Dubai is the second emirate of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and lays along the shore that face the Arab Gulf.
Dubai is divided in two parts by a small creek. The southern section is called Bur Dubai while the northern is Deira. The two sections are linked by two bridges, Al Maktoum and Al Garhoud, and one tunnel, Al Shindagha. Twenty minutes away are the beautiful sands of Jumeirah Beach.
Its skyline is very similar to many American cities with skyscrapers and towers, but despite of this fact Dubai keeps some artistic and cultural interesting places.
The old Al Fahidi fort is located in the Bur Dubai sector and now hosts the Museum of Dubai where are displayed fire-arms, sidearms, bayonets, traditional costumes and
musical instruments. In the external courtyard there are many different types of wooden boats used by locals for fishing or shipping goods to the nearby Persia (now known as Islamic Republic of Iran) or to the farther India. Quite recently a new section has been added. Its location is in the basement of the fort. Here there is the remake of an oasis, a souq, an Islamic school (madrassa), a collection of house and kitchen tools. In another section of the Al Fahidi fort you can visit a collection of archaeological finds and of pearls. For the latter you can learn how to catch them through a series of photos and tools.
Bastakiya once was a business area, now is still a nice area with a lot of tight alleys and many art galleries located inside the old houses.
In 1896 the royal family of Dubai built the Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum House. The main characteristic of this building is represented by the four "windtowers", a kind of primitive air conditioning system that is common in the Emirates. Beside of this the house has a nice garden, wooden inlaid doors and balustrades.
Nearby we can visit the Heritage and Diving Village that give us the story of Dubai sailing attitude. Inside there is a remake of a Bedouin camp with traditional firearms and kitchen tools. If you visit the Village in the right day (unfortunately I don't remember which day is) you can watch an Arabic dances and musical concerts performance. Unfortunately the Village is a typical tourist attraction and you might be trapped by souvenir shop owners. If you like you might try a donkey or camel riding.
It was the summer house of Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, now the Majlis Umm Al Sheif is open to visitors. The ballroom is full of Arabic and Persian carpets, pillows and coffeepots.
Dubai authorities did not enough to keep the old houses and now we find a large collection of skyscrapers. The most important is the Burj Al Arab, an ultra-modern construction that remember a boat sail. The skyscraper has been built on a manmade island and it houses the most expensive hotel of the world.
South of Dubai there is an area called Jumeirah where archaeological excavations discovered rock built houses dated in the 2nd century of the Islamic era.
Other archaeological excavations at Al Qusais recovered copper and bronze things dated two thousand years before Jesus Christ. The excavations are still on and the finds are now in the Museum of Dubai.
In Dubai there many mosques but if you are not Muslim you can see them only outside.
The best time to visit Dubai is from October to April when the daily temperature is around 25°C (be careful because at night can drop to 5°C).
The restaurants offer both local and international kitchen (the fish is always the best choice). Beer, wine and strong liquors are served only inside hotel bar and restaurants.
A vacation in Dubai (and I suggest to add few days in Abu Dhabi) is outside of the standard. Here you find desert and beaches, old and modernity, history.
The best deals to fly there come from Emirates (direct flights), Gulf Air (transit in Bahrein) and Qatar Airways (via Doha). The rates of a three or four stars hotel are slightly higher than the equivalent in Europe but with a good travel agent you can get a discount up to 50% of published rates.
I strongly advise to avoid to buy a package tour from tour operators.
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Seems like a lot of history here. Informative review I found- Phil
sallysmith1973 30.07.2005 20:39
This is somewhere I would dearly love to visit one day. My sister is thinking of moving to Dubai one day, when her airline pilot husband can get a job with Emirates Airlines!! Thanks, brilliant review. Sal x
k8_lloyd 22.06.2005 22:11
I don't think this would feature on my top 10 places I'd like to go, but interesting nonetheless. k8
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Advantages: Excellent weather, good shopping, fantastic restaurants and nightlife, excellent service, Disadvantages: Can be really hot in summer months, in the souks woman tend to get stared at alot by locals, woman also should cover up in public areas such as souks, alcohol is a bit on the expensive side and can only be bought and drank inside 4* or above hotels
Advantages: A Bustling Nightlife, Very cheap Shopping with a huge array of different popular retail stores, Beautiful Hotels, Beautiful Beaches, Pleasant weather between October and April, Brilliant service in restaurants across the board, Lots to do Disadvantages: Alcohol is generally quite expensive, Ramadan (holy month of ramadan means that you must not eat or drink in public during the day)
Advantages: Dubai is a safe place with very good quality of life. There is universal brotherhood everywhere. Disadvantages: None for me, but the hot weather for tourists who are not used to this.
Advantages: Located on Jumeriah Beach, comfortable, relaxed and friendly atmosphere, SUPERB VALUE for money and quality for a 4 star hotel Disadvantages: none really - if you get a sea view room
Connoisseur_Haggler 30.04.2002 (18.12.2004)
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