Dubai Tidbits - tips by travel authority Howard Hillman

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Dubai is 90% desert

Much of Dubai's 3900 square kilometers (1600 square miles) consist of sand dunes (see photo) and parched terrain dotted with rocks and shrubs. Other natural features in Dubai include verdant oases, sandy coastlines and the arid Hajar mountains.

Scant natural water sources

The Dubai emirate solves the severe shortage by desalinating seawater.

World's biggest man-made harbor

Dubai, one of the globe's most important maritime traders, has no natural harbor to accommodate today's super-tankers. It remedied the need by constructing the world's largest artificial harbor in Jebel Ali, a coastal industrial city about a half hour's drive from Dubai.

Dubai history in brief

Highlights:

Earliest known habitation
Archaeologists found evidence of a primitive settlement in the Dubai area dating back nearly 3,000 years.

Several centuries ago
Dubai was a small fishing, pearl-diving and trading port.

Around 1900
It became a thriving town.

Oil boom
After oil was discovered in the region in 1958, Dubai grew rapidly, especially in the last 25 years.

Today
Dubai has over a million inhabitants. It is one of seven emirate states comprising the country named the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Citizens are well off

Dubai citizens enjoy one of the world's highest standards of living, thanks to the substantial income Dubai derives from oil, business and tourism.

Dubai is investing a significant portion of its income in building the city into a major Mid-Eastern and global trading & financial center and tourist destination. The goal is to help ensure the future well-being of the citizens when the oil reserves eventually run dry.

Major construction projects

Dubai is currently building the world's tallest building. Estimated completion date: 2009.

Another massive engineering project is called the "World". It consists of man-made off-shore islands in the shape of the world's 200 nations. These islands - built for luxury residential use - are arranged into their respective continents (from the air, the collective islands will be appear as a giant mercater map of the world).

Dubai is also constructing a pair of giant artificial island complexes in the shape of palm tree fronds surrounding by a circle. When the project is completed, both of the island complexes will measure over a mile in diameter and will be dotted with extravagant homes and marinas.

Land of many tongues

Arabic is Dubai's official language, but English, Hindi, Urdu, Persian and Tagalog are also widely spoken.

Men significantly outnumber women

There are more than twice as many men than women in Dubai.

Visit my other

Dubai web pages

The first button takes you to my web page on the striking Burj al Arab hotel (a top 100 gold medal winner) in Dubai. The second button gives you the top 10 reasons vacation and tour travelers go to Dubai.