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About Dubai
History of Dubai
There are records of the town of Dubai ("Dubayy")
from 1799, which was a dependent of the
settlement of Abu Dhabi until 1833. The then
sheikh of Dubai was a signatory to the British
sponsored "General Treaty of Peace" of 1820. In
1833, the Al Maktoum dynasty of the Bani Yas
tribe left the settlement of Abu Dhabi and took
over the town of Dubai, "without resistance".
From that point on, Dubai, a newly independent
emirate, was constantly at odds with the emirate
of Abu Dhabi. An attempt by the Qawasim pirates
to take over Dubai was thwarted. In 1835, Dubai
and the rest of the Trucial States signed a
maritime truce with Britain and a "Perpetual
Maritime Truce" about two decades later. Dubai
came under the protection of the United Kingdom
by the Exclusive Agreement of 1892.
The rulers of Dubai fostered trade and commerce,
unlike the town's neighbors. The town of Dubai
was an important port of call for foreign
tradesmen (chiefly Indians), who settled in the
town. Until the 1930s, the town was known for
its pearl exports.
After the devaluation of the Gulf Rupee in 1966,
Dubai joined the newly independent state of
Qatar to set up a new monetary unit, the
Qatar/Dubai riyal. Oil was discovered 120
kilometres off the coast of Dubai, after which
the town granted oil concessions.
Dubai, together with Abu Dhabi and five other
emirates, formed the United Arab Emirates after
Britain left the Persian Gulf in 1971. In 1973,
Dubai joined the other emirates to adopt a
single, uniform currency: the UAE dirham.
Dubai maintained its importance as a trade route
through the 1970s and 1980s. Dubai and its twin
across the Dubai creek, Deira (independent at
that time), became important ports of call for
Western manufacturers. Most of the new city's
banking and financial centers were headquartered
in this area.
The city of Dubai has a free trade in gold and
is the hub of a "brisk smuggling trade" of gold
ingots to India, where gold trade is restricted.
Oil reserves in Dubai are less than
one-twentieth that of the emirate of Abu Dhabi,
and hence oil income is a minor contributing
factor to the city's prosperity.
Today, Dubai is also an important tourist
destination, bolstered by its rapidly-expanding
airline Emirates, which is headed by Sheikh
Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, an uncle of the
Sheikh. Dubai is also diversifying as a hub for
service-based industries such as IT and finance,
with the new Dubai International Financial
Centre (DIFC).
The government has set up industry-specific free
zones throughout the city. Dubai Internet City,
now combined with Dubai Media City as part of
TECOM (Dubai Technology, Electronic Commerce and
Media Free Zone Authority) is one such enclave
whose members include IT firms such as EMC
Corporation, Oracle, Microsoft, and IBM, and
media organisations such as MBC, CNN, Reuters,
and AP.
Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum was an
important personality in the city. He ruled
Dubai for over 30 years, during which time large
projects like the Jebel Ali free zone, World
Trade Centre, and Dubai International Airport
were sanctioned.
Demographics
Dubai is unusual in that its population
comprises mainly expatriates, with UAE nationals
(Emiratis) constituting the minority. The vast
majority of these expatriates come from South
Asia and the Philippines. The UAE government
does not allow any form of naturalization or
permanent residence to expatriates.
Nearly all of the commercial establishments are
run by expatriates with a silent local partner
who merely "rents" the business license for a
negotiated annual fee without taking part in any
capital investment. The numerous free trade
zones allow for full expatriate ownership.
There is an increasing number of "freehold"
villas and flats on artificial islands such as
the Palm Islands. The "lease" on these freehold
properties is for 99 years. It is, however,
illegal to seek employment on this visa.
Ownership of lease does not guarantee any form
of legal residency status in the UAE. The
Federal Government is still formulating laws
pertaining to ownership of property and
considering issuing residency status to those
who own such property.
To
Know more about the
People of Dubai
Language and religion
The official language is Arabic, but English and
Hindi are also widely spoken, along with
Persian, Urdu, Malayalam, and Tagalog.
Islam is the official religion of all of the
emirates. A vast majority of the people are
Sunnis. There are foreign minority Hindus and
Christians as well. Dubai is the only emirate
that has Hindu temples.
The Meena Bazaar area of the city has both a
Shiva and Krishna temple. Both are believed to
be sanctioned by the late ruler of Dubai, Sheikh
Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum.
There is an electric crematorium run by a group
of Indian expatriates.
Non-Muslims in the country are free to practice
their religion but may not proselytize publicly
or distribute religious literature. The
government follows a policy of tolerance towards
non-Muslim rel igions and, in practice,
interferes very little in the religious
activities of non-Muslims.
In early 2001, ground was broken for the
construction of several churches on a parcel of
land in Jebel Ali donated by the government of
Dubai for four Protestant congregations and a
Catholic congregation. In May 2001, the Crown
Prince of Dubai authorised the construction of a
Greek Orthodox church on donated land.
Apart from donated land for the construction of
churches and other religious facilities,
including cemeteries, non-Muslim groups are not
supported financially or subsidized by the
government. However, they are permitted to raise
money from among their congregants and to
receive financial support from abroad. Christian
churches are permitted to openly advertise
certain church functions, such as memorial
services, in the press.
Education
English is the medium of instruction in most
schools in Dubai. Annual fees for nursery and
pre-school vary greatly.
Some primary schools conduct entrance tests.
Most schools cater to one or more expatriate
communities. Our Own English High School, Modern
High School, and Indian High School offer either
a CBSE or an ICSE Indian syllabus. The Horizon
School, Dubai English Speaking School, Jumeirah
Primary School, Jumeirah English Speaking
School, and Jebel Ali Primary School all offer
British style primary education to the age of
eleven. St. Mary's High School, Dubai College,
English College, and Jumeirah College are all
British style eleven-to-eighteen secondary
schools which offer GCSE and A-Levels. The
Emirates International School and Cambridge
International High School are also secondary
schools that offer a combination of GCSE, IGCSE,
and IB courses to the expatriate community.
There are also some primary and high schools
that offer American, Canadian, and Japanese
syllabuses. For example, the American School of
Dubai (ASD), which is located in Jumeirah,
offers an American-based curriculum.
Many expatriates tend to send their children
back to their home country for university
education. However, a sizable number of foreign
accredited universities have been set up in the
city over the last ten years. Some of these
universities include the American University in
Dubai (AUD), Al Ghurair University, Birla
Institute of Technology and Science, Middlesex
University, Dubai, Dubai Women's College, and
University of Wollongong in Dubai.
Entertainment
The
annual Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) draws
shoppers from the Indian subcontinent and around
the region. Other, smaller shopping festivals
such as "Dubai Summer Surprises" and "Dubai, The
City That Cares" are held throughout the year.
The city has many malls such as City Centre,
Lamcy Plaza, Al Ghurair City, Ibn Battuta Mall,
Mercato Mall, and Wafi Centre that have
international stores, theaters, gaming arcades,
and foodcourts.
Dubai also has a
Wild Wadi Water Park.
The Dubai World Cup, an annual horse race, is
the world's richest horse race with over
US$15,000,000 worth of prize money given to the
winner.
Dubailand, a proposed entertainment complex, is
to include the Mall of Arabia, the largest
shopping mall in the world. Dubailand is slated
to open in 2006.
Real estate and property
The Burj al-Arab Hotel
Dubai's skyline at night
A satellite image of Dubai, the Jumeira Palm. The
government's decision to diversify from a
trade-based but oil-reliant economy to one that
is service- and tourism-oriented has made real
estate more valuable, and corporations such as
Emaar Properties, and Nakheel have benefited.
Corporate office enclaves on Sheikh Zayed road
were developed to shift Dubai's traditional
business area from the Dubai creek to the
western parts of the city.
Dubai's land-reclamation projects — the Palm
Islands of Jumeira, Jebel Ali, and Deira and The
World archipelago — will be the world's largest
artificial island complexes, developed with
villas, golf courses, and holiday resorts.
The first villa freehold properties that were
occupied by non-UAE nationals were The Meadows,
The Springs, and The Lakes (upper-class
neighborhoods designed by Emaar Properties,
collectively called Emirates Hills). Somewhere
from 2005 to 2006, most of the freehold
skyscrapers and other villa projects will be
ready for occupancy.
The city has modern skyscrapers such as Emirates
Towers, which are the 12th and 24th tallest
buildings in the world[4], and the Burj al-Arab,
a five-star deluxe hotel. Located on the Persian
Gulf, the Burj al-Arab is the tallest hotel in
the world.
Emaar Properties is currently constructing what
will become the world's tallest building, the
Burj Dubai. It is expected to be completed in
2008.
In February 2005, Dubai Waterfront was
announced, it will be 2½ times the size of
Washington D.C., the size of the island of
Manhattan. Dubai Waterfront will be a mix of
canals and islands full of hotels and
residential areas that will add 500 miles of
man-made waterfront.
Dubai has also launched Dubiotech. This is a new
park to be targeted at Biotech companies working
in pharma, medical fields, genetic research and
even biodefense. The aim of this park is to
foster the growth of this sector in Dubai and to
utilize the region's talent in addressing this
rapidly growing sector.
The International Media Production Zone is a
project targeted at creating a hub for printers,
publishers, media production companies, and
related industry segments. This project was
launched in 2003 and is estimated to be
completed by 2006.
A third palm island has been released in Dubai.
It will be located of the coast of Deira and it
will be the largest of the Palm Islands in
Dubai. It will be the last one to be built. It
is being built by Nakheel a government backed
company. It will be completed by 2008.
See the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce
Marketing's list of developments [5] in Dubai
for more information.
Stamps and postal history of Dubai
A
post office of British India was opened August
19, 1909. It used the stamps of India on mail,
with postmark "Dubai Persian Gulf", until
India's independence in 1947, then stamps of
Pakistan until March 31, 1948. When Pakistan
also became independent, the British government
set up a postal administration for Eastern
Arabia and used overprinted British stamps until
January 7, 1961, when Dubai issued its own
stamps inscribed "Trucial States". Despite the
name, these were only on sale in Dubai's post
office.
The
Dubai Post Department took over the postal
service on June 14, 1963 and the following day
issued a series of stamps depicting sea life,
views of Dubai, and Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al
Maktoum. This was the opening salvo of a barrage
of stamp issues over the next few years. The
emirate discovered that stamp collectors were
willing to give it money for colored labels with
"Dubai" printed on them, and by the time the
postal system was merged with those of other
emirates in mid-1972, it had issued over 400
stamps, few of which ever saw usage on mail.
Ports
Dubai is serviced by several commercial ports
and Dubai Creek is still used by local traders
in Dhows:
Mina' Rashid
Jebel Ali
Airports
Dubai International Airport is a fortress hub
for Emirates airlines and has a large Duty Free
shopping centre. Dubai airport has won many
awards for its excellence in design and
services. A third terminal is currently under
construction and due to open in 2006. The new
terminal will be dedicated to Emirates airlines
and will fully support the Airbus A380. When
completed this will double the capacity of the
airport.
A second airport located at Jebel Ali—and a new
free trade area within Dubai, marking the
centrepiece of the Jebel Ali Airport City—was
announced in 2004 and construction began in
January 2005. Although initially intended as a
predominantly cargo airport, plans are afoot for
the new Jebel Ali airport to handle some 40
million passengers per annum within 20 years.
Dubai Airlines
Transportation
The Abra or Water Taxi
Dubai has a fairly large bus system run by the
Dubai Municipality. The bus system has 59 unique
routes on weekdays and transports over 200,000
people each week. The government has issued
plastic, swipable "e-go" cards. There are also
several discounts and period pass options
available.
Dubai also has an extensive taxi system, by far
the most frequently used means of public
transport within the emirate. There are both
government-operated and private cab companies.
The Dubai Transport Corporation operates
cream-colored taxis. Some of the private cab
companies are Cars Taxi, National Taxi, and
Metro Taxi.
One of the more traditional methods of getting
across Bur Dubai to Deira is through abras,
small boats that ferry passengers across the
Dubai creek for a nominal charge of 50 fils.
There is currently a $3.89 billion Dubai Metro
project under construction for the emirate. The
Metro system is expected to be partially
operational by 2009 and fully operational by
2012. The construction contract for the project
was given to Dubai Rapid Link (DURL)[6], a
consortium lead by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
Also involved are two other Japanese
corporations, Obayashi and Kajima, and a Turkish
company, Yapi Merkezi. The metro will comprise
two lines: the Green Line from Rashidiya to the
main city center and the Red Line from the
airport to Jebel Ali. The Dubai Metro will have
70 kilometers of track and 43 stations, 33 above
ground and ten underground. Trains are expected
to run every 90 seconds when the project is
completed. Dubai is building this train system
to ease congestion on its road network and to
meet the transportation demands of its growing
population.
Local Transportation in
Dubai
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