The
Burj al-Arab hotel has become an architectural icon of Dubai.
Dubai or Dubayy (in Arabic: دبيّ, IPA /ðʊ'bɪ/, generally /dʊ'baɪ/ in English) refers to either
Dubai is the most populous and second largest emirate (in terms of size) in the federation after Abu Dhabi. Dubai is distinct from other members of the UAE in that revenues from oil account for only 6% of its gross domestic product. A majority of the emirate's revenues are from the Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZ) [2] and now, increasingly, from tourism.
History
Dubai City as seen from space
There are records of the town of Dubai from 1799. Earlier in the 18th century the Al Abu Falasa lineage of Bani Yas clan established itself in Dubai which was a dependent of the settlement of Abu Dhabi until 1833.
On 8 January 1820, the then sheikh of Dubai was a signatory to the British sponsored "General Treaty of Peace" (the General Maritime Treaty).
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 (keeping out the Ottoman Turks) by the Exclusive Agreement of 1892. Like four of its neighbours, Abu Dhabi, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm al-Qaiwain, its position on the route to India made it an important location.
In March 1892, the Trucial States (or Trucial Oman) were created.
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.
On 2 December 1971 Dubai, together with Abu Dhabi and five other emirates, formed the United Arab Emirates after former protector Britain left the Persian Gulf in 1971. In 1973, Dubai joined the other emirates to adopt a single, uniform currency: the UAE dirham.
The following is a list of rulers of Dubai, going back at least to 1833.
- ... - 9 June 1833 Sheikh `Ubayd ibn Said
- 9 June 1833 - 1852 Sheikh Maktoum I ibn Bati ibn Suhayl (d. 1852)
- 1852 - 1859 Sheikh Said I ibn Bati (d. 1859)
- 1859 - 22 November 1886 Sheikh Hushur ibn Maktoum (d. 1886)
- 22 Nov 1886 - 7 April 1894 Sheikh Rashid I ibn Maktoum (d. 1894)
- 7 April 1894 - 16 February 1906 Sheikh Maktoum II ibn Hushur (b. 18.. - d. 1906)
- 16 February 1906 - November 1912 Sheikh Bati ibn Suhayl (b. 1851 - d. 1912)
- November 1912 - 15 April 1929 Sheikh Said II ibn Maktoum (1st time) (b. 1878 - d. 1958)
- 15 April 1929 - 18 April 1929 Sheikh Mani ibn Rashid
- 18 April 1929 - September 1958 Sheikh Said II ibn Maktoum (2nd time)
- September 1958 - 7 October 1990 Sheikh Rashid II ibn Said Al Maktoum (b. 1912 - d. 1990)
- 7 October 1990 - 4 January 2006 Sheikh Maktoum III bin Rashid Al Maktoum (b. 1943 - d. 2006)
- 4 January 2006 - Present Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (b. 1949)
The current ruler of Dubai is H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Like the preceding ruler, his older brother H.H. Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, he is also the Vice President and the Prime Minister of the UAE.
Demographics
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 South East Asia. A quarter of the population reportedly trace their origins to neighboring Iran.[2] 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 was first offered for 99 years but was later changed to permanent ownership. 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 official language is Arabic, but English and Urdu are also widely spoken, along with Hindi, Persian, Punjabi, Malayalam, 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.
Downtown Dubai, in the background of a
mosque
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 proselytise publicly or distribute religious literature. The government follows a policy of tolerance towards non-Muslims and Polytheists, and 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 Roman 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, until 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.
Political geography
Dubai 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 divided into 9 sectors: 1-4 & 6 are urban; 7-9 are rural; 8 is Jebel Ali. Each sector is sub-divided into communities of various size with major (named) roads as the boundaries. Currently there are 44 communities:
Within these communities are numbered streets and house/building numbers. In general, even numbered streets run perpendicular to the coast and increase in number as one goes inland. Odd numbered street are parallel to the coast and increase as one moves away from the creek. Note that these progressions are repeated within each community so, for example there will be numerous street number 5 along the Jumeirah 1, 2, 3, and Umm Suqeim 'strip'.
Economy
Oil reserves in Dubai are less than one-twentieth that of the emirate of Abu Dhabi, and oil income is now only a small proportion of the city's income.
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 the port area. Dubai maintained its importance as a trade route through the 1970s and 1980s. The city of Dubai has a free trade in gold and till the 1990s was the hub of a "brisk smuggling trade" of gold ingots to India, where gold import was restricted (read the novel Dubai by Robin Moore).
Today, Dubai is an important tourist destination and port (Jebel Ali, constructed in the 1970s, has the largest man-made harbour in the world), but also increasingly developing as a hub for service industries such as IT and finance, with the new Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). Transport links are bolstered by its rapidly-expanding Emirates Airline, founded by the government in 1985 and still state-owned; based at Dubai International Airport, it carries over 12M passengers a year.
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 Corporation, Microsoft, and IBM, and media organisations such as MBC, CNN, Reuters, ARY 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.
Real estate and property
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 three Palm Islands of Jumeira, Jebel Ali and Deira; The World archipelago; and the Dubai Waterfront — will be the largest man-made offshore structures in the world, housing villas, hotels, shops 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 [3], 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, the construction of Dubai Waterfront was announced [4], it will be 2½ times the size of Washington D.C., roughly seven times 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. It will also contain Al Burj, another one of the tallest buildings in the world.
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.
Immigrants have been pouring capital into Dubai in the past several years, greatly contributing to the city's prosperity. Iranian expatriates alone are estimated to have invested up to US $200 Billion in Dubai.[3]
Dubai interests have also purchased large amounts of real estate in foreign countries, in particular snapping up trophy properties in global centers like New York and London; a typical purchase in 2005 was New York's 230 Park Avenue (formerly known as the New York Central Building or the Helmsley Building) and Essex House on Central Park South.
See the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing's list of developments [4] in Dubai for more information.
Cranes dominate the sky over Dubai.
Construction
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. In many areas, it is not easy to see Dubai's sky without at least one crane in your view; some say 16% of the world's large construction cranes reside in Dubai. [citation needed] 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 the 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 property.
Labor Controversy
The massive construction projects currently in Dubai have required more constructions workers than there are citizens of of the city. This has lead to massive importation of low-wage workers, especially from India and Pakistan. [5]
The labor practices used in the construction of Dubai's many projects has caused some controversy. Dubai's projects have been built almost entirely by vast amounts of poorly paid construction workers from India. Most of these workers are forced to give up their passports upon entering Dubai, making it very difficult to return home. NPR reports that workers "typically live eight to a room, sending home a portion of their salary to their families, whom they don't see for years at a time." Others report that their salary has been withheld to pay back loans, making them little more than indentured servants. [6] The BBC has reported that "local newspapers often carry stories of construction workers allegedly not being paid for months on end. They are not allowed to move jobs and if they leave the country to go home they will almost certainly lose the money they say they are owed. The names of the construction companies concerned are not published in the newspapers for fear of offending the often powerful individuals who own them." [7]
Transportation
Roads
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 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, Cititaxi and Metro Taxi. Prices are reasonable (the meter begins as Dhs. 3, which is approximately 50pence, or 1 USD), and are charged by distance, although if the cab stops for more than 1 minute, 1/2 a Dirham will be added to the meter. Taxi drivers will usually try to avert this happening in traffic queues by moving slightly forward every 30 seconds or so. Cabs can be found anywhere, any time although difficulties may be experienced during large events.
Trains
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) [8], 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. Seven monorails are also slated to be constructed to help feed the Metro system, connecting various places such as Dubailand, Palm Jumeriah, et al, to the main track.
Ports and water travel
Dubai is serviced by several commercial ports and Dubai Creek is still used by local traders in Dhows:
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 1 Dh.
Air
Dubai International Airport is a hub for Emirates airlines and has a large Duty Free shopping centre. Dubai airport has won numerous awards for its excellence in design and services. A third terminal is currently under construction and is due to open in 2006. The new terminal will be dedicated to Emirates airlines and will fully support the new Airbus A380. When completed this will double the capacity of the airport.
A second airport located at Jebel Ali—and a new free trade area within Dubai, marking the centrepiece of the Jebel Ali Airport City—was announced in 2004 and construction began in January 2005. Although initially intended as a predominantly cargo airport, plans are afoot for the new Jebel Ali airport to handle some 120 million passengers per annum within 20 years, and would likely surpass Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, currently the world's busiest airport, which handles 88.4 million passengers as of 2005 [citation needed].
Dubai is 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.
Postal system
The formal addressing system is: sector number, community number, street number and building number. In common practice, an address consists of: street number, building number and community name although the order may vary. For example:
Street 1a, Villa 2
Umm Suqeim 3
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
There is no home postal delivery, with post office boxes used instead.
History of the postal system
A post office of British India was opened August 19, 1909. It used the stamps of India on mail, with postmark "Dubai Persian Gulf", until India's independence in 1947, then stamps of Pakistan until March 31, 1948. When Pakistan came into existence, the British government set up a postal administration for Eastern Arabia and used overprinted British stamps until January 7, 1961, when Dubai issued its own stamps inscribed "Trucial States". Despite the name, these were only on sale in Dubai's post office.
The Dubai Post Department took over the postal service on June 14, 1963 and the following day issued a series of stamps depicting sea life, views of Dubai, and Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum. This was the opening salvo of a barrage of stamp issues over the next few years. The emirate discovered that stamp collectors were willing to give it money for colored labels with "Dubai" printed on them, and by the time the postal system was merged with those of other emirates in mid-1972, it had issued over 400 stamps, few of which ever saw usage on mail.
Education
English is the medium of instruction in most schools in Dubai. Annual fees for nursery and pre-school vary greatly.
Some primary schools conduct entrance tests. Most schools cater to one or more expatriate communities. Our Own English High School, Modern High School, and Indian High School offer either a CBSE or an ICSE Indian syllabus. Modern Renaissance School, the Horizon School, Dubai English Speaking School, Jumeirah Primary School, Jumeirah English Speaking School, and Jebel Ali Primary School all offer British style primary education to the age of eleven. St. Mary's High School, Dubai College, English College, and Jumeirah College are all British style eleven-to-eighteen secondary schools which offer GCSE and A-Levels. The Emirates International School, Al Diyafah High School and Cambridge International High School are also secondary schools that offer a combination of GCSE, IGCSE, and IB courses to the expatriate community. The International School of Choueifat and Emirates International School offer both British and American curricula. Emirates International School is known to offer the best all-round pre-college education in Dubai, with the prestigious International Baccalaureate Diploma program, and graduating seniors who consistently receive offers from the best universities across the globe.
A growing number of K-12 schools offer the American syllabus. The American School of Dubai (ASD), which is located in Jumeirah, and Dubai American Academy (DAA) have been around the longest. ASD offers an accredited American high school diploma; DAA offers both an American-accredited high school diploma and the International Baccalaureate [IB] diploma. There are also some primary and high schools that offer Canadian and Japanese syllabi.
Many expatriates tend to send their children back to their home country for university education. However, a sizable number of foreign accredited universities have been set up in the city over the last ten years. Some of these universities include the American University in Dubai (AUD),The American College of Dubai, Al Ghurair University, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Middlesex University, Dubai, Dubai Women's College, University of Wollongong in Dubai, Dublin's Dubai business school, European University College Brussels, Dubai, Mahatma Gandhi University, MANIPAL Academy of higher education, SZABIST, British University of Dubai and Zayed University.
Entertainment and sports
The annual month-long Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) draws shoppers from the Indian subcontinent and around the world. Attendance at the 2005 Festival topped 3.3 million visitors. Other, smaller shopping festivals, such as "Dubai Summer Surprises" are held throughout the year.
The city has many malls such as Mall of the Emirates, City Centre, Lamcy Plaza, Al Ghurair City, Mercato Mall, Oasis Centre and Wafi Centre that have international stores, theaters, gaming arcades, and food courts. The Oasis Centre caught fire and received major damage on 9 September 2005. Two more shopping malls have recently opened, the Mall of Emirates, the third largest mall in the world, which also has the world's third largest indoor ski slope, and the Ibn Battuta Mall. Soon to overtake the Mall of Emirates as the world's largest will be the Dubai Mall, part of the Burj Dubai development that will be home to the tallest building in the world when completed.
Dubai currently has two waterparks in Wonderland and Wild Wadi with more being planned for Dubailand. Dubailand, an entertainment city vaguely planned off the concept of Disneyland was launched in October 2003. Through subsequent revisions, the master planned development will span over 3 billion square feet (300,000,000 m²) with the 1st phase to be completed in 2008. [5]
A large population of Chinese, Russian and East European prostitutes work in Dubai, spurred on by the large amount of tourism. Sex trafficking is an increasing problem. [6]
Besides the obvious presence of prostitutes, however, Dubai also has a lively and well-known nightlife, with many state-of-the-art nightclubs and bars being strewed in all areas of the Emirate, mainly joined to hotels (properties not adjoined to hotels are not allowed to serve alcohol). Despite the relatively early closing time of 3am for these clubs, their trade is brisk.
Dubai hosts many world class sporting events, including the Dubai Tennis Open, Dubai Desert Golf Classic, and the Dubai World Cup, an annual horse racing event. The World Cup is the world's highest stakes horse race, with over US $15 million worth of prize money handed out.
Dubai is fast gaining its name as international venue for sporting activities. Recently ICC selected Dubai as its new Headquarters leaving Lords which hosted ICC for 95 years.
Rugby is quickly becoming a popular sport.
Twinning
Dubai maintains cultural, economic and educational ties with Dundee, Damascus, Detroit, Geneva, Istanbul, Osaka, Beirut, Shanghai, Jerusalem, Casablanca, and Guangzhou.
References
See also
External links
The content of this page is retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubai under GFDL
