Dubai Desert Dreams: A City of the Future and What It Means

From London, headed to Dubai for a week’s stay to explore what has been the miraculous building of a futuristic city. Once a fishing town with less than 1200 people surrounded by a vast desert, today Dubai’s population has grown to 3 million+ representing over 200 nationalities. This is a duo language city — English and Arabic are equally used as tourism and commerce remains its new economy (no longer oil). A city much like Las Vegas built in a desert with a vision of being an economic force formed during very different times with distinct agendas. One more futuristic than the other. The contrast between thousands of glass tower buildings and what is traditionally an Arab lifestyle is both dazzling as it is contrary. Here is my take on Dubai and what to explore when visiting…….

First a Bit of History

Dubai’s transformation is indeed a fascinating story beginning in 1971. Once a small fishing village in a vast desert near the ocean, compare to what it is now, a futuristic city becoming a global economic force. It began with the discovery of oil in the region. This, along with other issues and disagreements within the region’s Arab leadership, led to seven emirates (monarchy families) to form the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 1971. From there, its new leadership invested its oil revenues into building a…