Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Part of the Advantage Travel Centre

The emir of Dubai is H.H. Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who is also the Prime Minister of the federation of the United Arab Emirates. The crown prince is H.H. Shiekh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the emir's younger brother.

Dubai is the second largest emirate in the federation after Abu Dhabi. The emirate is located on the Persian Gulf, southwest of Sharjah and northeast of Abu Dhabi, and reaches into the interior. The town of Hatta, forms the southern portion of the emirate of Dubai and borders with Wajajah, Oman.

Dubai has been nicknamed the "Singapore" or the "Hong Kong" of the Middle East.

History of Dubai

There was a pearl-diving and fishing community at the mouth of Dubai Creek for many centuries, but modern Dubai dates its existence to the 1830s when the Bani Yas tribe under the Al-Maktoum family settled there and renounced allegiance to Abu Dhabi. Successive sheikhs encouraged contacts with outsiders, especially the British, who made Dubai a regular port of call.

Dubai became one of the Trucial States in 1853. It joined the UAE on December 2, 1971. It has since become a large and modern city, with an estimated population of close to a million in 2004.

Dubai has since become an important tourist destination and is diversifying as an important hub for service based industries such as IT. The government has set up enclaves for industry specific corporations. Dubai Internet City is one such enclave and houses IT companies such as Oracle, Microsoft and IBM.

Entertainment

The annual Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) draws shoppers from the Indian subcontinent and around the region. Other, smaller shopping festivals such as Dubai Summer Surprises are held throughout the year.

The city has many malls such as City Centre, Lamcy Plaza, Al Ghurair Centre and Wafi Centre that house international stores, theaters, gaming arcades and foodcourts.

Dubai also has a water park, Wild Wadi Water Park.

The horse race known as the Dubai World Cup is held annually.

There will be an entertainment complex in Dubai called Dubai Land, which includes a theme park. Dubai Land includes the Mall of Arabia, which will be the largest shopping mall in the world. Dubai Land is slated to open in 2006.

Real Estate and Property

The government's vision to diversify from a trade based, but oil reliant economy to one that is service and tourism oriented, has been condusive to the growth of real estate corporations such as Emaar properties and Jumeirah International. Corporate office enclaves on Sheikh Zayed road were developed to shift Dubai's traditional business area from the creek to the western parts of the city.

The city is also dotted with modern skyscrapers such as Emirates Towers which are the the 12th and 23rd tallest buildings in the world. [http://www.emporis.com/en/bu/sk/st/tp/ty/ho/], and Burj Al Arab, a five star deluxe hotel on the Arabian Ocean, which is the second tallest hotel in the world.

Emaar properties claims to be on course to construct the world's tallest building, Burj Dubai. The corporation claims .."Burj Dubai's height is a closely guarded secret but it will beat all records and on a scale that will be a dramatic testament to Dubai's faith in the future."

People living in Dubai

The population of Dubai consists mainly of expatriates, the majority of who come from the Indian subcontinent and the Philippines.

Approximately 85% of Dubai residents are expatriate guest workers and 65% nationwide. Naturalized citizens are rare.

Nearly all the commercial establishments are run by expatriates with a silent local partner who "rents" the business license for a negotiated fee. The numerous free trade zones allow for full expatriate ownership.

There are an increasing number of "free hold" villas and flats which come with a guaranteed residence visa.

Language & Religion

The official language is Arabic, but English, Hindi, Urdu and Malayalam are widely spoken.

Islam is the only officially recognized religion. A vast majority of the people are Sunnis. There are foreign minority Hindus and Christians as well.