In my last post, I shared a little background on Dubai, as well as my first experience flying on Emirates, the largest airline in the Middle East, and one of two flag carriers of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Here is some additional information about Dubai:
The UAE, including Dubai, is a Muslim country with deeply rooted Islamic traditions. The country applies a mix of civil and sharia law. Some UAE laws that are important for tourists to know and observe include the prohibition of drinking in public, swearing, public displays of affection, displays of homosexuality (as it is illegal in the UAE and punishable by deportation, imprisonment and death) cross-dressing, and wearing provocative clothing, among others.
Most Emirati men dress in traditional dishdasha or khandura (a long, white, shirt-dress), and ghutra (a white headdress). Emirati women wear an abaya (a long black cloak), over conservative clothing, and cover their head and face with a sheyla or hijab. When visiting, it is not necessary to observe this dress code, however dressing modestly is important.
Laws are somewhat relaxed in Dubai, compared to the other six emirates, because of the large role that tourism plays. That said, it is best to know local laws and respect them. This will ensure a safe and pleasant stay and a warm welcome, which I indeed received. Now, let's jump into my visit.
Flooded Roads of Dubai
After a very relaxing flight, I landed at Dubai International Airport, the busiest international airport in the world, serving 90 million passengers annually. Sadly, the airport was in absolute chaos when I arrived.
The overwhelming majority of flights were delayed, diverted or cancelled. Consequently, people were crying, sleeping on the floors, or pacing with worry. The chaos was the result of Dubai's worst flood in history, which had occurred only a few days before I arrived.
Flooded Streets of Dubai
On average, Dubai receives less than four inches of rainfall per year. This year, on April 15 however, over ten inches of rain fell in just 24 hours. This is the largest amount recorded, since record keeping commenced in 1949. Factors including climate change and a drainage system not designed to cope with anything but minute amounts of precipitation, were cited as causes of the storm and its damage.
Experts also debated whether cloud seeding could have amplified the storm. Cloud seeding, a practice that the UAE regularly conducts, is a form of weather modification. It consists of implanting particles into clouds to increase rainfall.
Dubai Skyline
Despite the flooding, I was determined, and encouraged by locals, to see as much of the city as possible. Knowing that the wet conditions required a modified, site seeing plan, I approached the situation with flexibility. For example, I took this photo of the grand, Dubai skyline from a van, in standstill traffic, on a street where the water level reached the tops of our tires.
The tallest point that you see in the skyline, is the Burj Khalifa, which is also the tallest building in the world. The Burj Khalifa measures 2,716 feet and 6 inches, making it more than twice as tall as the Empire State Building. I learned that Dubai is home to some very impressive architecture, in addition to this building.
Address Sky View Hotel
The building pictured above is the Address Sky View Hotel, opened in 2019. The hotel has two towers, and the taller of the two measures 60 stories. The building features a skybridge that connects the two towers, as well as an observation deck with a glass floor. The design of the hotel is meant to look like a cruise ship, suspended in the sky.
Burj Al Arab
The Burj Al Arab is another acclaimed, Dubai hotel with a nautical themed design. This hotel is just over 1,050 feet, making it the tallest, all-suite hotel in the world. The Burj Al Arab was crafted to look like the sail of a dhow, a one or two-masted, Arabian, sailing vessel.
The hotel's helipad may look familiar to you. It was made over into a tennis court twice, so that Roger Federer could play against both Andre Agassi and Novak Djokovic. The helipad was also transformed into a golf course, on which Tiger Woods tee'd off.
Atlantis, The Palm Hotel
Another famous hotel in Dubai is the Atlantis. Atlantis, the Palm opened in 2008 and is one of the city's most recognizable landmarks. Next door is its sister hotel, Atlantis the Royal, which opened in 2023.
No expense was spared for the guests who attended the grand opening of the Royal last year; they were even provided vanity kits with gold toothbrushes. Celebrities in attendance included Gauri Khan, Kendall Jenner, Jay-Z, and Beyoncé, who performed her first live concert since 2018, at the opening.
The Atlantis hotels are both located on the man-made island of Palm Jumeirah, named as such because the island is shaped like a large, palm tree. The picture above was taken at The Pointe, which is the tip of one of the palm fronds.
Dubai Marina
Next, I headed to the Dubai Marina, another artificially made area along Dubai's coast. This two-mile, canal city is the world's largest, man-made marina. It, as well as Dubai's other contrived areas of land, were masterminded by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and created by dredging millions of cubic meters of sand from the deep, sea beds of the Persian Gulf, spraying it into shape, and then reinforcing it with millions of tons of rock. This massive and exorbitantly expensive undertaking is meant to increase both the coastline and tourism.
Some of Dubai's other man-made islands and archipelagos, begun some 20 years ago, include the Dubai Islands and Palm Jebel Ali (both incomplete to date) and Bluewaters Island (open for business).
There are also the World Islands. The World Islands were designed as a global replication, with each island corresponding to a country. That was the plan when the project was announced in 2003, anyway.
Today, a total of 300 islands have been created across about five and a half miles, at the cost of about 15 billion dollars. Thus far,
Lebanon Island is complete, but only welcomes visitors for day trips, as no overnight accommodations exist there.
2. The Anatara World Island's resort is fully operational and has a total of 70 rooms for guests. The hotel is located somewhere in the South American region of islands, it's aesthetic has been described as Thai/Indonesian and its Greek and Arabic-Indian restaurants have been complimented by visitors.
Conde Nast Traveler, who reviewed the hotel, while landscaping on the island was still incomplete, predicted that the island would have "a nice, laid-back beach vibe a la Sri Lanka or Costa Rica," once the 850 coconut trees from Oman, 500 palms, 200 tropical birds, 12 peacocks, and more than 4,000 other flora, arrived at the site.
(Hmmm...South American, Thai, Indonesian, Greek, Arabic, Indian, Sri Lankan and Costa Rican. Not sure what country this island corresponds to per the original plan and vision for this archipelago, shaped like a world map.)
Anyhow, status-wise, two of the 300 World Islands are operating as of today. I'm not sure of the plan for the other 298, but NASA images confirm that some of these islands, as well as other man-made, Dubai islands, are sinking.
Dubai Marina Cruise
Ok, back to my time at the Dubai Marina ... While here, I embarked on a brief and pleasant cruise with other tourists.
Ain Dubai
Our boat sailed by the Ain Dubai, the largest ferris wheel in the world, standing at 550 feet.
Are you seeing a theme here? Dubai has the biggest or largest of many things, as I was reminded throughout my visit. So, let's just get to it. In addition to what I have already mentioned, Dubai has:
The largest indoor shopping mall.
The largest indoor theme park.
The largest suspended aquarium.
The deepest pool.
The largest, dancing fountain show ... etc.
Dubai Frame
You get the picture? If not, this is the Dubai Frame. It is nearly 500 feet high and over 300 feet wide. The structure "frames" views of Old and New Dubai, which you can see from the sky deck and bridge on the 48th floor. It constitutes another Dubai superlative; it is the largest frame in the world. Impressed?
I'm on the fence for several reasons:
First, there wasn't anything novel that I encountered in the city. That could be because the city was flooded and there were areas I could not access, such as Old Dubai with its textile, perfume, gold and spice souks, local artisans, local foods and so much history and tradition.
Nonetheless, of what I saw in the city, nothing stood out as unique. I had seen artificial islands (see my post on Miami's Biscayne Bay), all three runners up in size, in Las Vegas, London and Singapore, to the Ain Dubai ferris wheel, a gorgeous and impressive fountain show at the Bellagio, really large malls and aquariums in various cities, etc.
Second, when something is the largest, it is impressive mostly by degree. Therefore, many of the things I saw in Dubai did not astound me, because operating on such a large scale, with no nearby comparison for context, a difference of even a couple hundred feet is imperceptible when relying on memory.
The exception to this was the Burj Khalifa, which is appreciably taller than any building I have seen, and protrudes strikingly, against the Dubai skyline. As you will see in the video, there are currently two buildings under construction (in Saudi Arabia and Dubai) that will exceed the height of the Burj Khalifa, as well as many others throughout the world, that the video doesn't mention.
Pebble Beach, California
Third, I am most moved by natural beauty, (like the sun setting over the Pacific ocean, pictured above) which can't be replicated. There was very little of that in the city. In all fairness, Dubai is a desert, so anything that doesn't belong in a desert, has to be fabricated. Nonetheless, what is man-made for me, just doesn't compare to the "real," or natural, thing.
Those are just my thoughts and impressions of this part of Dubai, though. Perhaps you have visited, or will someday, and you will experience the city differently.
Even several days after the flood, the waters hadn't receded appreciably. With many places in the city still closed, a local suggested that I take a trip to the desert, to see the "real" Dubai. Now, that excited me.
So, it is exactly what I did. I hope you will join me on my Dubai, desert adventure where I saw camels, rode an ATV, did some dune bashing and ended the night at an outdoor dinner, complete with fire eaters and belly dancers. This was a region of Dubai that I thoroughly enjoyed and would love to share with you.
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