The UAE, or United Arab Emirates, is the country at the southeast end of the Arabian Peninsula. The emirate of Dubai, which is also the largest city in the country, is the most visited by both businessmen and tourists. No wonder: it is unique and has a lot to offer! After my visit to this fascinating country, I compiled a small list of curious facts about Dubai that I found especially interesting:
1. It took only one generation for the UAE to build an incredible civilization.
The UAE is a very young country. It only appeared in 1971. In the old times people’s only means of survival was pearl trade. If was not easy and often frustrating: for example, when the Japanese learned to grow artificial pearls, the villagers of the UAE areas experienced real crisis. But finally they “won the lottery” by discovering oil. The construction started at the end of 70s, making it the fastest growing and developing country in the world. This incredible civilization was created during only one generation and under one ruler. No wonder that the first president, Sheikh Zayed, who passed away in 2004, is hugely respected.
Just look at what kind of houses the UAE people lived in the middle of the 20th century, which is very recently! And now they live in these!!
2. Of the Population of Dubai, 83% are immigrants.
In Dubai, you can usually see the natives in luxury hotels, malls or their cars. The streets of the city are a melting pot of people of all nationalities and races: Caucasians, Asians, Indians, et cetera. Immigrants make up a whopping 83% of the entire population! All kinds of clothing are worn, including regular Western attire. All kinds of shops, restaurants, and businesses are present, and everyone co-exists in peace and harmony.
3. Proceeds from oil constitute only 5-7% of the gross national income.
Even though the country started its unbelievable rise due to the oil money, this is not the case anymore. This fact was surprising to me, because, like the majority of people, I thought that oil was still the main source of income for the UAE. However, today it is only 5-7%. To compare, income from tourism is over 20%. The first money, received from the oil sales, was wisely spent on medicine and education, attracting businesses from all over the world. Another reason why this plan was so successful is the almost unbelievable taxation system.
4. Dubai has no income tax!
Dubai doesn’t have income tax. This is why it is such a desirable place for a lot of people to work. Until 2018 they didn’t have the added value tax either. But if the regular folks don’t pay taxes, who does? Well, there are plenty of other taxable situations, but what amazed me the most is that wealthy citizens are known to actually donate a part of their profits to the government as a “voluntary tax”, to build better lives for others. Imagine that!
5. The world’s tallest building is in Dubai.
Downtown Dubai looks like it came right out of a futuristic movie. Every skyscraper is a piece of art. Being a rich country, Dubai likes to build everything to “the most”: the richest, the biggest, the most luxurious, the most modern.
Of course, Dubai is the hometown of the tallest building in the world. Built in 2009, Burj Khalifa is 829 meters (2,722 feet ) tall. You can take an elevator to the 124th floor, where you can look at the world below from a 360-degree observation deck. Next to the building there is a series of Vegas-like “singing fountains”.
6. New York has its famous “Chrysler Tower”. But it can’t compete with Dubai, which has two!
They are called Al Kazim Towers, or Business Central Towers.
7. Dubai has one of the longest driverless metro systems in the world.
The subway in Dubai it is a true technological wonder. We all have boarded little driverless trains in multiple airports, but this construction will beat them all. Until 2016, it was the longest fully automatic metro system in the world. Now it is behind Vancouver and Singapore, but it is still impressive.
8. All the greenery in Dubai is maintained by an artificial irrigation system with access to every tree and flower.
Dubai is very tropically green and boasts a lot of parks with palm trees and numerous flower beds… How do you think they achieve it in the middle of a desert? Well, they created an elaborate “sprinkler system”. A tube with water reaches virtually EVERY tree, every bush and every flower. When grass and flowers grow, they hide the pipes and faucets and everything looks very natural. Dubai is truly a man-made oasis! It costs a lot of money to maintain this system, so be careful: if you damage a palm tree, you’ll be fined!
9. Every restaurant in Dubai will offer you fresh-squeezed juice.
Because no alcohol is served in restaurants, there is a wide selection of non-alcoholic drinks, including fresh squeezed juices from literally every fruit and berry. I absolutely loved it! My Mom’s favorite was mango smoothie, and I often ordered refreshing watermelon juice.
10. Bus stops in Dubai are air conditioned.
and look like this:
11. “Kentucky Fried Chicken” is jokingly called “Kentucky Fried Camel”.
The Colonel would have never imagined! 🙂
12. If you miss snow and want to ski, you can easily do so in Dubai!
In Dubai and miss snow? No problem! You can go to Ski Dubai, an enormous ski resort that offers several mountain ski rides, snowboarding, skating and all kinds of winter activities. Winter clothes and equipment can be rented.
13. Dubai has man-made islands, so big they can be seen from space.
Palma Jumeira was the first artificial island. It is built in the shape of a palm tree. There are private houses on the branches (each has its own beach access), stores and public places on the stalk and hotels along the border with the exact copy of Nassau’s Atlantis. It took 3 years just to build the ground for the island, using machines that suck in sand and throw it down in the right places. The right places were determined using GPS. Now there are more islands like this and they are so big that they can be seen from space!
Dubai is a lot of things. It’s exotic, it’s modern, it’s traditional and futuristic all at the same time. You might feel like you are in the middle of a giant Disneyland and the next moment you are in an Arabic fairytale. Only by going there by yourself, you can thoroughly enjoy and discover how unique it is.
