Dubai is situated on the west coast of the United Arab Emirates in the south-western part of the Arabian Gulf and is one of the seven Emirates that forms the United Arab Emirates. The city itself sits on the banks of a creek, a natural inlet that divides the city neatly into two parts: Deira and Bur Dubai.
Dubai is a magnificent mixture of the ancient and the modern. There is something for everyone in the Emirate.
The old Shindagha district with its traditional houses, renowned for their wind towers and winding alleyways has been preserved. This area includes the ancient Al Fahidi Fort and the former home of Sheikh Saeed. A notable survivor of a bygone age, the latter building has been completely restored. The house contains an exhibition of photographs, which gives an insight into Dubai’s history and traditional way of life. The building beautifully illustrates the local architecture. The dhow, an icon of old Dubai, is still widely used for trade throughout the region, as a walk along the creekside amongst the hustle and bustle of dhows unloading their cargo will confirm.
Dubai’s Islamic heritage is also reflected in the Bastakiya district, which has been restored with galleries, hotels and restaurants.
Adapting this local heritage to create a modern vibrant city is the ambition for many of the new developments. The new man-made Palm Islands being developed along the coastline of Dubai were inspired by this heritage, with the palm tree and water long considered the most important sources of food, shelter and trade for Dubai.
A further ambitious project, the World is a group of islands being built to form the shape of the world and will provide luxury coastal homes.
The Burj Khalifa (formerly called the Burj Dubai), an 828-metre high tower, is currently the tallest building in the world following its completion in January 2010. The centre of a new downtown complex covering 500 acres, the development also includes a housing district and the world’s largest shopping mall, the Dubai Mall, which opened its doors to the public on November 4, 2008.
The metamorphosis from old to new has not happened by chance. The diversification away from an economy reliant on oil follows a carefully structured and highly ambitious blueprint devised by the ruling Maktoum family and implemented by a government working closely in partnership with the private sector.
A key element in the strategy for the development of Dubai is the ambition to make it the major hub for business and finance in the Middle East. From Dubai, companies can access 1.5 billion consumers by bridging the gap between London and Hong Kong both in terms of geography and time zones. With its Islamic tradition, Dubai is ideally placed to serve the largely untapped, multi-billion dollar global market for Islamic financial products and services.
The Dubai International Financial Centre, which opened in September, 2004, is one of the largest projects of its type in the world, comprising six key sectors, including Banking Services, Capital Markets, Reinsurance & Islamic Finance. In the two years after it was founded, the DIFC granted operating licenses to major international companies. Such continued rapid growth justifies the original vision - the Centre has become a truly international gateway for capital investment.
The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre, launched in 2002, has created a dedicated commodities market place in Dubai. The DMCC has over 1000 registered member companies from across its target industries, including gold, precious metals, diamonds, energy and commodities.
The Dubai Technology and Media Free Zone comprises the Dubai Internet and Dubai Media Cities, both of which have been operational for a number of years. The Dubai Internet City has attracted an international community of ICT companies, including all the global ICT giants and has established a community of workers with leading edge skills.
Dubai Media City, a creative community for the media industry, housing both international companies and regional organisations, is rapidly emerging as a global media hub. A major initiative is the Dubai Studio City which offers a complete technical and community infrastructure for the film, TV and music production industries to flourish. With more than 120 channels operated by 40 broadcast companies based in Dubai Media City, the new facilities are designed to fulfil the need for additional production facilities in Dubai.
Dubai can be described as a tourist’s dream with the ultimate shopping experience. Luxurious resort hotels accommodate tourists, who come to Dubai to enjoy a break on the sparkling shores of the Gulf.
The skyline and shoreline of Dubai, epitomised by the billowing sail-like structure of the Burj Al Arab hotel, is now recognised worldwide.
The Jumeirah group of hotels incorporates luxury leisure and business hotels, each with a distinctive architecture, including the Burj Al Arab, the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, the Emirates Towers Hotel and the Madinat Jumeirah.
The Madinat Jumeirah, resembling an ancient Arabian citadel, is set amongst meandering waterways, with two grand boutique hotels, courtyard summer houses and traditional souk. This desire to promote a truly Arabian experience is also reflected in their Bab Al Shams Desert Resort and Spa, designed to give guests five star luxury in the midst of the desert just 45 minutes from Dubai city.
The Jumeirah Group of hotels continuously strives to set new standards in the travel market to ensure that each guest receives the very best.
The list of tourist attractions continues to grow to include more heritage sites reflecting Dubai’s past, art galleries housed in old houses such as the Majlis Gallery and opportunities to sample the traditional Arabian way of life.
Themed areas abound with the Wild Wadi water park remaining a favourite with 24 water rides including The Jumeirah Sceirah, the tallest and fastest freefall slide outside the United States. Others such as Magic Planet, WonderLand and Encounter Zone all aim to entertain and the plans for Dubailand cover twice the area of Disneyworld in Florida.
Dubai is renowned worldwide as a shopping destination. With low import duties and no taxation, retailers in Dubai are able to offer unbeatable value. Browse for traditional treasures like silk and spices or take a visit to the world famous Gold Souk located in the old part of the city. There are numerous shopping malls where you can indulge in the luxuries of top international brands.
The annual Dubai Shopping Festival is much more than just an opportunity for a spending spree. Under the banner theme of "One World, One Family, One Festival" the festival also incorporates cultural events aimed at bringing people together from all areas of the world. This unique combination of shopping, entertainment, sporting events and daily raffles has put this festival on every tourist’s itinerary.
With the aim to establish Dubai as a top leisure destination, the development of sporting facilities is seen as essential. As this is Dubai, the range and scope of the sports is without equal. You can scuba-dive in the warm waters of the Gulf and then put on ski gear to go skiing in the Snowdome.
The amazing Snowdome has 22,500 square metres of real snow all year round and includes the first indoor black run. The longest run is 400 metres with a fall of over 60 metres. The Snowdome incorporates skiing, snowboarding and the world’s largest indoor snow park.
Outdoor activities benefit from year-round sunshine, which ensures that the visitor will enjoy every possible sport - from watersports, tennis, fishing and diving, to horse riding, mountaineering, shooting and archery. The age-old tradition of camel racing is still very popular in the emirate with racing taking place during the cooler winter months.
Sports fans are also attracted to Dubai’s world-ranking events, which draw big-name professionals to Dubai for golf, tennis, rugby and cricket tournaments, as well as motor sports and powerboat racing.
The Dubai Desert Golf Classic, worth US$2.5 million in 2009, takes place at the Emirates Golf Club and is a highly regarded venue on the PGA European Tour. Tiger Woods, the world number one player, has developed his first golf course in Dubai, Al Ruwaya, which will feature a 7,800 yard, par 72 course.
The Dubai Tennis Championships held in February/March each year features the world’s top-flight players such as Roger Federer, Justin Hennin and Rafael Nadal.
The Emirate also stages the Dubai International Racing Carnival where horses from around the globe race under the floodlights of Meydan racecourse. The 9 race meeting carnival gets underway at the end of January each year and culminates in late March with the US$10-million Dubai World Cup, the world’s richest horse race.
In 2010, the Dubai World Cup will move to Meydan - an amazing new racecourse that promises to be the best on the planet and have a 60,000 crowd capacity.
Features of Meydan - an Arabic word, which is translated as a place where people congregate and compete - include five-star hotels, a world-class golf course, more than 10 restaurants, covered car parking for 10,000, the Meydan Museum and Godolphin Gallery, and the Dubai Racing Club offices.
Meydan Racecourse is in close proximity to Meydan City - a self-contained community consisting of commercial and residential plots, retail outlets and arcades with canal, waterfront and promenade views. It is also located near Meydan Business Park, which offers over 2.9 million square feet of office space in 17 blocks.
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For further information on Dubai, visit the following websites:-
www.dubaitourism.co.ae
www.dubai.ae
www.dubaicityguide.com
www.meydan.ae
www.burjdubai.com