City of Gold

Turn a desert into a metropolis with 1,300 skyscrapers.....yes, they did!

World's tallest building on shifting sand.....yes, there is!

Ski down a snowy slope when the temperature is 40 degrees outside....yes, you can!

 

In fact, I think you can see, do, eat, buy, experience most anything and everything in Dubai. You can certainly shop at New York's Bloomingdales, or Paris' Galleries Lafayette, or eat gelati from Rome's Giolitti. 

 

At the moment we're marvelling at the engineering of building an archipelago of islands in the Persian Gulf that replicates the countries of the world - it's actually called 'The World' and controversial as it is (is it sinking?) it is amazing!  Also amazing is The Palm - an archipelago exactly resembling a palm tree.  We drove up the 'trunk' of the palm to the 7-star Atlantis hotel.  Along the 'trunk' alone we were told that there are thirty new 5- and 6- star hotels currently being completed.  The scale of construction, the canals and the water-front buildings are mind-blowing.  (It's a little concerning to think about who and how the construction industry source enough labour to work in this climate.)

 

We're staying in a 14th floor apartment, downtown on Emaar Boulevard - directly opposite the Burj Khalifa.  The view is extraordinary, the Dubai skyline is extraordinary, and any vacant land around the skyscrapers is.....well, it's simply desert sand.

 

Dubai is an oasis in this desert landscape, apart from the vacant blocks of sand, it's green and gardened and fountained at every turn.  It is hot....38 degrees yesterday, 40 today (relatively modest for the beginning of June say some of the Kingdom's locals), but air conditioned relief is only ever a few steps away. 

 

We took a dhow along Dubai Creek and watched these ancient boats still being used to transport goods.  I loved old Dubai and its contrast with the modern creation. We visited the souks, and got lost in its narrow lanes, and when 40 degrees seemed more like 50 degrees we jumped in a cab and went to Jumeirah Beach for a swim.

 

We shopped in the world's largest shopping mall, the Dubai Mall, with its own Olympic sized ice skating rink, aquarium and massive fountain. The shops in the mall are beautiful and the variety of luxury goods is astonishing.  The Emiratis in their traditional dress look elegant and cool.

 

At night the city positively sparkles, the fountains dance, and the temperature drops to a moderate 25 degrees.

 

Obviously, I didn't take this aerial photo.
It shows the amazing Jumeirah Palm Islands,
 and The World archipelago.

 

The Burj Khalifa dominates the Dubai skyline.

The view from one of our apartment windows.  Burj Khalifa can be
seen just to the left, the water in the centre explodes into
dancing fountains at night, and in the foreground is desert sand,
where an opera house was to be built, but since the GFC....well, it's still sand.

The beautiful Jumeirah Mosque - one of Dubai's 500 mosques.

When it became a little too hot for sightseeing we took ourselves
to Jumeirah beach for our very first swim in the (warm) Persian Gulf.

The Burj al Arab sits on the coastline and appears to be about to sail away.

By night Dubai sparkles, twinkles and shines.  This is Emaar
Boulevard at the base of our apartment.

Burj Khalifa by night.  Throughout the night
we watch its twinkling light show
dance from its base to its tip.

Beautiful cafes and restaurants. 
This one, just opposite the apartment, and
where we had breakfast each morning, is the Parisian café,
 Fournil de Pierre - open until 3.00am!

Traditional abra boats on Dubai Creek

In the 40 degree heat, you would think that sitting outside
would be unpleasant, however at most of the outdoor cafés and restaurants,
this one by Dubai creek, the outdoor air-conditioning makes it quite
pleasant.  They're not noisy, and in this Emirate I guess power
consumption is not a problem?

The Gold Souk in Al Khor Street.  Miles and
miles of merchants and markets of gold.



Inside the delightful Souk Madinat Jumeirah

Burj al Arab from one of the canals of the Souk Madinat.

I love the Dubai wind towers - a feature of the old Dubai skyline.
These wind towers are part of the modern Souk Madinat Jumeirah,
however all around Deira and old Dubai at the top of the buildings
can be see the differing designs of wind towers, designed to
capture and funnel air through buildings and at
the same time extract hot air.  Old design, very clever.