By Dominick A. Merle
Islamic Tourism: Once upon a time there was a land with no unemployment, one of the lowest crime rates in the world, over 140 different nationalities getting along just fine, sunshine year round and even more incredible-cheap gas!!!
But this is no fairytale and whether everyone lives happily-ever-after remains to be seen. Yet for the time being, this is as close as it gets to Shangri-La with Sheiks or Camelot with Camels.
Welcome to Dubai, shining star of the seven micro kingdoms that make up the oil-rich United Arab Emirates (UAE) which, altogether, would be roughly the size of Maine. Nowhere else on earth are so many mega-projects going on simultaneously. World's tallest building, first "seven-star" hotel (with an underwater hotel under construction), mammoth shopping malls that include ski slopes, man-made islands built with desert sand in the Arabian Gulf, a waterfront project bigger than Manhattan and Beirut, a themed amusement area that has been dubbed "Disneyland on Steroids"....it goes on and on. Even the bowling alleys look like palaces...and the bus stops are air-conditioned!
When I first visited here four years ago it was a rub-your-eyes ritual, just to be sure the projects under construction were real. Now, most of those have been completed and a dozen more are in the works. And once ground is broken here, construction continues nonstop, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Money is hardly an object, as most developments are bankrolled by the ruling sheiks who awake each morning with another $300 million or so in oil money in the till. That's a cool 2 billion a week! (You can run out of exclamation marks when you write about this wonderland).
Dubai is thriving almost beyond belief, despite being smack in the center of practically all of the world's hotspots. Check it out on a map: location is definitely not its main asset. The bordering "neighborhood" includes Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Toss a little larger net and it would take in Israel and Afghanistan. And yet, Dubai seems to be immune to the horror going on all around it, as though it were in a protective cocoon.
Dubai's downtown core looks like a futuristic colony with skyscrapers twisting upwards searching for breathing room. The most distinct structures are the all-suite Burj Al Arab Hotel, which is shaped like a sailboat and is perhaps the world's most photographed hotel; the rocket-shaped Burj Dubai, world's tallest building, and the unique Jumeirah Emirates Towers which looks like it has been split in half with one side containing offices and the other an exclusive hotel.
But even bigger fish are coming to the Arabian Gulf (or the Persian Gulf as it's known to us). One project well underway will consist of three palm-shaped islands, each offering a host of villas and apartments for sale as well as stunning resorts. They will (naturally) be the world's largest man-made islands.
Another project under construction called "The World" will feature 300 islands protected by an oval breakwater and positioned to form the shape of the world. Each island is being developed in a theme reflecting the actual land that the island's shape is based on. China, for example, will have a few pagodas and there could be a few igloos on Canada. Access to "The World" will be by marine transport only.
Dubai was just a sleepy fishing village some fifty years ago and today has about 1.7-million residents, about 80 percent of them immigrant workers. The population is expected to double within the next 10 years. Most of the immigrant workers are from southern India, China and the Philippines, but in all represent 140 nations. Despite the ethnic differences, all seem to get along with some degree of English as their common language.
For the most part, they are paid well in comparison to wages back in their homelands, but prices are rising in Dubai (gas was rapidly approaching almost $2 a gallon!). As one driver told me, "They are paying us more," he said with one hand held open, "but now we are giving it back," he concluded with the other hand outstretched. Consequently, some of the immigrants have chosen to return home. But for every one that leaves, two are willing to take his or her place. Dubai will have a "Help Wanted" sign hung for many years to come. But if you came here looking for the Arabian Nights or Bedouin tents, you took the wrong plane. (Well, they do have occasional camel races but mostly for tourists).
Speaking of planes, when was the last time that flying was half the fun? And you never wanted to leave your hotel? My cousin Marco is in the travel business in New Jersey and has been promising me for years the "trip of a lifetime." He finally came through. Using his sales points and connections, he booked me on a boutique all-executive airline called Silverjet from Newark to Dubai via London. The British-based airline has its own terminal in both London and Dubai. Consequently, checking in and out is a breeze; you simply hand in your luggage and passport and wait in the lounge until departure. All seats go into a flatbed position including a massage, and there is even a ladies-only powder room aboard.
The package (a gift from Marco) also included accommodations at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, a sprawling resort on the Arabian Sea that included 22 restaurants. The main hotel building is dazzling, shaped like a breaking wave. While the hotel can accommodate about 1000 guests, it has close to 2000 employees.
I spent six days in this incredible kingdom and left wondering what they could possible come up with next. Guess I'll be reading about it.
(Editor's note: After this article was written, Silverjet announced that it was temporarily suspending its flights and seeking new investors.)
Dominick A. Merle is Canadian Director of the International Travel Writers Assn. He is based in Montreal, Quebec)
IF YOU GO:
No visas are required for North Americans, only a valid passport.
Lightweight clothing is suitable for most of the year. Dubai's dress code is relaxed, but care should be taken not to wear clothing considered inappropriate or revealing, especially when visiting mosques.
While the official language is Arabic, English is widely spoken and understood.
Normal tourist photography is fine, but it is often considered offensive to photograph Muslim women. When in doubt, ask for permission.
Service charges are included in most restaurants, anything additional is up to you.
Best buys are gold and carpets, but opening prices can be vastly inflated, sometimes as much as tenfold, so bargain hard but with a smile.
The monetary unit is the dirham. At this writing it was about 3.7 dirham to $1.
For more information on Dubai, try www.dubaitourism.co.ae; for Silverjet Airlines, try www.flysilverjet.com; for Jumeirah Hotels, try www.jumeirah.com
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