largest man-made marina), etc. Dubai is the centre of Legal, political, military and economy. It is the second largest emirates by the area after Abu Dhabi.

Dubai possesses veto power over critical issues of national importance.

The current Dubai’s ruler is Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. He holds both the positions of the Prime Minister and the Vice President of the UAE.

History
Dubai is a federation of seven states. It was formed in 1971 by the then Trucial States after independence from Britain. Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm Al-Quwain are its other emirates governed by a Supreme Council of Rulers made up of the seven emirs who appoint the prime minister and the cabinet.

The desert city later turned upon an ideal tourist destination where a great influx of travelers now swoons each year. Dubai was established a dependent state of Abu Dhabi by the Al Abu Falasa Clan in Dubai. The Sheikh of Dubai and others in the region signed the “General Maritime Peace Treaty” with the British government on January 8th, 1820.

In 1833, Al Maktoum Dynasty, the descendants of the House of the Al Falasi, of the Bani Yas tribe thwarted the settlement of the Abu Dhabi and assumed power from the Abu Fasala clan amid much resistance. In the end, Dubai came under the protection of the United Kingdom by the “Exclusive Agreement” of 1892.

The geographical location of Dubai kept drawing attraction of traders and merchants on for a long time. Dubai was known for its pearls exports until the 1930s. The emir of Dubai attracted foreign traders by lowering the trade tax bracket. This exerted a pull on traders away from Sharjah and Bandar Lengeh (these were the main trade regions at that time).

In the event of the World War followed by the Great Depression in the late 1920s, Dubai’s peal industry was smashed up irreparably. The Jebel Ali Free Zone, comprising the Jebel Ali port, reputedly the world’s largest man-made port, was established in 1979. They provided foreign companies imported labour and export capital unrestricted. Strategically, Dubai provided refuelling base to allied forces at the Jebel Ali Free Zone during the Persian Gulf War, and again at the time of Iraq invasion in 2003, the success of the Jeblel Ali Zone allowed the city to develop some clusters of new free zones, like Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City and Dubai Maritime City. Later, Burj Al Arab, the world’s tallest freestanding hotel, was erected to market Dubai for the purpose of tourism.

Lately, Dubai has seen a great increase in private real estate investment in recreating Dubai’s skyline with projecting some promising projects like The Palm Islands, The World Islands and Burj Dubai.

Earlier oil was discovered in the 1950s, after which the town granted concessions to international oil companies. The discovery of oil showed the way to a great influx of foreign workers, mainly Indians and Pakistanis. With the result, the population of the Dubai city from 1968 to 1975 grew by over 300%, by some ballpark figures.

Dubai adopted a uniform currency circulation – the UAE Dirham - in 1973.

Several beautiful parks, golf courses, and racecourses are there amid lush and verdant contrast to the desert sand.

Geography
Dubai covers an area of over 77,000 sq. Km bordering the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Its 90% of area is desert with mountains to the east. There is a vast sea of sand dunes leading into the desert known as The Empty Quarter. There is no natural river body or oases. The sandy dessert surrounds the city with wild grasses and occasional date palm trees, including desert hyacinths, acacia and ghaf trees, grow in the flat plains with the proximity to the Western Al Hajar Mountains.

Dubai consists of nine sectors. Each sector further subdivides into community. There are about 132 communities, bordering by a major road each. An inlet from the Gulf bisects the centre of the city. To the north of the Creek, there is the Deira area that houses the spice, fish, and gold souks. To the south of the Creek is Bur Dubai that’s an area of having strong Indian influence.

Climate
Dubai experiences hot and humid climate. There is a maximum rainfall of 150 millimetres per year. Precipitation normally centres in the months of January, February and March. There is heavy rain during winters.

The official language of Dubai is Arabic. However, Malayalam, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Tamil, Persian, Tagalog, Chinese are widely spoken in Dubai. English is the city language.

The UAE is an Islamic country. However, the country gives equal respect to other communities like Christianity, Jewish, Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism. The country strictly prohibits proselytizing or distributing of religious literature under the penalty of Criminal Prosecution, imprisonment and deportation for engrossing in behaviour offensive to Islam.

Cuisine
Dubai’s cuisine is charming. Arab food is very popular yet might exclusively be much expensive. It offers plump oysters, juicy prawns, sweet langoustines and slipper lobsters. Freshly baked nan breads with spicy sambal or coriander and pine kernel dips are also served. Consumption of pork in Dubai is illegal, but it is regulated and sold to non-Muslims. Similar restriction has been placed on alcoholic beverages, but several bars and restaurants offer alcoholic drinks. The popular boutiques in Dubai are Shisha and Qahwa.

Trade
The main source of Dubai’s revenue is tourism, trade, real estate and financial services. The petroleum and natural contribute less than 6% to the Dubai’s economy and the real estate and construction accounts for about 23%.

Dubai got the world’s tallest office building erected. The world’s longest ambulance, 18 meters long holding up to 44 patients at a time, is in Dubai. The Guinness Book of World Records enlists it in the world's longest Ambulance.

The world’s first Maradona Sports Café has also been opened in Dubai. It will be dedicated to soccer legends – Deigo Maradona. A number of items, including shirts, balls, gloves and other items, have been donated by people like Pele, Zico and Dunga. UAE property tycoon Sulaiman Al Fahim has developed it.

The Waterfall, the newest shopping centre, has recently been opened. It is spectacular waterfall. It has specifically been designed to give visitors a significant site and provide a meeting point for families and friends. There is Burj Dubai, which is built on the 30-acre Burj Dubai Lake and The Address, Downtown Burj Dubai. This is one of the most popular leisure attractions of Dubai.

Air Transport
Many international airlines operate in Dubai. The leading service providers are Jet Airways, Air India Express, Gulf Air Bahrain, Air India Limited, Kuwait Airways, Irtysh Airlines, Emirates Airlines, Mahan Air, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways.

Dubai’s national carrier is Emirates Airlines, a subsidiary of The Emirates Group. The leading airline is the largest carrier in the Middle East. It was founded in 1985. It main hub is Dubai International Airport. it is also one of the busiest cargo airports in the world to handle over 1.824 million tonnes. The national air carrier operates North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Australia.

Dubai has established a new airport, Dubai World Central-Al Maktoum International. This airport has been operational since June 2010.