To Horace: I completely agree with you though... the state of migrant labourers in Dubai is pathetic.

Burj Dubai really empressed/
Now I have yet one dream - visit the top of this tower/

:O (solo para ricos y burocratas)

I leave in Dubai but I'm from South America. My only true concern is that reading these posts I realized that americans are ignorant enough to eventually invade Dubai thinking there is some oil somewhere around here. Just a hint.... if you are looking for oil please visit Abu Dhabi... sk Zayed Road heading south... If you see a big tower on your right... you are lost...but just in case...it is just a tower...not a huge misile aiming US... believe me... I've been there and no trace of weapons of mass distruction inside... of course I'm not an expert on that field.
On the other hand, if you think 4,5 us/gl is too expensive... take your bike... maybe 4WD made in the US was not designed to be environmental friendly...

I have been in Dubai at the start of this year and I think all those buildings are waste of money and just plain normal an idiot could design something and the next day they build it! I would rather have a vacation in Tasmania or Queensland or anywhere in Australia rather than in U.A.E. Nothing compare to living in a natural place where you are surrounded by nature's buildings (mountains, rivers and etc). Dubai is growing too fast and it will fall too fast. I would rather use all the money they wasted and used them to help needed people around the world.

What a terrible place, so incredibly fake....it has to be one of the most unsustainable places on earth. What happens when there is not enough money to dredge all the man made "islands" etc?? These people are certainly not wise.......just greedy and vain.

Dubai has seen its peak .....it's all downhill from here.

pe your comment here...ME SORPRENDE EL TRABAJO ARQUITECTÓNICO Y LO QUE SE PUEDE CREAR CON EL DINERO, SE IMAGINAN LO ATRACTIVO QUE PUDIESE SER UN CONCIERTO , EXPOSICIONES , EVENTOS INTERNACIONALES, EVENTOS CON FINES BENÉFICOS PARA EL MUNDO ETC.
SIMPLEMENTE GRANDIOSO ! , QUE SEA PARA BIÉN.
MARUK VERACRUZ, MÉXICO

#183 says "I would rather use all the money they wasted and used them to help needed people around the world."
Great idea but NOBODY do that. So why them ? Utopia is so far away from here. Of course this place in the middle of desert is nothing more than powder in the eyes, of course their money could be used to do something for humanity or for the preservation of our planet, blablabla.... They just follow the path of midwest. Their "American Dream", to prove to the rest of the world that they also can do whatever they want of mother nature. They are not worstest than we are. The entire world is going insane.
Great images of that nauseous scramble that represent humankind. Where is my own desertic island so i can run away from this madness.

Thanks for the photos.

I'm not sure what to make of Dubai. The scale of what they are doing it very impressive but I just don't see any uniqueness. It just looks kind of bland.
Who cares about indoor skiing in the desert of islands shaped like palm trees?
It's like a kid designed the place. It will never match the gravitas of the worlds oldest cities.

I lived 20 Years there never felt being at home once, any One say something different is either a pretender or a liar you come as stranger you live as stranger and leave as stranger in the city of concrete and cement and polluted space.

I lived 20 Years there never felt being at home once, any One say something different is either a pretender or a liar you come as stranger you live as stranger and leave as stranger in the city of concrete and cement and polluted space.

Most of the negative comments about Dubai come from Westerners who are just jealous of the achievements of other countries.
If this new story was a picture of New York City and its luxurious skyscrapers and hotels, they definitely wouldn't complain like this. These anti-Dubaists are just hypocrites who are small minded and jealous of other countries' achievements.
And as for Dubai earning money from oil, first of all Dubai's main source of income is tourism, not oil.
Second of all, oil prices had gone up so much really because USA invaded Iraq, controlled the oil sources, and pushed up the prices so that Bush and his friends benefit.
I can't believe how many small minded hypocrites there are in this world...

We all must know that money is made out of debt, and more money means more debt for International economy, and we all humans will suffer when a lot of money is wasted to build with the same old materials and technology in such a major scale, only the design, scale, and location of this buildings are futuristic. If all this money will be used in new technology development for sustainable cities?

20 reasons not to move to dubai?

http://www.escapeartist.com/efam/94/art_20_Reasons_Not_Move_to_Dubai.html

Hahaha, reading comments below and I cant believe how JEALOUS some americans are. Funny ....

Impressive! I may not agreed with the "bloody" oil money. But with the economic crisis and all the tragic events all over the would, it's nice to think that there is a place where workers from different places work together to transform a desert place in to a futouristic city..

I feel like this is not true.....hehe, unbelievable pretty

Interesting. Pettiness equals jealously plus scapegoating. I should like to visit at least once and probably never shall. Yes. It is impressive what the human brain can concieve, and perhaps, someday, more can enjoy more.

que descaro pisha y mientras en el mundo hay gente que se muere de hambre, que falta de respeto

WOW ! ! ! ! ! ! !
ITS REAL DUBAI CITY
WISH U ALL THE BEST DUBAI

Wow,
Really Dubai is a Nice City.
I Like too much.
I wish you all the best Dubai City.

I cannot imagine such lovely feat achieved by humans. I dont see this kind of development anywhere in the world. Clearly dubai is emerging as Center of attraction for the world.
Love you dubai!

Americans are just jealous of countries and cities that do things better than they can...criticising other countries under the guise of human rights, democracy, and economic inequality. Face it - you will decline one day

I can't see the bright future,But hey who we are to coment. They knows the best and we wish them best luck. One thing for a sure that weather it will flowrish or not but labourer are getingt paid when needed little or less.

Dubai is something unique I was for some time there and I was impressed by the enormous buildings .And everything there was unique the Mall of Emirates,the unique Burj Al Arab ,the desert,the safari everything....I love Dubai( Abu Dhabi,too) but I hope very soon to be again in Dubai even on an excursion .:):P:):P

@126, Patriot.... first of all, ur an embarresment to the human race that's all i can tell u..
second of all, to all you complaining about ur 4$ a gallon and YOU'R oil money, we've got the oil , we own it, and will sell it at any price we wish to, does that make sense? if you have a problem with that find your own alternative to gas/ cars (check out Europe!). of course there are other issues about oil money which is mainly our concern here in i wouldn't worry my head with it if i were you. plus i've been to dubai and i agree they're overdoing it from an environmental and cultural point of view. Saudi Arabia

There is a lot of insults and nonsense comments here. It just shows that there are a lot of people who are ignorant and most of them in developed countries. I agree with the one who said they should read more. There is a lot to know about the world so put your lase minds working. The first think is that Dubai is no longer making money from oil, they reserves have gone some time ago. Oil is only 8-10% of they GDP.

They invested the money they made with oil, not only in Dubai as well as in oversea as example you have the DP-Dubai Ports International one of the word biggest port managing companies. There are other many examples. They made a commitment to develop their Emirate like no other place in the world and they are succeeding of course that there are other problems which are a result of this huge development they want, waste handling, increasing traffic, high immigrant workers (with poor working conditions), culture customs and others.

I'm not muslin, not living in a developed country and have visited Dubai so many times and I got very amazed with what they are doing there. IT is also important that people making those faulty comments do not forget that they are the one who are fueling mostly that development in Dubai. How many Europeans and Americans have bought houses in Dubai? Houses so expensive that they could buy even a cheaper one at a even more amazing place like a tropical beach side anywhere in the world. Dubai native population is so small that they could not get that demand from they own. Dubai is being built by foreigners for foreigners but owned by Dubai native population who get the revenue.

What they are doing in Dubai is really amazing they are using their minds, they are being clever but on my opinion going too far but credit should be given to those wonderful constructions and many other good things going on in Dubai.
Without it we would have to wait so many years to see some firsts as we see in Dubai. They gave some new view to the world tourism industry and today we can see many others cities or countries following the Dubai effect, not only in the Middle East but all over the world.

So for last, don't make any foolish comment without knowing what you are taking about.

Personally i think that Dubai has had a fantastic development and people should be proud of it. We will always find some frustrated hippies still nostaglic when they look back at the sixties...get over it guys...What s wrong in spending money to attract tourists and raise the standards?
Is dubai responsible for poverty around the world? Don t think so...Is dubai investment money could end poverty around the world forever...don t think so!!!!

We are not talking politics we are talking architecture anyway!!!! some of the designs that you can find in Dubai are simply amazing .Bare in mind that to materialize such a new and defiant way to design buildings money needs to be spent...

This city attracts people from around the world....have you ever asked yourself the questions why?

beutyful dubai

as of now what has paid for this place are no-bid corporate war contracts and the countless innocent human lives shed to perpetuate those contracts. google it

Very Professional Pictures

Thanks a lot !

ME ENCANTADUBAI YA E ESTADO DOS VECES LA ULTIMATA VEZ FUE EN 96 PERO VEO Q TENGO Q VOLVER A VER TODO ESO. ES INCREIBLE MUCHA FELICIDADES..... TK MAMA JEJEJE

Modernism has rapidly died since the 1970s and these people, incredibly, still revel in a modernist fantasy. Dubai is soon to be the greatest ghost town ever known to humanity, most likely within our lifetimes. Sad and utterly wasteful considering they could have used all the oil profits to research and build a self-sustained eco-city. Now that would be real human ingenuity.

It amazes me how much hate there is in those comments. It really is embarrassing and shameful. I have never been to Dubai. I don't care how it was financed. Have to clue how sustainable it is. But give me a break!
A long time ago, there was an island where the Dutch settled. They welcomed everyone and anyone. Everyone started dreaming and trying to outdo one another. When the skyscraper was born, the entire island was in competition with itself, and that "big" Midwestern city. Big business took hold. Arts and culture soon followed. We call this island today Manhattan and we celebrate its boldness, fast pace, philanthropy, art, brashness and attitude. And as to the "fake" tourist attractions... did anyone say Las Vegas? Las Vegas creates New York, Paris and other interesting resorts and we call it crazy, fun or whatever else we call it. But when an Arab city dares to do anything, we start talking about how it's really "our" money, how it will come down when oil is out, how it's arrogant, and I could go on forever. Give me a break! It's hypocritical at best. Un-American at worst.

In one sense it does look like a big waste of money; but I have heard that UAE has a limited supply of oil; and when that runs out they have nothing left for their economy and everything will collapse, people starve, etc. So instead of waiting for that day; they are creating what one might call Las Vegas on an extreme level. Tourism is the future of UAE from what I understand

I am Egyptian and I have visited and lived in Dubai, Dubai is a great place, it's true that Oil money is for sure a big part of their success, but i wont tell you to look at other countries in Gulf but look at other states in UAE which have the same money but far away from Dubai right ??
So Dubai have great leaders and that's what makes Dubai this great place, Oil is same as USA's land full of God's Resources which by help of great American people USA become that's good.
All what i need to see in UAE that the become a productive economy even they are great investors, wish to all countries to work from the man kind.

BTW: For the poor, i guess you should know more how much UAE pay for poor, UAE gives for poor Egyptian youth people about 50, 000 free homes, i think this is enough to say.

I live in Dubai.
The pictures are great, but this place is not so nice.
The pictures are better than the real thing!

*Richard*
Look at the 7 trillion dollar bail-out the US has paid to help out the big corporations who started this whole economic mess!!! With a fraction of that money not one person in this world would starve! and youre talking about waste of money?! The US and the major corporations that are controlling the government are the most greedy and selfish people on this planet! So look at your own country before you start blaming the UAE for developing their own country, with THEIR own natural resources!

Or look at the amount of money spent/wasted by Bush to start war's over OIL. While Bush was acting up as a warlord, Sheik Mohammed was doing charity work, but still its the Sheik being picked on... Did he ever start a war? Think not.
And lets be honnest, all the harm caused in Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran but also Venezuela, ... (I could go on all day) just to make sure (North-)Americans can keep up their, based upon consumption, way of living: driving huge pickups that consume loads of fuel, etc etc, but complaining bout the fuel prices... Djeez. It seems the USA is that deep down that all they can do is point fingers. Its a shame for the somewhat smarter Americans, but when I read comments like the ones posted over here (dumb, not even remotely correct, and arrogant with a touch of jalousy), I am not surprised you guys are hated through the entire world... You should visit the UAE and let them explain to you bout respect, kindness and hospitality. Those words seem to become meaningless to lots of Americans, as the reactions might suspect allready.

PS: Very nice pictures, and good comments! Good to see there not all Americans are the same ;-)

Ultimate photos.

i look others butifull picture again thanks

I do applaud Dubai's diversification of its economy from mere petrodollars to tourism and trade (honestly. Much more of this sort of thing needs to happen in the Middle East).

However, I am troubled by the still-constricted nature of the economy and society. Beyond tourism and such, I would very much like to see even further diversification of the society, via the founding of great universities and research facilities, the investment in the basic 'infrastructure' for the development of HUMAN capital. I'm sure some of this does happen, mind you. But I am also getting the impression that much of the labor and expertise is imported, and relatively little spent on developing commensurate levels of indigenous expertise, so that the need for imported talent and labor drops off and it all becomes self-sustaining. Until that happens, all of these marvels will be as authentic and sustainable as great man-made island.

I say all this not as a hater, nor from a jealous perspective (jealousy has no place in a free-market world-view; if you want it, learn how to build it for yourself and find a demand!). Rather, I speak from the stance of someone who genuinely wants the Middle East to prosper and grow, and make its own contributions to the world, and thus to experience the well-earned pride which comes from such self-generated achievements.

I live and work in Dubai. I think Dubai is the fastest developing emirate amongst the 7 emirates. Other emirates and other gulf countries are following the success story of Dubai.

What makes me wonder is the way this port city and surrounding desertland got converted into a tourist hub. This was possible due to liberal policies, ample luxurious hotels offering world class hospitality, easy availability of visas, air connectivity etc. Importing & re-exporting, ever growing tourism, real estate, investments in foreign countries etc. adds more riches to Dubai. Oil trade is taken care by neighbouring emirate Abu Dhabi.

I remember having read :

In democracy everybody talks but nobody listens
In monocracy one person talks and everybody listens

This is probably more relevant for Dubai. Shaikh Mohammed, the genious ruler of Dubai deserves the credit for transforming this land into its present state.

Availability of cheap labour from Asian countries does play an important roll here. While these luxury malls and hotels are meant for the rich and affluent, there is tremendous shortage of accomodation meant for economy class people.

Dubai's growth into a commercial hub is applaudable.

I guess capitalism is fine, as long as it's for the Kingdom? This is impressive, beautiful, wonderous... You'll have to excuse some of us "Americans" who have listened to how our evil capitalism has destroyed the world. But there is no "gold standard", there is a "black standard" which is oil... The gold standard went away with the Federal Reserve here in the USA. Yeah, that was created to keep another disaster like the great depression from happening again, but instead helped to create another.

Perhaps we'd all applaud your capitalism, if it weren't in part based on fixing the worlds oil prices using a monopoly called OPEC to control production and control4oil prics. That's not free trade. And perhaps we'd be more excited for you if some of the hijackers that destroyed our towers and killed thousands weren't from the UAE and Egypt. (Yeah, none were from Iraq) For me, I'll never be able to afford to visit, bu that doesn't break my heart. I've heard outsiders get arrested there anyway, it may look like a modern city, but it's still controlled by local Muslim and tiribal laws. Of course they look the other way at times for the sake of money, for instance the bikini clad woman shown in the pictures. Correct me if any of my facts are wrong...

hi see the beautiful

I LIKE THE COLOR FUL SKY SCRAPER AND THE SARK TANKS THEY WERE KOLLIO AND TIGHT AND CRACK A LACKIN

Cool architecture. All of Europe is still better than these monster buildings.

it's easy to understand how americans ignorant and idiot. don't be jealous.

sign Kyoto first, then talk here.

I think people have a tendency to be misled by what they see: it a common feature due to our "image" world (TV, internet...).

As far as I know, UAE people massively invested in western funds: company, media, sport... and real estate. You can blame their arrogance but certainly not for their intelligence. As much as I don't like brutal capitalism, I can't see how their investments are any different than the ones of our western economic leaders. Blame the collapsing financial system that we all work for in a way or another. It's reealy easier to say you were stolen than admit that one person in your group gave it up for money...

As for Dubai, it looks to me more like a concept or a dream for someone who didn't think that... one day... people would be living in.
During the middle age in Europe, the cathedrals were built to allow people to get closer to their god. Today, whitout any religious reference (like in China or in Dubai), what does a sky crapper means ? "I have enough money and ego to challenge anyone". This is pure foolishness and arrogance.

Finally, I read a lot of remarks concerning the so-called tourism in Dubai. Everybody has a definition of tourism: mine would differ from yours. But tourism is not entertainment. Going to a waterpark with your kids is nothing but entertainment. Don't get me wrong: it can be pleasant, but it doesn't make you a tourist. There's certainly a place at the end of your street where your kids would have as much fun... No need to go to Dubai for that, unless you want to be able to say: "I've been to Dubai"... and for me, you come back to my previous remark; arrogance.

My final reamark goes to the environment: living in France makes me think I'm lucky. My environment is pleasant to live in, wonderful to re-discover everyday, and trying to be respectfull for the others. I think it's just a question of choice. I personnaly choose to have forests, mountains, deserts, castles and museums rather than a giant mall in the middle of nowhere.

Great pictures.

IS THE BESTS HUMAN CONSTRUTIONS OF WORLD!!

dubai is a heaven of the world

estos son los nobles arabes ke gastan su petropasta en marbella y tal, ojo no confundir con el mierdamoro ke cruza en patera ke es muy diferente una especie a otra XDDDDD

Behind the glitz of Dubai
GHAITH ABDUL-AHAD- Oct 28 2008 06:00
-Guardian News & Media 2008

The sun is setting and its dying rays cast triangles of light on to the bodies of the Indian workers. Two are washing themselves, scooping water from tubs in a small yard next to the labour camp's toilets. Others queue for their turn. The heat is suffocating and the sandy wind whips our faces. The sprinkles of water from men drying their clothes fall like welcome summer rain.

All around, a city of labour camps stretches out in the middle of the Arabian desert , a jumble of low, concrete barracks, corrugated iron, chicken-mesh walls, barbed wire, scrap metal, rusted machinery and thousands of men with tired and gloomy faces.

I have left Dubai 's spiralling towers, man-made islands and mega-malls behind and driven through the desert to the outskirts of the neighbouring city of Abu Dhabi . Turn right before the Zaha Hadid bridge, and a few hundred metres takes you to the heart of Mousafah, a ghetto-like neighbourhood of camps hidden away from the eyes of tourists. It is one of many areas around the Gulf set aside for an army of labourers building the icons of architecture that are mushrooming all over the region.

Behind the showers, in a yard paved with metal sheets, men stand silently in front of grease-blackened pans, preparing their dinner. A heavy smell of spices and body odour fills the air.

In a neighbouring camp, a group of Pakistani workers from north and south Waziristan sit exhaustedly sipping tea while one of them cooks outside. In the middle of the cramped room in which 10 men sleep, one worker in a filthy robe sits on the floor grinding garlic and onions with a mortar and pestle.

Hamidullah, a thin Afghan from Maydan, a village on the outskirts of Kabul , tells me: 'I spent five years in Iran and one year here, and one year here feels like 10 years. When I left Afghanistan I thought I would be back in a few months, but now I don't know when I will be back.'

Another worker, on a bunk bed next to him, adds: 'He called his home yesterday and they told him that three people from his village were killed in fighting. This is why we are here.'
Hamidullah earns about 450 dirhams a month as a construction worker. How is life? I ask. 'What life? We have no life here. We are prisoners. We wake up at five, arrive to work at seven and are back at the camp at nine in the evening, day in and day out.'

Outside in the yard another man sits on a chair made of salvaged wood, in front of a broken mirror, a plastic sheet wrapped around his neck, while the camp barber trims his beard. Despite the air of misery, tonight is a night of celebration. One of the men is back from a break in his home village in Pakistan , bringing with him a sack of rice, which he is cooking with meat. Rice is affordable at weekends only: already wretched incomes have been eroded by the weak dollar and rising food prices. 'Life is worse now,' one worker told me. 'Before, we could get by on 140 dirhams a month; now we need 320 to 350.'

The dozen or so men sit on news-papers advertising luxury watches, cellphones and high-rise towers. When three plastic trays arrive, filled with yellowish rice and tiny cubes of meat, each offers the rare shreds of meat to his neighbours.

All of these men are part of a huge scam that is helping the construction boom in the Gulf. Like hundreds of thousands of migrant workers, they each paid more than £1 000 to employment agents in India and Pakistan . They were promised double the wages they are actually getting, plus plane tickets to visit their families once a year, but none of the men in the room had actually read his contract. Only two of them knew how to read.
'They lied to us,' a worker says. 'Some of us sold our land; others took big loans to come and work here.'

Once they arrive in the United Arab Emirates migrant workers are treated little better than cattle, with no access to healthcare or many other basic rights. The company that sponsors them holds on to their passports -- and often a month or two of their wages to make sure that they keep working. And for this some will earn just 400 dirhams a month.
A group of construction engineers told me, with no apparent shame, that if a worker becomes too ill to work he will be sent home after a few days. 'They are the cheapest commodity here. Steel, concrete, everything is up, but workers are the same.'

Immigrant workers have no right to form unions, but that didn't stop strikes and riots spreading across the region recently -- something unheard of a few years ago. In Mousafah I encounter one of the few illegal unions, where workers have established a form of underground insurance scheme, based on the tribal structure back home. 'When we come here,' one member of the scheme tells me, 'we register with our tribal elders, and when one of us is injured and is sent home, or dies, the elders collect 30 dirhams from each of us and send the money home to his family.'

In a way, the men at Mousafah are the lucky ones. Down in the Diera quarter of old Dubai , where many of the city's illegal workers live, 20 men are often crammed into one small room. United Nations agencies estimate that there are up to 300 000 illegal workers in the emirates.

Like the rest of the Gulf region, Dubai and Abu Dhabi are being built by expat workers. They are strictly segregated and a hierarchy worthy of previous centuries prevails.
At the top, floating around in their black or white robes, are the locals, with their oil money. Immaculate and pampered, they own everything. Outside the 'free zones', where the rules are looser, no one can start a business in the UAE without a partner from the emirates, who often does nothing apart from lending his name. No one can get a work permit without a local sponsor.

Under the locals come the Western foreigners, the experts and advisers, making double the salaries they make back home, all tax free. Beneath them are the Arabs -- Lebanese and Palestinians, Egyptians and Syrians. What unites these groups is a mixture of pretension and racism.

At the base of the pyramid are the labourers, waiters, hotel employees and unskilled workers from India , Pakistan , Sri Lanka , Ethiopia , the Philippines and beyond. They move deferentially around the huge malls, cafés, bars and restaurants, bowing and calling people 'sir' and 'madam'. These are the victims of the racism that is not only flourishing in the UAE but is increasingly being exported to the rest of the Middle East .

One evening in Abu Dhabi , I have dinner with my friend Ali, a charming Iraqi engineer whom I have known for two decades. 'We will never use the new metro if it's not segregated,' he tells me, referring to the state-of-the-art underground system being built in Dubai . 'We will never sit next to Indians and Pakistanis with their smell,' his wife explains.
Not for the first time, I am told that while the immigrant workers are living in appalling conditions, they would be even worse off back home -- as if poverty in one place can justify exploitation in the other. 'We need slaves,' my friend says. 'We need slaves to build monuments. Look who built the pyramids -- they were slaves.'

Sharla Musabih, a human rights campaigner who runs the City of Hope shelter for abused women, is familiar with such sentiments. 'Once you get rich on the back of the poor, it's not easy to let go of that lifestyle.

'They are devaluing human beings,' she says. 'The workers might eat once a day back home, but they have their family- around them, they have respect.'

Back at the Mousafah camps, a Pakistani worker walks me through his neighbourhood. On both sides of the dusty lane stand concrete barracks and the familiar detritus: raw sewage, garbage, scrap metal. We enter a room, flip-flops piled by the door. Inside, a steelworker gets a pile of papers from an envelope and shoves them into my lap. He is suing the company that employed him for unpaid wages.

'I've been going to court for three months, and every time I go they tell me to come in two weeks.' His friends nod their heads. 'Last time the [company] lawyer told me, 'I am in the law here -- you will not get anything.''

'Economically, Dubai has progressed a lot in the past 10 years, but socially it has stayed behind,' says Musabih. 'Labour conditions are like the United States in the 19th century -- but that's not acceptable in the 21st century.'

ESTO VERDADERAMENTE ES HERMOSO...

yaa dubai is great.

All this talk about what dubai spends their money on. Geez about half of the US income taxes go to military spending. And the US spends just a bit less than what the rest of the world spends on military spending combined. You guys want to talk about schools? Do you want Dubai to give the US money for our piss poor public education system. And the talk about going green and not using oil anymore, that may have been true when gas was $4+ a gallon, but gas guzzlin cars, trucks, and suvs are making a comeback. California of all states is going bankrupt. How does this happen? If you want to say illegal immigration then why not just make it easier to give them work permits. They're going to come over one way or another, might as well tax them for it. But the idea of have even more Mexicans populate the states is somehow appalling to the white majority. Wasting more money on walls and fences and border security is ridiculous when it's already proven not to work. FYI It was the whites who invaded and illegally immigrated to Texas in the first place. How can anyone from America point fingers at anyone else for mismanagement of money?? This is a rant for all the ridiculous comments I've read. You point one finger and you got three more pointed at yourself. Can't everyone just be happy for one another and then maybe we can help each other and something good may actually come of it.

i think the angels of heaven would be jelous of Dubai............................

Muito bonita DUBAI eu gostei um sonho em mora em uma cidade linda.
parabens Arabens .

Bonita esta cidade, que predios, que crescimento e desenvolvimento. Fantastico.

De Portugal

fantastico,em breve o lugar mais bonito do planeta contruido pelo homem.

Sick, outmoded, unsustainable city. This is no model for the future.

well for now our little Moshe Aviv tower is still the tallest in the Middle East (occupied and not in debt way above its head)

I have lived in the middle east and say more power to 'em. Up until recently these undrpaid migrant workers were earning a lot more than they could have in their native country. I befriended several Pakisanis, Afganese and Thais and they all told me they were being empowered to purchase and pay for hames and farmland back home. A particular friend named Rana told me flat-out he chose to live a sub-standard life in Saudi Arabia so he could build his parents a home as he had already bought a home that his wife, children and parents were living at the time. And that was thirty years ago. So do not judge until you know the person. As far as the opulence...Never seen THAT in america?!?

Massive greed and wrong direction has made Dubai the mess that you can see.I just want to ask one question,where will all the people who plan to come and live in this desert get their food from.Are they going to invent capsules for breakfast,lunch and dinner.This sort of planning is ridiculous and should be stopped immediatelyThe environment of Dubai is not conducive to agriculture and you cannot have all the food being imported in containers with all the preservatives and artificial stuff added eventually making the whole population unhealthy and not fit..You can have all the artifical stuff but atleast food and water must be natural ..I am scared of the future and hope better sense prevails.

Dubai...where top 10% own 90& of the wealth. Been there once, will not go back.

Fantástica, essa cidade, meu sonho é conhecê-la e ver as maravilhas de Deus dando essa inteligência para os homens que a projetaram e colocaram em pratica.
Muitoooooooo Lindoooooooooo.

result of the petrol

Only a western nation, should be clean and nice. Not an Arab country. You people should kill each other and have a dirty place to live, just like we see on TV.

i wouold like to visit dubai

that,s very nice please send me alot of picture

Living in Dubai is not wonderful and glamorous, as many would have you believe. Forget about what you’ve read, seen, and heard; those shiny buildings and manmade islands are all just smoke and mirrors. There are so many things wrong with this place that I have decided to compile a list, a must read if you are considering a potential move to Dubai.

1. There is no standard address system making mail-to-the door delivery impossible. In fact, it makes anything nearly impossible. The taxi driver, here for only two days, and having learned English from old Beatles albums has no clue where your house is. He won’t tell you that of course, he’ll just keep calling and saying, “Okay, okay. Yeah, yeah.” When you purchase something that requires delivery they do not have an address line, but a box where you are expected to draw a map. Not able to draw a map? Explain like this: I live on the street after the airport road, but before the roundabout. Go past the mosque and make a U-turn.

2. The government blocks all web sites that it deems “offensive” to the “religious, moral, and cultural values” of the UAE. That’s hard to swallow for a freedom loving American, but I get it. I do not understand, however, why all VOIP access and related web sites are blocked. I guess the government also takes offense to people inexpensively contacting their families back home. You’re welcome to call using the analog service provided by the government-owned telephone monopoly, but it will cost you a whole lot more. So much so, in fact, your frequency of calls will be greatly diminished if you can afford them at all. The government says VOIP is blocked for security reasons, yet even the residents of communist China and North Korea have access to these inexpensive calls.
3. It is really hot outside. Not Florida in July hot; Hot as if you were locked in a car in Florida in July with sufficient humidity to make it feel as though you are drowning. Hot as in 120 degrees with nearly 100% humidity. Do not look to the wind for relief. This is the equivalent of pointing a hairdryer on full blast directly at your face. Pour fine moon dust-like sand over your head as you do this and you get the picture.

4. There are too few trees, plants, and grass – or living things aside from us crazy humans, for that matter. Ever see a bird pant? I have. In my opinion, human beings were not meant to live in such a place. If we were, there would be sufficient water and shade. The only greenery around are the roadside gardens planted by the government, who waters the hell out of them in the middle of the day. Thanks a lot! Didn’t you say we should cut down on our water consumption because you are unable to keep up with the demand? I have an idea: let’s all move someplace where it’s not 120 degrees outside.

5. This country prides itself so much on its glitz and glamour that it put a picture of its 7-star hotel on the license plate. Yet, the public toilets in the king-of-bling Gold Souk district are holes in the ground with no toilet paper or soap. Hoses to rinse your nether regions, however, are provided. This results in a mass of water on the floor that you must stand in to pee. Try squatting without touching anything and keeping your pants from touching anything either. Oh yeah. It’s 120 degrees in there too.

6. This country encourages businesses to hire people from other poor countries to come here and work. They have them sign contracts that are a decade long and then take their passports. Even though taking passports is supposedly illegal, the government knows it happens and does nothing to enforce the law. These poor people are promised a certain pay, but the companies neglect to tell them they will be deducting their cost of living from their paychecks, leaving them virtually penniless – that is, if they choose to pay them. Companies hold back paychecks for months at a time. When the workers strike as a result, they are jailed. Protesting is illegal, you see (apparently this law IS enforced).

These people will never make enough to buy a ticket home and even if they do, they do not have their passports. They live crammed in portables with tons of others, in highly unsanitary conditions. The kicker: they are building hotels that cost more to stay in for one night than they will make in an entire year. Things are so bad that a number of laborers are willing to throw themselves in front of cars because their death would bring their family affluence in the form of diya, blood money paid to the victim’s family as mandated by the government.

7. Things are not cheaper here. I’m sick of people saying that. I read the letters to the editor page of the paper and people say to those who complain about the cost of living rising here, “Well, it’s cheaper than your home country or you wouldn’t be here.” The only thing cheaper here is labor. Yes, you can have a maid – but a bag of washed lettuce will cost you almost $10.

8. There are traffic cameras everywhere. I consider this cheating. Where are the damn cops? I drove around this city for weeks before I ever even saw a cop. Trust me, they need traffic cops here. People drive like idiots. It’s perfectly okay to turn left from the far right lane, but speeding even just a couple of kilometers over will get you fined. These cameras are placed strategically as you come down hills, or just as the speed limit changes. Before you know it…BAM! Fined. Forget to pay the bill and your car will be impounded..

9. The clothing some of these women wear makes no sense to me. I understand that as part of your religion you are required to dress in a particular way, but a black robe over your jeans and turtleneck and cover your head when it is 120 degrees outside? In the gym some women wear five layers of clothing…sweatpants and t-shits over sweaters with headscarves. Yet the men’s clothing makes absolute sense: white, airy, and nothing underneath but their skivvies.

10. People stare at you. I am sick of being stared at. I’m stared at by men who have never seen a fair-skinned blue-eyed woman before, or who have and think we are all prostitutes so it’s okay to stare. They stare at me when I am fully covered or with my husband, and even follow me around. It’s beyond creepy and has brought me to tears on more than one occasion. The staring is not limited to men, either. I’m stared at angrily by female prostitutes who think I am running in on their territory by having a few drinks with my husband at the bar.

11. Prostitutes? Oh hell yes, there are prostitutes. Tons of them. So, let me get this straight, I can’t look at a naked picture of a person on the Internet in the privacy of my home, but it is okay to go out in public and buy a few for the night?

12. Alcohol can only be sold in hotels and a handful of private clubs. A person must own a liquor license to consume in the privacy of their own home. To obtain a liquor license you must get signed approval from your boss, prove a certain level of salary that determines how much you are allowed to buy, and then submit several mug shots (aka passport photos) for approval. Pay the fee and the additional 30% tax on every purchase and you may drink at home. Then again, you can just pick up a few bottles in the airport duty free on your way in to the country, but two is the max. Why not just drive out to Ajman where it’s a free-for-all and load up the SUV? It’s easy enough, but crossing the Emirates with alcohol is illegal – particularly in the dry emirate of Sharjah, which just happens to lie between Dubai and Ajman. Go figure.

13. Not only do you have to get your boss’s approval to obtain a liquor license, but you must also get the company’s approval to rent property, have a telephone, or get satellite TV.

14. Back to the craziness on the roads: If I see one more kid standing up and waving to me out the back window while flying down the road at 160 kph…whatever happened to seatbelts?

15. When is the weekend again? Let me get this straight: the weekend used to be Thursday and Friday, but no one took off all of Thursday, just a half day really. Now the government says Friday and Saturday are the weekend, but some people only take off Friday, others still take a half day on Thursday, but some might just take a half day on Saturday instead. Anyway you slice it, Sundays are workdays and little business can be accomplished Thursday through Saturday.

16. There are few satellite television operators:. The movie channels play movies that are old and outdated. Many of them went straight to video back in the States. Every sitcom that failed in the US has been purchased and is played here. Old episodes of Knight Rider are advertised like it is the coolest thing since sliced bread. The TV commercials are repeated so often that I am determined NOT to buy anything I see advertised on television here just for thee principle of it. When I say repeated often, I mean every commercial break - sometimes more than once.

17. The roads are horribly designed. Driving ten minutes out of the way to make a U-turn is not uncommon. People are not able to give directions most of the time (remember reason #1), and the maps are little help because most have few road names on them, if any. Where is interchange four? You just have to hope you got on the freeway in the right place and start counting because they are not numbered. Miss it and you’ll likely end up on the other side of town before you are able to turn around and go back.

18. Taxi drivers are dangerous and smell. Taxi drivers work very hard here to earn a living because travel by taxi is still relatively inexpensive, even though the cost of living is not (see reason #7). Because of this you may have a driver who has had little sleep or the opportunity to shower for several days. Many of these drivers have just as much difficulty finding their way around as you do, but add to this a third-world country driving style and extreme exhaustion and, well, remember to buckle up for safety.

19. Speeding is an Emirati sport and Emirates Road is just an extension of the Dubai Autodrome. I know I keep mentioning the roads, but really, much of this city’s issues are encompassed by the erratic and irrational behavior displayed on its streets. Visions of flashing lights on even flashier, limo-tinted SUVs haunt me as I merge on to the highway. Local nationals are somehow able to get the sun-protecting dark window tint denied to us lowly expats and use it to hide their faces as they tailgate you incessantly at unbelievably high speeds, their lights flickering on and off and horn blaring repeatedly. It doesn’t matter that you can’t get over, or if doing so would be particularly dangerous, they will run you off the road to get in front of you. Don’t even think about giving someone the finger; the offense could land you in jail. Tailgating is, unbelievably, legal.

20. Dubai is far from environmentally friendly. Ever wonder how much damage those manmade islands are doing to the delicate ocean ecosystem? Coral reefs, sea grasses, and oyster beds that were once part of protected marine lands lie choked under a barrage of dredged up sea sand. Consider the waste that occurs from erecting buildings on top of these sand monsters and from the people that occupy them coupled with the lack of an effective recycling program and you have an environmental disaster on your hands. Add to this more gas guzzling SUVs than fuel-efficient cars on the road and the need for 24-hour powerful air-conditioning and its evident that the environment is not high on the priority list of the UAE.

So while I’m sure there are benefits to living in Dubai, tax breaks, multi-cultural environments, and beautiful buildings aside, reconsider your plans to move here if any of the above mentioned reasons strikes a chord within you. Dubai is a city caught in an identity crisis. Struggling somewhere between its desire to be a playground for the rich and its adherence to traditional Islamic roots, rests a city that lacks sufficient infrastructure to support its delusions of grandeur. Visit if you must, but leave quickly before you are sucked into its calamitous void.

i am an American but not *seething* with jealousy over Dubai...i am wondering how in the world this rate of growth, construction, etc. is sustainable ? Especially in light of the growing global recession ? These Dubai developers actually expect to fill all these buildings with new companies, workers and tourists ? To wit: http://tinyurl.com/d8juew

never been to dubai,nice to go there as a tourist ,never never never live in dubai or any arab land.

I visited Dubai in Nov. 2007. It is impressive, I am originally from the Middle East and now live in the West. The massive scale of construction and ambition may seem the height of folly to some, but the audacity to dream large and execute is truly admirable. I feel there are weaknesses in the overall strategy, which will reveal themselves in these difficult times but, there will also be strengths.

Traditionally, the Arab nations had investments across the globe. These investments were typically on Western assets. These assets are now pretty useless paper. Instead they have invested into their own countries. At least they can look and touch what they have invested in. This I think was very smart.

The true wealth of a nation is it's population, natural resources and industries.The problem begins with industries which they don't really have nor is the hot climate favorable for it. Their population and work force is imported and the law of the land doesn't give citizenships which means they're not vested and transient. This doesn't create a consumer market for itself which is sustainable. It hopes of being a financial center, this is hard to achieve as finance has become digital and doesn't necessarily need a physical location. Though, currently the Islamic law based banks are doing a very healthy and solid business. They're counting on tourism and travel. This industry is also hurting from the global downturn. You draw your own conclusions.
http://resourcejoe.com/?p=139

hi, its really impressive city, growing very fast other than rest of world . It is a good tourist plcae found for holidays.Beaches r very clean &beutifull. Its very entertaning & refressing.

Rahul R. Wadhai, Nagpur India

hi, its really impressive city, growing very fast other than rest of world . It is a good tourist plcae found for holidays.Beaches r very clean &beutifull. Its very entertaning & refressing.

Rahul R. Wadhai, Nagpur India

dubai is one of the modern cities in the world

Dubai is unique. Use to love it but now this place is becoming too congested and crazy.Driving is a nightmare here and children are missing a lot of things..everything here are about shopping malls which is not balance for kids.People here segregated by nationality..which is very sad...(another thing that is not healthy for children upbringing.) There are never ending constructions.,it is so frustrating as roads can be blocked,diverted within 24 hours and traffic jammed is so bad. After living here for many years I still can get lost.I have enough!

they have built up their country with the hard working of under-paid, exploited labourers from asia.

How long will this country last??? blood suckers!!!!
Atleast developed countries treat everyone equal and pay everyone equally. I have lived in dubai and I absolutely hate the arab mentality. thank god, I am in britain now!!!!

"Meaningless! Meaningless!"
says the Teacher.
"Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless."

Ecclesiastes 1:2

on a long run. it will take years for this to come to pass.excellent idea.you will
not get the support.at the present things are bad all over the world. with the ripple effect.
come down on your prices,now then eventuly make your increases.look like a pardise.
Mr. P.J.Lococo

*** WHAT A 16 YEARS OLD AMERICAN GUY THINKS ***

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA......

very nise pic

I was born and lived 20 years in Dubai, yet I have no rights to that country. Residency and citizenship are non existent and if I were to ever go back I would need a visit visa, the same as someone who had never spent a day of his/her life there. The place is quite racist, sexist... At job interviews you need to let them know your marriage status, your nationality, children

I have lived in other places since then and while I know no place is perfect, I just wish to emphasise that being a tourist and actually living in a country are two very different things. Don't let the images fool you. It is far from being a heaven.

I live in UAE because i am a son of UAE, 100% UAE local, but to be honest, i don't like the lifestyle here, and that way of development in Dubai making us to feel more sad and disappointed than be happy and hope, so if i have a choice to live in Dubai or say London or New York for example definitely i will choose London or New York without thinking, as it was saying, Dubai try to develop fast to try to beat another famous cities in the world but without thinking of the effect side of that, and now we are paying the cost everyday here in UAE.

dubai is a luxurious city 4 to live agood life. i also want to come but i dont have oppourtunity 2 come there.

With the exception of the bible's describtion of Heaven, DUBAI-UAE is next to nothing. I went I saw and I marvelled. If you plan a holiday just pause, is it in the emirates?, if not plan again. Dubai is a must visit. Everything ever built is to perfection, I mean PERFECT finish. DUBAI!, I am in love I shall be there again and again.

Hey. There is still a difference between something and nothing, but it is purely geometrical and there is nothing behind the geometry.
I am from Tonga and know bad English, give please true I wrote the following sentence: "Wholesale hawaii vacations, discount airfares, airline tickets, and packages."

Thanks for the help 8-), Saree.

Simplesmente fantásticas, essas imagens.

Adoro passear por aqui. Amo fotografias e essas, são para mim, as melhores da internet.

Grande abraço!

Very nice site!

Amazing!!
It is utterly spellbounding =P

Lol the americans are soo jealous =P
Face it Idiots ...U had to decline someday !

Yes i have read alot of comments paraising and dissing this place. The sheikhs of dubai need to be careful of what type of attractions they are building i.e night clubs, places that are simply haram/forbidden in islam. Such places exist in dubai which brings me to a question Are the decendants of the Prophet (pbuh) totally ignoring what the prophet (pbuh) lived for? Lets not forget that Dubai is next to the coast and the only one to bring disaster is the most high ALLAH.

hiya, i am sheraz from pakistan, i am 28 year old,and i am a first year student, i love dubai,i like him,i love u dubai,

i love dubai it is so beautiful city may Allah Give More devolp to this ctiy

"most negativecomments come from westerners"

its not negative its rational. what is the point of all of this skyscraper crap?
what you want to stand on the highest tower on earth? great well done, enjoy, sit on an aeroplane, what is there that you haven't already seen? what is there not enough of on earth that you need more more more, higher higher higher, bigger brighter, shinnier, glossier, golden, diamonds, money gimmie gimmie.
is that what this is? what about all the starving, dying indian workers who are slaving away building this crap so r so that millionares can sit in a room made of glass, o . oooh brilliant, this is the future??

very nice,its great country...

IT IS A GREAT WORK BEEN PUT TOGETHER BY POEPLE OF HIGH INTELIGENT I CAN FRANKLY SAY YOU HAVE DONE A VERY NICE JOB AND I SAY MORE GREACE TO YHOUR ELBOW

amazing!!!!!
i wish to be there to see with my own eyes the beautiful of DUBAI CITY ...
love DUBAI...

really amazing city . best of one in world..