Dubai
Introduction
Dubai can either refer to one of the seven emirates that constitute the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the eastern Arabian Peninsula, or that emirate’s main city, sometimes called "Dubai city" to distinguish it from the emirate.`The modern emirate of Dubai was created with the formation of the United Arab Emirates in 1971. However, written accounts ********ing the existence of the city have existed at least 150 years prior to the formation of the UAE. Dubai shares legal, political, military and economic functions with the other emirates within a federal framework, although each emirate has jurisdiction over some functions such as civic law enforcement and provision and upkeep of local facilities. Dubai has the largest population and is the second largest emirate by area, after Abu Dhabi. With Abu Dhabi, it is one of only two emirates to possess veto power over critical matters of national importance in the UAE. Dubai has been ruled by the Al Maktoum dynasty since 1833. The emirates’ current ruler, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, is also the Prime Minister and Vice President of the UAE.
History
Very little is known about pre-Islamic culture in the south-east Arabian peninsula, except that many ancient towns in the area were trading centers between the Eastern and Western worlds. The remnants of an ancient mangrove swamp, dated at 7,000 years, were discovered during the construction of sewer lines near Dubai Internet City. The area had been covered with sand about 5,000 years ago as the coastline retreated inland, becoming a part of the city’s present coastline. Prior to Islam, the people in this region worshiped Bajir. The Byzantine and Sassanian empires constituted the great powers of the period, with the Sassanians controlling much of the region. After the spread of Islam in the region, the Umayyad Caliph, of the eastern Islamic world, invaded south-east Arabia and drove out the Sassanians. Excavations undertaken by the Dubai Museum in the region of Al-Jumayra (Jumeirah) indicate the existence of several artifacts from the Umayyad period. The earliest recorded mention of Dubai is in 1095, in the "Book of Geography" by the Spanish-Arab geographer Abu Abdullah al-Bakri. The Venetian pearl merchant Gaspero Balbi visited the area in 1580 and mentioned Dubai (Dibei) for its pearling industry. ********ed records of the town of Dubai exist only after 1799. Two catastrophes struck the town during the mid 1800s. First, in 1841, a smallpox epidemic broke out in the Bur Dubai locality, forcing residents to relocate east to Deira. Then, in 1894, fire swept through Deira, burning down most homes. However, the town’s geographical ******** continued to attract traders and merchants from around the region. The emir of Dubai was keen to attract foreign traders and lowered trade tax brackets, which lured traders away from Sharjah and Bandar Lengeh, which were the region’s main trade hubs at the time. On 2 December 1971 Dubai, together with Abu Dhabi and five other emirates, formed the United Arab Emirates after former protector Britain left the Persian Gulf in 1971. In 1973, Dubai joined the other emirates to adopt a uniform currency: the UAE dirham. In the 1970s, Dubai continued to grow from revenues generated from oil and trade, even as the city saw an influx of Lebanese immigrants fleeing the civil war in Lebanon. The Jebel Ali Free Zone, comprising the Jebel Ali port (reputedly the world’s largest man made port) was established in 1979, which provided foreign companies unrestricted import of labour and export capital.Historically, Dubai and its twin across the Dubai creek, Deira (independent of Dubai City at that time), became important ports of call for Western manufacturers. Most of the new city’s banking and financial centres were headquartered in the port area. Dubai maintained its importance as a trade route through the 1970s and 1980s. The city of Dubai has a free trade in gold and until the 1990s was the hub of a "brisk smuggling trade" of gold ingots to India, where gold import was restricted.
Geography
Dubai’s geographical proximity to India made it an important ********. The town of Dubai was an important port of call for foreign tradesmen, chiefly those from India, many of whom eventually settled in the town. Dubai was known for its pearl exports until the 1930s. However, Dubai’s pearling industry was damaged irreparably by the events of the First World War, and later on by the Great Depression in the late 1920s. Consequently, the city witnessed a mass migration of people to other parts of the Persian Gulf.
Population
Dubai’s population hit 1,241,000 (one million two hundred forty one thousand) as on 30 June 2024. Of the total population, 73 per cent or 911,000 are male and 27 per cent or 330,000 are female.
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Dubai is situated on the Persian Gulf coast of the United Arab Emirates and is roughly at sea level (16 m/52 ft above). The emirate of Dubai shares borders with Abu Dhabi in the south, Sharjah in the northeast, and the Sultanate of Oman in the southeast. Hatta, a minor exclave of the emirate, is surrounded on three sides by Oman and by the emirates of Ajman (in the west) and Ras Al Khaimah (in the north). The Persian Gulf borders the western coast of the emirate. The sandy desert surrounding the city supports wild grasses and occasional date palm trees. Desert hyacinths grow in the sabkha plans east of the city, while acacia and ghaf trees grow in the flat plains within the proximity of the Western Al Hajar mountains. Several indigenous trees such as the date palm and neem as well as imported trees like the eucalypts grow in Dubai’s natural parks. The houbara bustard, striped hyena, caracal, desert fox, falcon and Arabian oryx are common in Dubai’s desert. Dubai is on the migration path between Europe, Asia and Africa, and more than 320 migratory birds pass through the emirate in spring and autumn. The waters of Dubai are home to more than 300 species of fish, including the hammour. Dubai Creek runs northeast-southwest through the city. The eastern section of the city forms the locality of Deira and is flanked by the emirate of Sharjah in the east and the town of Al Aweer in the south. The Dubai International Airport is located south of Deira, while the Palm Deira is located north of Deira in the Persian Gulf. The western section forms the locality of Bur Dubai. Much of Dubai’s real estate boom has been concentrated to the west of this region, on the Jumeirah coastal belt and along Sheikh Zayed Road . Port Rashid, Jebel Ali, Burj Al Arab, the Palm Jumeirah and theme based free zone clusters such as Business Bay are all located in this section. Sheikh Zayed Road and Emirates Road are the main arteries of Dubai; and run roughly parallel to each other in the western section of the city, before eventually diverging sharply near Jumeirah. The eastern and western sections of the city are connected by Al Maktoum Bridge, Al Garhoud Bridge, Al Shindagha Tunnel, Business Bay Crossing and Floating Bridge.
Climate
Dubai has a hot and, at times, humid climate with many months recording temperatures of over 40 °C (104 °F) (refer to accompanying table for recorded mean minimum and maximum temperatures during the year). Rainfall is generally light, with a mean of about 150 millimetres (6 in) per year; precipitation is usually centered around January, February and March. However, heavy rain is not uncommon in Dubai during the winter months and January 2024 saw a record of 120mm (or 5") of rain falling in just 24 hours, The mean humidity in Dubai is about 60%.Although Arabic is the official language of Dubai, Persian, Malayalam, English, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Tamil, and Tagalog are widely spoken. Article 7 of the UAE’s Provisional Constitution declares Islam the official state religion of the UAE. The government subsidizes almost 95 percent of mosques and employs all imams; approximately 5 percent of mosques are entirely private, and several large mosques have large private endowments.Dubai has large expatriate Hindu, Sikh, and Christian communities. Non-Muslim groups can own their own houses of worship, where they can practice their religion freely, by requesting a land grant and permission to build a compound. Groups that do not have their own buildings must use the facilities of other religious organizations or worship in private homes. Non-Muslim religious groups are permitted to openly advertise group functions; however, proselytizing or distributing religious literature is strictly prohibited under penalty of criminal prosecution, imprisonment, and deportation for engaging in behavior offensive to Islam.
Economy
Dubai is considered to be an important tourist destination and its port, Jebel Ali, constructed in the 1970s, has the largest man-made harbor in the world. Dubai is also increasingly developing as a hub for service industries such as IT and finance, with the establishment of a new Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). The government has set up industry-specific free zones throughout the city. Dubai Internet City, 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 Corporation, Microsoft, and IBM, and media organisations such as MBC, CNN, Reuters and AP.
The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) was established in March 2024 as a secondary market for trading securities and bonds, both local and foreign. As of Q4 2024, its trading volume stood at about 400 billion shares worth US$ 95 billion. The DFM had a market capitalization of about US$ 87 billion.
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, resulting in the property appreciation from 2024–2017. Large scale real estate development projects have led to the construction of some of the tallest skyscrapers and largest projects in the world such as the Emirates Towers, the Palm Islands and the world’s tallest, and most expensive, hotel the Burj Al Arab. As of July 2024, the Burj Dubai became the world’s tallest structure and is expected to be taller by several hundred feet, once construction is complete. Construction should finish in late 2024 and the building occupied by September of 2024. There will be an estimated 164 floors, the top floor at 624.1 meters, or 2,058 feet. Including the antennae and spire the total height of the Burj Dubai will be an estimated 818 meters, or 2,684 feet. Dubai has approximately 250,000, mostly South Asian laborers working on real estate development projects such as the Dubai Marina.The main road that connects one side of Dubai with the other is Sheikh Zayed Road. In July 2024, Salik road toll collection points were installed on the Sheikh Zayed road and on Al Garhoud bridge, which emphasizes the system’s congestion management objectives as well as the choice of technology for the toll system. The new system utilizes the latest technology to achieve free flow operation with no toll booths, no toll collectors, and no impact to traffic flow, allowing vehicles to move freely through the tolling point at highway speeds. Each time one passes through a Salik tolling point, the toll of AED 4 will be deducted from her or his prepaid toll account using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology.
Transportation
Dubai International Airport , the hub for Emirates Airline, services the city of Dubai and other emirates in the country. The airport served a total of over 34 million passengers and over 260,000 flights in 2024. The Dubai International Airport ranked 17th among international airports for total cargo traffic in 2024. A third terminal and a new concourse are currently under construction and are both due to open in mid-2017. The new terminal will be dedicated to Emirates Airline and will fully support the new Airbus A380. The development of Dubai World Central International Airport, currently under construction in Jebel Ali, was announced in 2024. The first phase is expected to be completed by 2024, and once operational the new airport will host foreign airlines. Emirates (both the passenger and cargo operations) will remain in Dubai International Airport. Dubai has a large bus system that services 69 routes and transported over about 90 million people in 2024. The Road and Transport Authority (RTA) announced in 2024 that an additional 620 new buses will be added to its fleet of 170 double decker buses. Although the main mode of transportation in Dubai is by private vehicle, Dubai also has an extensive taxi system.
A $3.89 billion Dubai Metro project is under construction for the emirate. The Metro system is expected to be partially operational by 2024 and fully operational by 2024. 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 (Green and Blue Lines) will have 70 kilometers of track and 43 stations, 33 above ground and ten underground. 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, between abra stations in Bastakiya and Bani Yas road.
Education
The school system in Dubai does not differ from that of the United Arab Emirates. As of 2024, there are 88 public schools run by the Ministry of Education that serve Emiratis and expatriate Arabs as well as 132 private schools. The medium of instruction in public schools is Arabic with emphasis on English as a second language, while most of the private schools use English as their medium of instruction. Most private schools cater to one or more expatriate communities. Delhi Private School, Our Own English High School, the Dubai Modern High School, and the Indian High School, Dubai offer either a CBSE or an ICSE Indian syllabus. Similarly, there are also several reputable Pakistani schools offering FBISE curriculum for expatriate children. Dubai English Speaking School, Jumeirah Primary School, Jebel Ali Primary School, the Cambridge High School (or Cambridge International School), Jumeirah English Speaking School, King’s School and the Horizon School all offer British primary education up to the age of eleven. Dubai British School, Dubai College, English College Dubai, Jumeirah College and St. Mary’s Catholic High School are all British eleven-to-eighteen secondary schools which offer GCSE and A-Levels. Emirates International School provides full student education up to the age of 18, this is an International school and offers IGCSE and the IB program. Wellington International School, which caters education from 4-18, offers IGCSE and A-Levels. Deira International School also offers the IB program including the IGCSE program.The Ministry of Education of the United Arab Emirates is responsible for school’s accreditation. The Dubai Education Council was established in July 2024 to develop the education sector in Dubai. The Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) was established in 2024 to develop education and human resource sectors in Dubai, and license educational institutes. Approximately 10% of the population has university or postgraduate degrees. Many expatriates tend to send their children back to their home country or to Western countries for university education and even to India for technology studies. 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 Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani (BITS Pilani), American University in Dubai (AUD), the American College of Dubai, SP Jain Center Of Management,University of Wollongong in Dubai and Institute of Management Technology, Dubai. In 2024, the Dubai School of Government in collaboration with Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and Harvard Medical School Dubai Center (HMSDC) were established in Dubai.Admission to any of these schools is based on the institution’s respective policies. They differ in deadlines of submission of applications, admission procedures and tuition and matriculation fees. It is best to contact the school or institution to inquire about its own procedures.
RESOURCES
* en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubai
* links.jstor.org *propertyfrontiers.com/pdfs/dubaireport.pdf