Dubai

When the name “Dubai” is mentioned, the first thing that comes to mind for many people is the modern, towering, exotic architecture that is now symbolic of the city. I knew I had to be at the airport at 3:00 this afternoon to catch my flight to Ethiopia, but I couldn't leave Dubai without seeing some of the famous architecture first-hand.

One thing I really respect about the government of Dubai is that rather than squander their income from oil on wine, women, and song, as many other Middle Eastern ruling families have done, they've used the money to build a highly developed society. Since the 1960's the ruiling sheiks have focused on making the emirate free from it's economic dependance on oil. The money from oil has been spent partly on building the local infrastructure, but it also has been funneled into the tourism industry. Today income from oil and gas reserves makes up only 6% of Dubai's GDP. Income from tourism accounts for 74%.

In the 1990's Shiek Mohammed bin Rashied al-Maktoum decided that if the city was to become a world-class tourist destination, it needed an iconic symbol - an “Eiffel Tower” of Dubai. His dream was realized with the construction of the Burj al-Arab. The Burj al-Arab is an ultra-luxurious hotel that sits on a man made island facing the Persian Gulf and is shaped like the sail of an Emirati dhow ship. It is the world's tallest hotel and also the world's only self-proclaimed seven-star property. I left my room in the Bur Dubai neighborhood this morning and took a bus ten miles East along the coast to the location of the Burj al-Arab. Unfortnately resevations for a room or a meal are required to enter and I didn't have one for either, but I came for the view of the outside and I was happy with what I got. After getting off the bus I walked a few minutes towards the coast until I came to the hotel's security gate. That location was great a few pictures, but I had to wander a bit further until I had a good view of the building in profile. As I was walking back to the bus stop a helicopter approached overhead and lowered down onto the hotel's landing pad. I can only imagine what kind of guest merits that kind of transportation to the Burj. Watching that chopper fly in today might be the closest I ever get to finding out.The second item on my adgenda was the Burj Dubai, which is currently under construction but is already hundreds of feet taller than the next tallest building in the world. The Burj Dubai is not only the tallest building in the world, but it is also the tallest structure ever created by man - a distinction previously held by a telecommunications mast in Poland that collapsed in the 1970's. I took a cab halfway around the massive Burj Dubai development before hopping out to take a few pictures. I've read a lot about the Burj Dubai online and I've seen a lot of pictures, but actually standing only a few hundred feet away from the building and observing every detail about it was one of those “I can't believe I'm really here” moments.New developments are everywhere in Dubai, but the largest, most expensive, most extravagant skyscrapers are almost exclusively located along the eight-lane-wide Shiek Zayed Road. I had intended to take a quick look at the Burj al-Arab and the Burj Dubai, then to walk for a couple of hours down Shiek Zayed, but transportation between the two buildings ended up taking a lot longer than I thought it would, and I really only had time for one more stop before I had to call it a day. I took a quick cab ride to the Emirates Towers, two skyscrapers similar in design which together comprise one of the most iconic sights of the city. I didn't have much time at the towers, but I wandered around the perimiter of the buildings to snap a few pictures and I also walked through the lavish shopping mall inside.The number of cranes crowding the skyline of Dubai is only outnumbered by the number of advertisements seeking tenants to fill the buildings they are constructing, and I passed by one giant advertisement in the Emirates Towers' Boulevard Mall. A large model had been made of an entire city of skyscrapers planned for Dubai, and red signs marked “Sold” showed which properties were no longer available for purchase.Dubai has been fun and I feel like I've seen quite a bit considering I only had a day and a half to work with. I think that most visitors to Dubai come for the shopping, the theme parks, and the lavish accomodations, but none of those things really appeal to me. I've experienced most of what I want to experience about the city, but if a typical visit means a world-class hotel and a bank-account-busting shopping spree, then my visit has been anything but typical. If I'm passing through the region again sometime and I have a layover in Dubai, maybe then I'll find the time for a slightly more traditional visit.