DUBAI

We were privileged enough to be invited across to Dubai by the UAE’s leading mind in Interior Design. A big thank you to him for showing us the sights and sounds of Dubai. The following pages show just a snap shot of our experience of the Middle East and cover the four main factors which form the DNA of Dubai – Temperature, Wealth, Vision and Tourism. The extremity of weather conditions proves to be no issue for the locals where on our trip; the temperature averaged 50 degrees - as can be in seen in our guides car on the left. A phenomenon never seen by some Arabs – snow – is viewed with awe. This ski-slope remains sub-zero even under these high temperatures. Tentative steps across the snow are taken, and many Arabs just stand and stare unsure of what they are seeing and feeling. Built over the Dubai Emirates Mall, the slope opened in December 2005 and is the worlds third largest indoor ski slope; measuring 400 meters and using 6000 tons of snow.

As these photos show - whilst on our visit we were lucky enough to be given a guided tour of two of the Sheik’s new Palaces, which were in the midst of construction. The gold leaf dome shown in the image below was typical of the iiner city palace, whilst the theatrical walkways of the “holiday” retreat created drama typical of Dubai. The Palace on the left even featured a basement club with James Bond styled cantilevered glass stair over a waterfall swimming pool and the worlds largest plasma screen. Health and Safety doesn’t feature as a priority in the UAE as can be seen with the “Cirque Du Soleil” worker!

A personal favourite, the Burj Dubai is now considered to be the tallest building in the world. The final height is a secret, to ensure when complete it is not surpassed. During our visit the height was already 688m/ 2257ft with completion expected in September 2009. With an expected budget of some $4.1 Billion sitting Within a sculptured man made marina costing $20 Billion in its own right. With consideration that Dubai was mainly a desert some 10 years ago, it is incredible such structures and extent of Construction has been achieved. Dubai is a voyeurs fantasy paradise! The scale of construction had Dubai with a ¼ of the worlds cranes, over 40,000 Building a city that by night is reminiscent of Singapore or New York. Construction on Dubai Land will see a creation of unimaginable proportions where a “playground” will be rebuilt in the image of the worlds greatest cities, and holiday destinations, measuring sum 278 square kilometers / 107 square miles. We drove a long one side of the proposed area and it took over 15 minutes to cover!

The current focus for Dubai and its wealth stems not from oil, but from tourism and real estate. Sheik Mohommed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum has been hailed as the ruler with the vision and determination to realise a future where anything can be possible. Hotels feature heavily in the support of this outlook, and as can be seen in the photos of the one we were privileged enough to stay in, even 4 star hotels can be special! For the record Dubai does have the only 7 star hotel in the form of Burj Al Arab. as we are interior designers not historians, click here for more info on Dubai