With a possibility of their oil reserves running dry in the near future, Dubai is looking at alternative sources of income. Who would’ve thought that a country that is mostly desert could take to tourism as it’s chief source of revenue. But then, this is UAE we are talking of. It’s current ruler, Sheikh Mohammed, had a vision that is now almost a reality. The vision was so huge it takes me two posts to put it all together!
This is part one of the 2-part series. Be sure to check out the other part too.
Dubai in 1990 prior to the craziness
The same street in 2003
The very street last year!
The Palm Islands in Dubai. New Dutch dredging technology was used to create these massive man made islands. They are the largest artificial islands in the world and can be seen from space. Three of these Palms will be made with the last one being the largest of them all.
Dubai is said to currently have an estimated 15-25% of all the world 's cranes!!
The Dubai Waterfront. When completed it will become the largest waterfront development in the world ...
All of this was built in the last 5 years, including that island that looks like a palm tree.
Upon completion, the resort will have 2,000 villas, 40 luxury hotels, shopping centers, movie theaters, and many other facilities. It is expected to support a population of approximately 500,000 people. It is advertised as being visible from the moon.
The World Islands . 300 artificially created islands in the shape of the world. Each island will have an estimated cost of $25-30 million.
The Burj al-Arab hotel in Dubai . The worlds tallest hotel. Considered the only '7 star' hotel and the most luxurious hotel in the world. It stands on an artificial island in the sea.
Hydropolis, the world's first underwater hotel. Entirely built in Germany and then assembled inDubai, it is scheduled to be completed by 2009 after many delays.
The second part can be found here. If you like these posts please digg/stumble them. Expecting some SU love on this one!
There is a huge transformation that has occurred in recent years in that area. The picture shows a place with very little activity going on 15 years ago, and now it has almost everything that we would attribute to a big city. This shows that the city environment can be engineered in a relatively short period of time.
Dubai is a great place to visit, when compared to most places I’ve been. Its relatively cheap,beautiful scenery and above all hot as ever. Lovely pic you’ve put up here.
Monica
It’s amazing how the development went from a few buildings to a current large city. Dubai is indeed one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
Excess! Huge skyscrapers with little else nearby. Looks rather odd.
haha. True, but the ‘little else’ might actually be 15-20 storied buildings!
Taking a look at Dubai now, looking at a palace in desert and becomes Industry in Tourism and Travel, great work though
Dubai is insane! The first pic looks like a postapocalyptic wasteland and as soon as you see the next one it looks like the most expensive place in the world (which it is I guess). I’d love to visit it someday.