Dubai

United Arab Emirates -UAE (continuation)

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Great view of HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum 's palace

On behalf of HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, whose dynasty has ruled the country Dubai since 1833, his wife, HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein honors and encourages civic education

of children in the Cultural Heritage Day to celebrate the National Day of the United Arab Emirates.

This wonder of modern engineering and biggest present icon of the greatness of Dubai, Burj Khalifa tower, stands out with its 828 m high and 464,515 square meters of constructed area, in

104,210 m² terrain.

Looking from outside and due to its size the Burj Khalifa - or Dubai Tower building is imposing, while the sight even from only some meters in the vertical of its 828m intimidates…

At 442 m height, the At.mosphere restaurant, besides the incomparable view, offers a refined decor, with mahogany walls and ceilings, furniture by Adam Tihany, limestone floors and hand-

embroidered rugs.

The entrance to the restaurant is in the lobby of the Burj Dubai's Suites Corporate and on an express elevator up to the 123rd floor, till a two storey glass atrium. A flight of cantilevered stairs

takes you to the lobby of the restaurant.

At.mosphere , the highest restaurant in the world, occupies an entire floor of the Burj Khalifa with its exterior glass walls. It can accommodate 135 people and over 35 in a private area. It serves light

lunches and afternoon tea before becoming a magical setting for the dinner in local stile...

Jumeirah Beach Hotel - its wave form complements the shape of a sail of the adjacent Burj Al Arab.

Jumeirah Beach Hotel - magnificent luxury within an extravagant architecture that provides beautiful views of the area, including its complement - Burj Arab Hotel – sail shaped.

Madinat Jumeirah - Dubai's largest resort with two hotels, boutiques, restaurants and bars, a market and a theater, where the annual International Film Festival takes place.

 

Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum's house was a majlis, or meeting place, where all major court decisions were mad. Now a tourist landmark known as Heritage Village and Diving Village...

Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum's house - room where the Sheikh used to welcome visitors..

Infinity Tower – March 2011 - among the mega-projects that are already under construction in Dubai, we shall highlight the uniqueness of the tower that will have a 1.2 degree twist in each floor to

achieve the complete 90 degrees spiral when ready.Noteworthy that 15 to 25% of all existing derricks in the world are in service at Dubai constructions.

To meet the eccentricity, the extreme luxury and exclusivity that reigns in Dubai, Bugati released three limited edition of its super sports car, Veyron, especially for the Middle East. The photo is of

the "Nocturne", release limited to five units, priced around $ 2.4 million each.

Also especially for Dubai

Gold C63 from where else? Dubai !

Mercedes Benz Diamond Owned by Prince Waleed

Dubai Marina is a noble residential district and has the second largest artificial marina in the world.

Mercato Mall - stands out for its unique mix of Tuscan and Venetian architecture that honors the exceptional beauty and creativity of the Italian Renaissance period.

Ibn Battuta Mall - Egypt court entrance - The mall has an unique multi-cultural atmosphere because it is a "Thematic Commercial Center". The characteristics of each region explored -

Andalusia, Tunisia, Egypt, Persia, India and China - appear in the architecture and is theme of each courtyard of this mall .

IBN Battuta Mall Dubai – the Wing of Persia exibits a wide range of Persian motifs and a vaulted ceiling beautifully decorated in this style. 

IBN Battuta Mall Dubai - India court .

The elephant clock was a medieval islamic invention by al-Jazari (1136–1206), consisting of a weight powered water clock in the form of an elephant.The various elements of the clock are in the housing on top of the elephant. They were designed to move and make a sound each half hour.

In addition to its mechanical innovations, the clock itself is seen as an early example of multiculturalism represented in technology. The elephant represents the Indian and African cultures, the dragon the Chinese culture, the phoenix the ancient Egyptian culture, the water work represents the ancient Greek culture, and the turban the Islamic culture.

IBN Battuta Mall Dubai – China court – The interior of this part of the mall reflects the typical elements of China with motifs like dragons, etc., and adds to the heritage of Chinese architecture, its

tradition and culture. This wing displays a model of ancient Chinese sailing ship; in front of it there is a stage for cultural activities and also a space to accommodate the public that comes to attend plays that

sometimes are there staged.

IBN Battuta Mall Dubai – China court – the comparison between the sizes of the ships used by Zheng He and Columbus: modern model of the treasure ships of the Ming dynasty compared to one of the of Columbus' ships. The supposed size of Ming' ships is strongly contested by maritime historians.

  

The Mall of the Emirates is one of the largest shopping centers in the Middle East. In addition to offering over 500 shops, 14 multiplex movie theaters, and 70 eating establishments, it houses the famous

Ski Dubai – an indoors ski resort in a country where the outside temperature is 50 º C in Summer.

Pashmina scarves or shawls, you can’t say; but the acquisition of fine fabrics in audacious color combinations is so irresistible to the westerners that one has to choose at least one souvenir.

The Islamic dress code is not mandatory and Western-style clothes are already dominant in Dubai where exquisite fashion shows are promoted.

Amal Murad, a native of Dubai, creates the most stunning Abayas. Her brand REDAA is the world's leading brand and has became the preferred abaya for the most sophisticated Arab clientele.

In Dubai, the appeal for women to shine is irresistible: for religious, bags with crystals balancing the sobriety of the burqas and, in the intimacy of home, plentiful pure gold jewelry and precious stones.

For those that have no religious restrictions, it takes a lot of equilibrium to not exceed limits...

Souks - are markets in general that offer an opportunity to know Dubai out of the luxury of hotels and shopping malls. In the souk of gold one can buy 24k gold jewelry at very good price.

However, the jewels of interest to wealthy Dubai citizens are not in the Souk but, for example, at Christie's Dubai, where this yellow diamond ring flanked by two shield-shaped diamonds was sold for US$ 410,500.

Invigorating 100% natural Grape Juice from AURORA Winery – Brazil, participates in the Gulfood in Dubai.

The Address Dubai Marina Hotel

A good option is to participate in the sensation of a great adventure embarking on a caravan rally that goes dune up and dune down toward a camp.

 

Here is where the famous desert safari, a very pleasant experience, happens. The tours include camel ride, sand boarding (sand surfing), and a dinner among Bedouins enjoying a belly dance. You can also

stay in one of the resorts located in the mid of the desert.

After the rally between the dunes in plain desert, the camp is prepared to receive the tourists where dinner is served with typical food and belly dancing shows. In the photo a favorite of the show that happens there.

For the more adventurous ones there is the option of short camel rides in the desert night.

Camel racing is a deep-rooted traditional sport that finds its origins in the desert culture of North Africa and the Middle East.

The racings take place in the early morning hours to avoid the midday heat.

Camel Polo - a completely new experience that you can do only in Dubai: instead of the traditional game played by individual players on horseback,  incorporating one of Dubai’s native creatures.

Dubailand world-class tourism, the Global Village brings together diverse customs and cultures covering a wide spectrum of activities: music, dance, arts and crafts, theater, cuisine and customs of different countries. The mega-project is operating in a development phase and will be completed by

2015 to 2018, when it will become the largest theme park in the world.

Everything here is thrilling – be it touring the city by land, by sea and... why not by air?

The beauty of the city is also made of its marinas with large luxury yachts, and other where they’re mixed with dhows – traditional small sailing boats of the Arab world and even smaller

vessels called abras.

Dubai Creek or Khor Dubai - a large and shallow saltwater lagoon which divides Dubai into two parts: Bur Dubai and Deira. Such as this one, here slides numerous other abras– wood boats

for up to 20 people – either as one of the means of transport of the city, or for sightseeing.

The Dubai Shopping Festival, internationally known due to the thousands of bargains, shows and “unmissable offers” found in all markets and shopping malls occurs in January / February; camel races, golf tournaments, tennis tournaments, are also part of this event all already integrated in the

local calendar.

The Hotel "Atlantis, The Palm" costed $ 1.5 billion and has 1,539 rooms. It has the largest water park in the Middle East and a giant aquarium of 11 million liters of water

and 65,000 fishes.

The Atlantis offers suites with a glass wall with view of the aquarium installed in a giant uncovered reservoir of 11,000,000 liters of water sheltering 65,000 fish and other sea creatures.

Atlantis Hotel - Atlantis Aquaventure water park – among other entertainment, one can slide in a cooled tube that runs through the same aquarium inhabited by sharks and rays.

The Burj Khalifa can not be shown complete and at once because from each angle it is photographed the relationship with the landscape in which it is inserted reveals a stunning new vision.Inside the building were used travertine marble, wood, glass, stainless steel, granite and various other types of stones, and for the decoration of its interior 1,000 works of art have been ordered.

The price of one m² of an of its offices costs around U.S. $ 43,000.

In this near-euphoria climate the tourists are raptured, and all enjoy the nightly beauty of the complex that includes the Burj Khalifa tower and the Dubai fountain.

Much of space, much of water, much of art, much of technique; in short, more of the grandeur of Dubai.

And what more to say of a fountain whose waters gush, play games of lights, dance and even "sing?”If of all the photos, for more artistic and technical they may be, are always in debt to the real beauty of

Dubai, of its fountain one must admit that there is no photograph that can reflect its reality.

Dubai Creek Lagoon at night - another of the ravishing "chapters" of Dubai.

And to say adieu to Dubai, a picturesque dinner cruise – Dhow Dinner – fantastic experience that encompasses tourism, culture and cuisine of the UAE on a dhow (traditional Arab sailing vessel). Gliding over the waters, you can enjoy the bustle of city life along the beaches while enjoying a

delicious meal at the sound of joyful Arab melodies chords.

Images:     All drawn from the Net with credits to their respective authors

Song: Ya Rouh (o' soul) - (edited) performed by Rum Band by Tarik ElNasser Rum Band is a Jordanian band lead by Tarik ElNasser

Creation, research, compilation and formatting:

Delza Dias Ferreira delzadfer@hotmail.com

English Version: Flavio Musa de Freitas Guimarães www.culturesandart.com São Paulo, VI - 2011