Welcome to Dubai… the shimmering oasis set at the edge of the Arabian Gulf. Dubai is unique - a clean, contemporary city built on the ideal of providing the finest facilities, attractions and environment for business and tourism. Glittering modern commercial towers blend with ancient middle eastern designs. Wide sandy beaches dissolve into the cool, sparkling waters of the Arabian Gulf, adjacent to green parklands and lively promenades.

First class Dubai hotels , restaurants and sporting facilities provide an air of opulence and comfort. Visitors enter a world where service, refinement and luxury are presented on a platter by locals – where the government has created a haven in which affluent guests can e joy the benefits of a lavish lifestyle. There’s a culture of prestige in Dubai, a devotion to quality and excellence that distinguishes it from any other city in the world. The Burj Al Arab Hotel is also one of the remarkable hotels in Dubai .

Dubai is the second-largest emirate of seven in the United Arab Emirates, with a total surface area of 3885 square kilometres. Situated on the banks of a creek, Dubai actually comprises two towns - Deira to the north-east, and Dubai to the south-west. The Creek (al-khor) that separates them is an inlet of the Arabian Gulf.

Visitors who arrive in Dubai expecting a hot, dusty, barren town surrounded by hostile desert find instead a clean, dynamic, in some parts lush green city, straddling a natural harbour flanked by sparkling Gulf waters and attractive sandy beaches. The hinterland is largely desert and arid mountains, but it is tamed just enough by the tour guides to enable urban adventurers to roam its dunes and wadis for a glimpse of the last frontier.

Modern Dubai is less than 200 years old, but the heritage and culture of the people are buried deep in the history of Arab civilization. Archaeologists have found evidence that there was a settlement in the area at least 3000 years ago and, as the Gulf is one of the world’s oldest trading routes, historians are almost certain that the Creek in Dubai is one of the world’s oldest seaports.

Dubai first became an independent Sheikhdom in 1833 when members of the nomadic Bani Yas tribe, led by Maktoum bin Buti, migrated from Abu Dhabi to settle in this coastal village. The Maktoum family, who continue to rule today, have given Dubai a fine standard of leadership, remarkably free from the dynastic struggles which beset many other sheikhdoms. As Dubai was not endowed with abundant fertile land, the people set about making their living from the sea, concentrating on fishing, pearling and trading activities.

For a century and a half, the British maintained a strong presence in the Gulf, quelling the piratical tribes known as the Qawasim in 1805 and providing protective patrols of the sea lanes. In return, the Sheikhs of the coastal towns agreed to keep other foreign powers out of the Gulf.

Britain declared Dubai its principal Gulf port in the 1870s and trade flourished, receiving a further boost in 1890 when a regular steamship service from Bombay began. Cheap passenger fares brought an influx of merchants, craftsmen and pearlers, and by the turn of the 20th century, Dubai was already on the way to becoming The City of Merchants, its population of about 10,000 liberally sprinkled with foreigners, mainly from India and Persia.

Because the government in Teheran had introduced taxes and restrictions on its merchants in 1902, India shifted its trading focus from Persia to Dubai, attracted by the liberal business policies of the then ruler Sheikh Maktoum Bin Hasher. His son, Saeed, who succeeded as ruler in 1906, accelerated Dubai’s commercial development.

The prosperity of the region received a major setback in the 1920s by Japan’s development of the cultured pearl, which gradually eliminated the Gulf ’s important pearling industry. A bleak period followed during the global depression of the 1930s and the outbreak of the Second World War.

Dubai fared better than most Gulf states because of its diversified economy. Sheikh Saeed, who laid the foundations for Dubai’s future prosperity, was succeeded in 1958 by his son Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, a great leader who was both a visionary and a man of action. He refocused Dubai’s energies on trade. By the time oil was discovered in Dubai in 1966, it was already poised to become the Gulf ’s busiest trading centre.

Oil wealth was poured into improving the standard of living of the people and into building the commercial infrastructure which would secure their future against the day when oil stops flowing. A flurry of construction during the 60s and 70s produced modern hospitals, schools, roads and bridges, not to mention transport, communications, office buildings, hotels, parks and recreational facilities.

Some of the projects were of staggering dimensions, particularly the two new ports - Port Rashid, completed in 1972, and the largest man made deep-water harbour in the world at Jebel Ali which serves the surrounding Free Trade Zone.

When Britain withdrew from the Gulf in 1971, the Sheikhdoms of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain and Fujairah formed the federation of the United Arab Emirates. They were joined by Ras Al Khaimah the following year. Today the UAE has a population estimated at 1.9 million. Its president is the ruler of Abu Dhabi and its seat of Government is in the capital Abu Dhabi. Dubai is its second largest emirate and its commercial centre.

When Sheikh Rashid died in 1990, his eldest son Sheikh Maktoum smoothly took the reins of government both as ruler of Dubai and as vice-president of the UAE. The spirit of co-operation between the states has set an example in the Arab world, the wealthier states making funds available to finance development in the smaller, less oil-rich states, so that prosperity is shared between all peoples of the UAE.

Dubai is one of the last bastions of anything-goes capitalism – a city whose wealth is based on trade, not oil – and there’s no place quite like it in the Gulf. It’s the most easy-going city in the region, has the best nightlife and boasts copious opportunities for duty-free shopping. It’s well worth spending a few days wandering through the souks (markets) and along the waterfront to absorb the city’s atmosphere.

Of the UAE’s seven emirates, Dubai has fought the hardest to preserve its independence and minimise the power of the country’s federal institutions. It boasts the highest international profile of all the Gulf cities, hosting world class golf and tennis tournaments, horse racing and desert rallies. Dubai’s wealth is derived largely from the re-export trade: its merchants import goods and then re-export them rather than peddling them at home. Originally dealing mostly in gold, consumer goods have become the major source of re-exports, which are trans-shipped to the Indian subcontinent and the rest of the Arabian Peninsula. Dubai also has its own oil reserves.

The Dubai Museum occupies the Al-Fahaidi Fort, built in the early 19th century on the Dubai side of the Creek. The fort is thought to be the oldest building in Dubai and for many years it was both the residence of Dubai’s rulers and the seat of government. The museum contains displays on the history of Dubai, Bedouin life, seafaring, flora and fauna, weaponry, Emirati dances, musical instruments and local archaeology. The slick multimedia presentation on the city is well worth catching and includes a re-creation of the Dubai souk as it looked in the 1950s. If you want to see what the city looks like today, head 4km south to the viewing gallery on the 37th floor of the World Trade Centre.

Not much remains of the city’s old covered souks, though there are remnants just east of Dubai and just north of Deira’s abra docks. Both have wind towers (the Gulf ’s unique architectural form of non-electrical air-conditioning) nearby. The highlight of the city’s markets is Deira’s gold souk, just north-west of the abra dock. It’s a fitting testament to the city’s smuggling past, and even seasoned veterans of Middle Eastern gold markets are blown away by the scale of the souk, the largest such market in Arabia.

If you’re in Dubai to indulge in some serious shopping, you’re in mall heaven. A new state-of-the-art shopping complex opens every year, and it’s always bigger and flashier than the last. Cheap electronics can be found in the Beniyas Square area of Deira, not far from the covered souk. Nightlife is centred around the expensive restaurants, discos and bars in the upmarket hotels.

As many as 30 different nationalities co-exist amicably in this tolerant cosmopolitan society which manages, at the same time, to maintain Islamic values and culture. Dubai is a very pleasant city not only to visit, but also to live in. It has all the mod-cons of an affluent western metropolis – adequate water, reliable electricity, state-of-the-art communications, well-stocked supermarkets, modern hospitals and more. Assets including cheap petrol, superb sporting facilities and clubs, give Dubai enormous appeal as a place to call home. Dubai’s credits rise even further because of the absence of most modern city problems – no air pollution, no traffic jams, no poverty and very little crime.

The airport prepares the visitor for one aspect of the country. It epitomises the modern, commercial, hustling, bustling Dubai which attracts foreign trade and industry like bees to a honeypot. The Creek reveals a different aspect of Dubai. The antique shapes of the wooden dhows lining the creekside quays are vivid reminders of the long sea-going tradition of this ancient Arabian port.

Until recently, visitors came to Dubai because it is the most important business centre of the Gulf. Now more and more come to Dubai as tourists and vacationers, discovering a holiday destination which is rich in exotic sights and experiences, yet offers the comforts and services that the modern traveller expects. Another Dubai has emerged, welcoming its guests with warm Arab hospitality, providing shopping, entertainment, dining and disco dancing, day-trips, desert safaris and a wealth of distinctly Arab sensations designed to make a Dubai holiday unforgettable.

Extracted from: www.welcome-to.com