Sunday, February 22, 2009

Dubai: A Vision for a Country

By Chris Linch

Dubai has a fascinating story. When the British left in 1971, Dubai became a part of the Federation of United Arab Emirates. Oil was discovered in 1966. Instead of living like a pasha for a few years, until the oil ran out, the then-ruler, Sheik Saeed Al Maktoum decided to invest Dubai's oil resources into building a long term economic future for his people.

His recipe, as he saw it was based on five elements: almost endless sunshine, seaside location, shopping, safety, and sports. And he began building. A common joke in Dubai is that the national bird is the crane. A building crane. Dubai is located smack dab in the middle of Asia, Europe, and Africa. A natural destination for tourists looking for something different, he pulled from Dubai's Arab traditions and brought in Western luxuries. He attracted heavy investors for hotels, sports facilities and shopping. Vacation homes were designed and built on an innovative series of atolls designed like Palm Trees, Globes, etc.

Sheik al Maktoum has passed away, but his successors have continued his mission. Dubai has developed into an intriguing destination. Famous for its experimental architecture, modern hotels sit against rolling sand dunes and green golf courses. Souks compete for business with shopping malls complete with indoor alpine ski runs. There are Bedouin villages and five-star hotels. Camels walk the beach next to bikini-clad women.Dubai defies easy description..

The city is a world class dining destination as well. And the night life is surprisingly lively. The dining choices tend to center around the hotels, because they can sell alcohol in this Muslim city.

Dubai's climate and first-class sporting facilities make it an ideal place to lead an action-packed life or enjoy an energetic holiday. The variety of sports on offer ranges from deep-sea fishing to ice-skating, and from golf on the Middle East's international standard grass courses to sand skiing in the desert.

And when you need a rest, Dubai plays host to the best ranked teams and players from around the world in a variety of sports.

Events staged in Dubai are the Desert Classic PGA Golf Tournament, The Dubai Tennis Open, and the Dubai World Cup. And Dubai continues to add to its visibility and list of events each year.

Dubai also offers events for polo, volleyball, ice-skating, bowling, darts, chess, show jumping, dressage, snooker and power boat racing. It seems that the diversity of its citizens is reflected in its activities.

But the traditional sports of Dubai are not overlooked. Camel racing takes place during the winter and draws large crowds of enthusiastic fans. The annual sailing dhow race pits smaller versions of the traditional dhow against each other and crowds gather in the thousands to step back in time for a moment. And that may be the real heart of Dubai: A perfect blend of the old and the new.

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