Dubai

Dubai or Dubayy (in Arabic: دبيّ) refers to either

• One of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates on the Arabian Peninsula, or
• That emirate's main city, sometimes called "Dubai City" to distinguish it from the emirate.

The ruler of Dubai is H.H. Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who is also the Prime Minister of the federation of the United Arab Emirates. The crown prince is H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, one of the emir's younger brothers.

Dubai is the second largest emirate in the federation after Abu Dhabi. The emirate is located on the Persian Gulf, southwest of Sharjah and northeast of Abu Dhabi, and reaches into the interior. The town of Hatta is a segregated portion of the emirate of Dubai and borders Wajajah, Oman.

Dubai is distinct from other members of the UAE in that revenues from oil account for only 5% of the Gross Domestic Product of the emirate. A majority of the emirate's revenues are from the Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZ) and now, increasingly, from tourism.

History of Dubai

There was a pearl-diving and fishing community at the mouth of the Dubai creek for many centuries, but modern Dubai dates its existence to the 1830s when the Baniyas tribe under the Al-Maktoum family settled there and renounced allegiance to Abu Dhabi. Successive sheikhs encouraged contacts with outsiders, especially the British, who made Dubai a regular port of call.

Dubai became one of the Trucial States in 1853. It joined the UAE on December 2, 1971. It has since become a large, modern city, with an estimated population of close to one million in 2004.

Dubai is also an important tourist destination, helped by its rapidly-expanding airline Emirates, which is headed by Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, an uncle of the emir. 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 freezones 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 Maktoom is an important personality in the city. He has ruled Dubai for over 30 years during which time large projects like the Jebel Ali free zone, World Trade Centre and the Dubai Airport were sanctioned.

People living in Dubai

Dubai is fairly unique in that its population consists mainly of 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. Children born in the country to foreign workers are not granted citizenship.

Nearly all 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 are an increasing number of "freehold" villas and flats on artificial islands such as the Jumeira Palm. Ownership of these villas comes with a guaranteed residence visa, renewable every three years for a around US$1350 per person. It is, however, illegal to seek employment on this visa.

Language & Religion

Islam is the official religion of all 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 religions 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.

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 Centre 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 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 benfitted. Corporate office enclaves on Sheikh Zayed road were developed to shift Dubai's traditional business area from the creek to the western parts of the city.

Dubai's land-reclamation projects, the Palm Islands The Palm, Jumeira, The Palm, Jebel Ali, The Palm, Deira, and The World 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). Over the 2005–2006 time frame, most of the freehold skycrapers and other villa projects will be ready for occupancy.

The city is has modern skyscrapers such as Emirates Towers which are the 12^th and 23^rd tallest buildings in the world. [2], and Burj Al Arab, a five-star deluxe hotel. Located on the Persian Gulf, Burj Al Arab is the second tallest hotel in the world.

Emaar Properties is on course to construct the world's tallest building, Burj Dubai. It is expected to be completed in 2008.

In February 2005 Dubai Waterfront was announced, it will be 2½ times size of Washington D.C. or 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.

Human Rights and Labor Issues

It is common practice for employers to confiscate employees' passports for the duration of the employment contract to prevent expatriate employees from moving to higher paying jobs. This is an illegal practice, and is not enforced by the government. On termination of an employment contract, expatriates and their families are usually banned from the country for six months.

The United States State Department has cited widespread instances of blue collar labor abuse within the city and in the general context of the United Arab Emirates [3].

The government has been criticized by human rights agencies such as Human Rights Watch for its inaction in addressing the discrimination against Asian workers in the emirate. Salary structures based on national origin, sex, age and race rather than on qualification are common [4].

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. Pakistan also becoming 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 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 issue 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 that of other emirates, in mid-1972, it had issued over 400 stamps, few of which ever saw usage on mail.

Technology and Telecommunications

Federal Act No. 1[5] of 1976 establishes the Emirates Telecommunications Corporation as the sole telephone and telecommunications provider in the country. The Emirates Telecommuncations Corporation ("Etisalat") is also the only Internet Service Provider (ISP) in the country. Etisalat runs a monopoly in business and personal telecommunications services. Private providers are not legally allowed to provide long distance telephone services.

By law, Etisalat actively censors internet sites that are deemed to be un-Islamic or present information on the UAE, its cities or its people in bad light. Censorship of internet sites pertaining to other religions and pornography is common.

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 curerntly under construction due to open in 2006. The new terminal will be dedicated to the Emirates airlines and will fully support the Airbus A380. When completed this will double the capacity of the airport.

Education

Dubai has several universities, including:

• Al Ghurair University
• American University in Dubai
• Birla Institute of Technology & Science – Dubai Campus
• Middlesex University Dubai
• Dubai Women's College
• Wollongong University
• Zayed University

See also

Real estate

• 21st Century Tower

External links

• Some UAE pictures taken from [6]
• Dubai built on Asian Slave Wages
• Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing
• UAE government official site
• Dubai World Cup, an annual thoroughbred horse race
• Dubai city guide
• Dubai International Airport Official site
• Dubai Media City (DMC)
• Dubai Internet City (DIC)
• Knowledge Village – an Oasis of Educational Institutes and Universities
• Dubai World Trade Centre
• Dubai official government website