The multiple facets of a misjudged emirate

United Arab Emirates Special feature

Whatever the misconceptions travellers may have about Dubai as a soul-less city, we can now confirm that this is nothing more than a myth. Dubai is one of the seven Emirates; however the Emirati population makes up less than 10% of the city's population. The rest of the population consists of expatriates from all four corners of the globe. During the two weeks we spent in the city, we encountered people from over thirty different nationalities ranging from Lebanese to Burmese, from Pakistani to Afghani, Kenyan to Indian...Dubai is a fruit salad of cultures all living side by side relatively peacefully.

Contents

• A soulful melting pot of cultures

  1

• A Middle Eastern Venice

  2

• The islands - the Palm Jumeirah and the World

  3

• The world's eye - the Burj Khalifa

  4

• Not all high-rise and high-flying

  5

• Under water above ground

  6

• Ski slopes in the desert?

  7

• Dubai in the desert

  8

• An emerging contemporary art scene

  9

• The Dubai Friday brunch phenomenon

  10