Dubai: The Pearl of the Persian Gulf
June 16, 2009 by admin
Filed under Tourists Attractions
The second largest of the United Arab Emirates, Dubai can be found on the southern shore of the Arabian Gulf. An eclectic mix of the old and new, Dubai’s humble beginnings as a small fishing village have developed and transformed into the modern metropolis that exists today.
During the early 80s Dubai reinvented itself as a popular holiday destination and the efforts paid off, as it is now the most popular of the seven emirates and a thriving tourist hotspot. Dubai city is a bustling spot where ancient meets modern in a collision of architecture, entertainment and culture, whilst outside the city itself the emirate is sparsely inhabited and mainly consists of desert land.
Dubai Creek divides the city neatly in two. Deira lies to the north and Bur Dubai to the south, with each area having its own defining characteristics. The creek is also the main artery of Dubai, winding inland from the Gulf for roughly six miles. Traditional teak trading dhows sail along the creek by day and at night the waterfront is a hive of activity, as Abras – local water taxis – crisscross the water carrying people to their chosen destination for the evening.
When it comes to beaches, Dubai doesn’t disappoint. Jumeirah Beach is one of the best known and therefore is a popular beach in the city. This long stretch of sand on the Arabian Gulf is lined with hotels and private clubs and interspaced by a few public beaches, so anyone can secure themselves a spot here.
On the Deira side of the creek you can find a public beach at Al Mamzar Park, which also has handy barbecue sites, food kiosks, and picnic areas.
Water sports are big news in Dubai so water skiing, sailing and scuba diving are all possible. In complete contrast you can try your hand at skiing on snow as Dubai boasts the world’s third largest indoor ski slope – an ideal way to seek solace from the hot sunshine.
Back in Dubai city futuristic architecture and traditional Arab houses sit side-by-side and you can marvel at the contrast as you wander around. The icing on the cake when it comes to Dubai’s soaring skyscrapers has to be the Burj Dubai, which will be the tallest tower in the world upon completion.
With more than 50 shopping malls, Dubai is equally a shopper’s paradise and a tax-free haven where you can shop to your heart’s content. Visit the modern malls for designer goods or take a trip to the souks to haggle for some authentic bargains.
A sub-tropical climate means rainfall is infrequent and irregular whereas sunshine is a much more common sight. This is good news to know when considering the time of year to take your flights to Dubai, as you can expect good weather year round giving you the flexibility to travel whenever you like.
It’s Open Season for Dubai Shopping
Less than a century ago, Dubai was a small fishing village, a place roamed by Bedouin tribes and settlers who crowded around the banks of the creek. Today, Dubai is an extremely popular tourists destination and an important global economic player. If we take into account the fact that when Europe was being faced with the industrial destruction brought about by World War I Dubai didn’t even have running water, the dramatic changes that this emirate has experienced are all the more surprising. Dubai attracts tourists and expatriates alike, and ever since oil was struck in the 1960s, the city has made a spectacular breakthrough. The economy is high propelled by tourism, but also by expatriates coming to work in Dubai. What strikes about the city is its cosmopolitan nature, which prevents any ethnic tensions from developing. Only about twenty per cent of Dubai’s population is ethnically Emirati, and this diversity has turned Dubai into one of the world’s most cosmopolitan regions.
One thing is for sure: they definitely knew how to handle and channel the oil wealth, and this shows with the order and structure of the city. The dramatic evolution from the small fishing village to the gleaming office buildings and sweeping skyscrapers, which occurred in less than one hundred years, seems to be only the beginning. Grand projects are ahead for Dubai, including the building of three hundred islands in the shape of the countries of the world, altering the course of the Creek and widening it, building the world’s tallest tower and a new airport, or building the largest shopping mall in the whole Middle East.
In spite of the regional instability and the rise of the Al-Qaeda, which represents a threat for Dubai tourism, the number of tourists who choose to spend their holidays in this city is increasing by the year. And after all, this comes as no surprise, given the idyllic climate in Dubai, with typically no more than five days of rainfall a year.
There are many tourist attractions in Dubai, and shopping is certainly one of them. In fact, this city can easily be referred to as the shopping capital of the Middle East. Dubai shopping is possible in a wide range of malls and souks. ‘Souk’, the Arabic word for market, refers to a place, which is usually specialized on certain products, and where you are expected to barter when shopping.
Dubai shopping is a major attraction for tourists, and investors made sure that the consumers every need would be catered to. There are so many shopping malls in Dubai that even seeing all of them would take a very long time, much less doing some actual shopping in each of them. Most Dubai shopping centers are open form 10 am to at least 10 pm, except fro Fridays, when they are not open in the morning and early afternoon. Dubai shopping is probably most attractive for the rare opportunity it provides, namely that of purchasing top brand products cheaper than anywhere else, due to its duty free laws and low import taxes.
At this point, all you have to do is book a flight to Dubai, and a room in a hotel, or rent an apartment, and once you’re there, you can shop all you like, or all you can afford. The good news is that all these reservations can be made online, so you a virtually a few clicks away from Dubai shopping. Can this get any better?
As amazing as shopping in Dubai may be, this is far from being the only reason why tourists choose to travel to this emirate. The exquisite hotels and restaurants, the fabulous weather, the relaxed financial environment, these are just some of Dubai’s attractions. As true as it may be that the further developments in the Middle East are likely to influence Dubai’s economic situation and tourist industry, one thing’s for sure: the city is certainly on the rise for now, and it represents a destination that you should not miss, at least once in a lifetime. If leaving your continent seems like too much of an adventure, and the different religion and culture seem a little scary, you can rest assured. Almost everyone speaks English there, and all the information you need about the emirate can easily be found online, including hotels, restaurants, clubs and pubs, and flights to Dubai.
Finding a cheap flight to Dubai and discount for accommodation is now possible if you search the Internet and make the most of what travel agencies have to offer. Be it charter flight, economy class, or first class, you can book a flight to Dubai online, and all you have to do is get on board and prepare for an amazing experience, which will certainly determine you to go there again.
For more resources about Dubai shopping or even about flight to Dubai please review this weblink http://www.dubai.com.au
Dubai City Shopping Information
Dubai is the most reserved of the United Arab Emirates in terms of the way of life Western experts can enjoy. You can drink alcohol in your own homes and in various hotel bars and restaurants in the silhouette of the Burj Tower will be another motivated development – It will offer an array of spare time pursuits, including a three storey aquarium featuring glass tunnels where you can slide accurate all the way through and come face to face with sharks, tingle rays and other striking oceanic life. It will also characteristic a fashion island comprising high and mid-fashion that will pay worship to haute fashion design and host just about each most important fashion brand in the world.
Dubai Mall will be larger than 50 international soccer pitches and is predictable to pull towards you over 35 million visitors in the first year of operations. Visit to the Dubai museum is a must on every Dubai itinerary. Housed within the marvelously restored Al Fahidi Fort, which was erected around defend the city against incursion, the museum’s diverse collection of exhibits offers a mesmerizing imminent into the rich narration and cultural legacy. In the jamboree area, along the rivulet, the tradition and Diving Villages provide a rare glimpse of Dubai’s traditional culture and lifestyle. Exhibits focus on the emirate’s maritime past, pearl diving traditions and structural design. Numerous shops also sell handicrafts. Al Ahmadiya School was the first regular school in Dubai, located in the Al-Ras Area of Deira. The two-storey building was renovated for use as a museum of education. Dubai had matured regularly from a fishing village occupied by members of the Bani Yas tribe.
Dubai Museum, located at Al-Fahidi Fort, thought to be Dubai’s oldest building, displays a affluent collection of objects found in graves of the first millennium BC at nearby Al-Qusais, while a procession position of the sixth century AD was excavated in the emigrant suburb of Jumairah. Dubai is currently the hot place to shop. Dubai is also one of the world’s most vivacious tourist destinations. Dubai Zoo, Dragon Mart, Ski Dubai, Dubai Museum, Dubai Creek, Camel Racing, etc are the main attractions of Dubai. At the moment Dubai Shopping Festival has become a main attraction of Dubai. Since then it has become an annual shopping festival and continues to promote tourism.Every year Dubai shopping festival lives up to its undertake of performance the most stimulating activities for the whole family inspired by the theme one world, one family, one festival. More than two million visitors attend the Dubai shopping festival each year, with retail expenditure totaling in overload of US $ 1 billion. During promotions & discounts make it achievable for shoppers to buy branded products at tremendously competitive prices. The tourism budding Dubai offers is only started to come into flower. It is not just the shine that attracts tourists in flocks, being the most occurrence place in the world; business opportunities beckon high-flying execs along with deal makers who find it as a safe and secure place to do business. The shopping passionate families are the most contributing factor to the Dubai’s prosperity; they hunt for bargains and only to return when purses are empty. The almost perfect law and order that prevails offer security to travel, shop, do business, live or work.






