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Dubai
Dubai or Dubayy (in Arabic: دبيّ, IPA /ðʊ-'bɪ/, generally /dʊ-'baɪ/ in English) refers to either
· one of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates on the Arabian Peninsula, or
· that emirate's main city, sometimes called "Dubai City" to distinguish it from the emirate.
The ruler of Dubai is H.H. Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who is also the Vice-President of the federation of the United Arab Emirates. The crown prince and Minister of Defence of the UAE is H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, one of the Sheikh's younger brothers.
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 is an exclave of the emirate of Dubai and borders Al Wajajah, Oman.
Dubai is distinct from other members of the UAE in that revenues from oil account for only 10% of its gross domestic product. A majority of the emirate's revenues are from.






History of Dubai


Dubai City as seen from space
There are records of the town of Dubai ("Dubai") from 1799, which was a dependent of the settlement of Abu Dhabi until 1833. The then sheikh of Dubai was a signatory to the British sponsored "General Treaty of Peace" of 1820. In 1833, the Al Maktoum dynasty of the Bani Yas tribe left the settlement of Abu Dhabi and took over the town of Dubai, "without resistance". From that point on, Dubai, a newly independent emirate, was constantly at odds with the emirate of Abu Dhabi. An attempt by the Qawasim pirates to take over Dubai was thwarted. In 1835, Dubai and the rest of the Trucial States signed a maritime truce with Britain and a "Perpetual Maritime Truce" about two decades later. Dubai came under the protection of the United Kingdom by the Exclusive Agreement of 1892.
The rulers of Dubai fostered trade and commerce, unlike the town's neighbors. The town of Dubai was an important port of call for foreign tradesmen (chiefly Indians), who settled in the town. Until the 1930s, the town was known for its pearl exports.
After the devaluation of the Gulf Rupee in 1966, Dubai joined the newly independent state of Qatar to set up a new monetary unit, the Qatar/Dubai riyal. Oil was discovered 120 kilometres off the coast of Dubai, after which the town granted oil concessions.
Dubai, together with Abu Dhabi and five other emirates, formed the United Arab Emirates after Britain left the Persian Gulf in 1971. In 1973, Dubai joined the other emirates to adopt a single, uniform currency: the UAE dirham.
Dubai maintained its importance as a trade route through the 1970s and 1980s. Dubai and its twin across the Dubai creek, Deira (independent at that time), became important ports of call for Western manufacturers. Most of the new city's banking and financial centers were headquartered in this area.
The city of Dubai has a free trade in gold and is the hub of a "brisk smuggling trade" of gold ingots to India, where gold trade is restricted. Oil reserves in Dubai are less than one-twentieth that of the emirate of Abu Dhabi, and hence oil income is a minor contributing factor to the city's prosperity.
Today, Dubai is also an important tourist destination, bolstered by its rapidly-expanding airline Emirates, which is headed by Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, an uncle of the Sheikh. Dubai is also diversifying as a hub for service-based industries such as IT and finance, with the new Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).
The government has set up industry-specific free zones throughout the city. Dubai Internet City, now combined with Dubai Media City as part of TECOM (Dubai Technology, Electronic Commerce and Media Free Zone Authority) is one such enclave whose members include IT firms such as EMC Corporation, Oracle, Microsoft, and IBM, and media organisations such as MBC, CNN, Reuters, and AP. Dubai Knowledge Village (KV) is an education and training hub is also set up to complement the Free Zone’s other two clusters, Dubai Internet City and Dubai Media City, by providing the facilities to train the clusters' future knowledge workers.
Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum was an important personality in the city. He ruled Dubai for over 30 years, during which time large projects like the Jebel Ali free zone, World Trade Centre, and Dubai International Airport were sanctioned.
Demographics


Silhouette of a dhow in the Bur Dubai creek
Dubai is unusual in that its population comprises mainly expatriates, with UAE nationals (Emiratis) constituting the minority. The vast majority of these expatriates come from South Asia and the Philippines. The UAE government does not allow any form of naturalization or permanent residence to expatriates.
Nearly all of the commercial establishments are run by expatriates with a silent local partner who merely "rents" the business license for a negotiated annual fee without taking part in any capital investment. The numerous free trade zones allow for full expatriate ownership.
There is an increasing number of "freehold" villas and flats on artificial islands such as the Palm Islands. The "lease" on these freehold properties is for 99 years. It is, however, illegal to seek employment on this visa. Ownership of lease does not guarantee any form of legal residency status in the UAE. The Federal Government is still formulating laws pertaining to ownership of property and considering issuing residency status to those who own such property.

Language and religion


The Al-Jumeirah Mosque
The official language is Arabic, but English and Hindi are also widely spoken, along with Persian, Urdu, Malayalam, Punjabi, and Tagalog. Islam is the official religion of all of the emirates. A vast majority of the locals are Sunnis. There are foreign minority Hindus, Sikhs, and Christians as well. Dubai is the only emirate that has Hindu temples and a sikh gurudwara.
The Meena Bazaar area of the city has both a Shiva and Krishna temple. Both are believed to be sanctioned by the late ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum.There is an electric crematorium run by a group of Indian expatriates. Non-Muslims in the country are free to practice their religion but may not proselytize publicly or distribute religious literature. The government follows a policy of tolerance towards non-Muslim religions and, in practice, interferes very little in the religious activities of non-Muslims.
In early 2001, ground was broken for the construction of several additional churches on a parcel of land in Jebel Ali donated by the government of Dubai for four Protestant congregations and a Catholic congregation. Construction on the first Greek Orthodox Church in Dubai (to be called St. Mary's) would begin at the end of 2005, members of the Eastern Orthodox Christian community in the UAE have had to use churches of other denominations for services, untill General Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince and UAE Defence Minister, donated a plot of land in Jebel Ali.
Apart from donated land for the construction of churches and other religious facilities, including cemeteries, non-Muslim groups are not supported financially or subsidised by the government. However, they are permitted to raise money from among their congregants and to receive financial support from abroad. Christian churches are permitted to openly advertise certain church functions, such as memorial services, in the press.
Real estate and property












The Burj al-Arab Hotel


Dubai's skyline at night


A satellite image of Dubai, the Jumeira Palm
The government's decision to diversify from a trade-based but oil-reliant economy to one that is service- and tourism-oriented has made real estate more valuable, and corporations such as Emaar Properties, and Nakheel have benefited. Corporate office enclaves on Sheikh Zayed road were developed to shift Dubai's traditional business area from the Dubai creek to the western parts of the city.
Dubai's land-reclamation projects — the Palm Islands of Jumeira, Jebel Ali, and Deira and The World archipelago — will be the world's largest artificial island complexes, developed with villas, golf courses, and holiday resorts.
The first villa freehold properties that were occupied by non-UAE nationals were The Meadows, The Springs, and The Lakes (upper-class neighborhoods designed by Emaar Properties, collectively called Emirates Hills). Somewhere from 2005 to 2006, most of the freehold skyscrapers and other villa projects will be ready for occupancy.
The city has modern skyscrapers such as Emirates Towers, which are the 12th and 24th tallest buildings in the world[7], and the Burj al-Arab located on the Persian Gulf and is currently the tallest hotel in the world.
Emaar Properties is currently constructing what will become the world's tallest building, the Burj Dubai. It is expected to be completed in 2008.
In February 2005, Dubai Waterfront was announced, it will be 2½ times the size of Washington D.C., the size of the island of Manhattan. Dubai Waterfront will be a mix of canals and islands full of hotels and residential areas that will add 500 miles of man-made waterfront.
Dubai has also launched Dubiotech. This is a new park to be targeted at Biotech companies working in pharma, medical fields, genetic research and even biodefense. The aim of this park is to foster the growth of this sector in Dubai and to utilize the region's talent in addressing this rapidly growing sector.
The International Media Production Zone is a project targeted at creating a hub for printers, publishers, media production companies, and related industry segments. This project was launched in 2003 and is estimated to be completed by 2006.
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Transportation


The Abra or Water Taxi
Dubai has a fairly large bus system run by the Dubai Municipality. The bus system has 59 unique routes on weekdays and transports over 200,000 people each week. The government has issued plastic, swipable "e-go" cards. There are also several discounts and period pass options available. Unfortunately though, the bus network is used extensively by lower income groups and does not do enough to attract higher income earners who would do well to use the bus transport system and ease traffic congestion that has recently become a major problem in Dubai and the United Arab Emirates. Traffic congestion has come about mainly due to lack of foresight on the recent rapid population increase, the relative ease of credit facilities for obtaining a car and the convoluted road networks that are constantly being changed, improved or reconstructed. Furthermore, Dubai has developed a reputation for having the most number of deaths and road accidents in the developed world clocking in with a statistic of having a minor road accident at least every 3 minutes. Due to the frequency of such incidents, road networks are blocked and held up quite frequently.
Dubai also has an extensive taxi system, by far the most frequently used means of public transport within the emirate. There are both government-operated and private cab companies. The Dubai Transport Corporation operates cream-colored taxis. Some of the private cab companies are Cars Taxi, National Taxi, and Metro Taxi. Prices are reasonable (metered by distance only) and cabs can be found anywhere, any time although difficulties may be experienced during large events.
One of the more traditional methods of getting across Bur Dubai to Deira is through abras, small boats that ferry passengers across the Dubai creek, between abra stations in Bastakiya and Bani Yas Road, for a nominal charge of 50 fils.
There is currently a $3.89 billion Dubai Metro project under construction for the emirate. The Metro system is expected to be partially operational by 2009 and fully operational by 2012. The construction contract for the project was given to Dubai Rapid Link (DURL)[9], a consortium lead by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Also involved are two other Japanese corporations, Obayashi and Kajima, and a Turkish company, Yapi Merkezi. The metro will comprise two lines: the Green Line from Rashidiya to the main city center and the Red Line from the airport to Jebel Ali. The Dubai Metro will have 70 kilometers of track and 43 stations, 33 above ground and ten underground. Trains are expected to run every 90 seconds when the project is completed. Dubai is building this train system to ease congestion on its road network and to meet the transportation demands of its growing population.
Dubai is also investing heavily in developing the reach of its airline, Emirates. The idea is to develop Dubai's air transportation ability so that passengers from any city can fly direct to Dubai. The airline has placed an order of 45 of Airbus's A-380 'superjumbo' doubledecker aircraft, the largest of which has a capacity of 641 passengers. The A380 aircraft have already been charted to fly from October 2006 onwards. In addition, Emirates has placed an order of 42 of the new Boeing 777 aircraft in November 2005.



Construction

Dubai houses 16% of the world's cranes
Since 2000, Dubai's municipality has initiated a plethora of construction phases and plans across the entire city of Dubai, predominantly in the Mina Seyahi area, located further from Jumeirah, towards Jebel Ali. Dubai houses 16% of the world's cranes. Construction in Dubai and the UAE in general is a much faster process than in any Western country. This is partly due to the fact that labourers from Indian subcontinent accept lower wages than those from other countries.
One of the main reasons for the boom in construction in Dubai is its drive to diversify the economy. The Dubai government does not want to depend on its oil reserves which are largely believed to become exhausted by 2010 and, as such, has diversified its economy to attract revenues in the form of expanding commercial and corporate activity. Tourism is also being promoted at a staggering rate with the construction of Dubailand and other projects that include the making of mammoth shopping malls, theme parks, resorts, stadiums and other various tourist attractions.
One of the other reasons for the boom in construction is the recent reversal of a law in 2002 that allows non-nationals of the UAE to own property (not land) in Dubai (albeit freehold and 99 year leases are actually sold to people with ownership still remaining with private companies). The larger of the property tycoons are Al Nakheel and Emaar Properties. In Dubai, demand is currently outstripping supply by a significant margin and is showing no signs of slowing in the near future. Rents have also skyrocketed with the recent inflow of professionals and companies from around the world who are attracted by Dubai's no-tax benefits although rises have been capped to 15% per annum up to 2006 under a directive from Sheikh Mohammad. This cap demonstrates the realisation that uncontrolled rents can hamper development. Legislation in this area is still sketchy as the property market is a new one and rights of tenants and landowners are based on shaky principles borrowed mainly from European law. Most contracts and tenancy agreements do not stand up to the
standards of international law and almost always grossly favour the lessor or the company selling proper.




















Burj Dubai

Technical Data
Structural height
705+ m (2,313 ft) (estimate)
Height to tip
Unknown
Height to roof
Unknown
Height to top floor
800 m (2,625 ft) (est.)
Floors (Above ground)
167 [1]
Floors (Under ground)
2 [2]
Groundbreaking
Sep. 21, 2004 [3]
Topout
2008 (est.)
Opening
Unknown
Gross floor area
Unknown
Companies
Developer
Emaar
Architect
SOM
Construction Contractor
Samsung Constructions /BESIX / Arabtec























The Burj Dubai (Arabic for "Tower of Dubai") is a skyscraper currently under construction in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Its exact height remains a closely-guarded secret, but is believed to be at least 705 metres (2,313 ft).
Expected to be completed in 2008, the Burj Dubai is a formidable threat to other bids to the title of world's tallest building. These include the 547 m (1,776 ft) Freedom Tower in New York City, the Shanghai World Financial Center, and the current record holder, Taipei 101. The Burj Dubai's developer Emaar Properties has suggested that the Burj Dubai will become the tallest manmade structure of any kind in history. The highest structure was the 645.4 m (2,120 ft) Warsaw radio mast built in 1974 which collapsed during renovation work in 1991.
The Burj Dubai has been designed to be the center of a large-scale, mixed-use development that will include commercial, residential, shopping, entertainment, and leisure outlets. The complete development will cost about US$8 billion.
The Burj Dubai will be the latest feather in the cap of Dubai, also home to the largest man-made marina (the Dubai Marina), the world's largest man-made island (Palm Islands), and the world's tallest five-star deluxe hotel (the Burj al-Arab).
Developers say the silvery glass-sheathed concrete building will restore to the Middle East the honor of hosting the earth's tallest structure—a title lost circa 1300 when Lincoln Cathedral upset the 38-century reign of Egypt's Great Pyramid of Giza. However, it may not hold this title for long if the enormous 1,000 m (3,281 ft) Solar Tower project that has been proposed in Buronga, New South Wales, Australia is completed as planned.
A hotel will occupy the lower 37 floors. Floors 45 through 108 will have 700 private apartments in 64 floors (which, according to the developer, sold out within eight hours of going on sale). Corporate offices and suites will fill most of the remaining floors, except for a 123rd floor lobby and 124th floor indoor/outdoor observation deck. The spire will also hold communications equipment.


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