Dubai, UAE
Dubai is the most modern city/state of all seven emirates (kingdoms) in the United Arab Emirates. Ultramodern architecture and skyline, where everything is “the biggest” and “the best”. With our tour guide Shah, we visited a mosque, toured a high-end market (souk), visited the Jumeira Beach for our first view of the Burj Al Arabe, took a ferry to Old Dubai, and visited the King’s Palace. Details from his tour follow below photos.
Dinner at Burj Al Arabe, "the world's most luxurious 7 star hotel"... recall the scene of the amazing the Agassi and Federer tennis game, and Tiger Woods and Rory McIllroy driving golf balls into the sea? It happened here. This visit with Roger Federer is a good view into the Burj Al Arab, but this video really captures the grand scale. (Here is a fun video for Lynn and Linda).
Tour of Burj Khalifa, currently the tallest structure in the world (the photo at the top of this page shows the view from the top).
Observations per our “local” guide Shah*:
Religion/Culture:
As the most modern of the kingdoms, there is no dress code in Dubai
A girl is a “gift from God”, it is good luck for two weeks for a baby girl, good luck for two days for a baby boy…
Public affection is illegal
70% are men in Dubai – they must leave when 60!
No one with a passport stamp from Israel is allowed in any Muslim country
A UAE citizen can go in any country but Israel
Drugs? Lifetime jail for both buyers and sellers throughout GCCs, and after jail, banned from GCC
$500 fine for littering, if you have no money, you go to jail
Police can be wearing civilian clothes
CCTV throughout – you are always being watched! "That is ok if you are doing nothing wrong." 😉
"No crime or homelessness in Dubai"
Shah has (illegal) VPN on phone – if he were found out, it would be 3 months jail, and a 50k AED fine
Muslim men cannot wear gold (too feminine, a woman’s decoration), silk, velvet, or alcoholic perfume
If locals marry each other, they get a new home and $20k - if woman is 35+, $40k
White head scarves identify UAE/water tribes; red check scarves signify Saudi/mountain tribes
The King – Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid:
Has 5 wives, 9 sons and 14 daughters (only 3 have been seen)
First wife is never seen, second is popular (and young)
King owns 3,000 horses around the world
No police patrol the King’s palace – anyone can walk right up
Economy:
Half of the people in Dubai are tourists
927 hotels – every other new building is a hotel
500 mosques
98% of goods are imported
Japan is biggest oil consumer
UAE was the first country to "appreciate immigrant bans", in 2013 UAE had already banned certain countries (Shah: "if it was a “Muslim ban”, it would have been 100 countries")
Would solar power work? Panels get too dusty – rain only 2-3x per year.
Currency: $1 = 3.67 AED fixed (dirham)
The value of the dollar never changes in the GCC - The Gulf Cooperation Council is a regional political organization comprising the energy rich Gulf monarchies – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
* All “local” tour guides are foreigners! There are only 14% locals in Dubai. Our guide Shah is from Afghanistan. He says Obama was too getting too friendly with countries in the Middle East, and that Trump was well liked here because “he means what he says” (referring to Syrian red line). “At least he is doing something”. “Obama could have been a better actor – he was better at being cool than being reflective about what countries (in the Middle East) needed.” “Refugees [with no documentation] can easily reassign themselves from another country (and do).”
Observations:
Two things gave me an eery feeling about the survival of Western culture (and Christianity?):
First, population growth - it is not news that Muslims are having relatively more babies than non-Muslims (Pew research).
But another noteworthy observation - there is so much growth and construction in the Arabian Kingdoms, and in the Middle East (more here)... missing is the Western obsession with feelings and identity. Everywhere people are working:
37% of the world's cranes are working in Dubai - 24 hours a day.
