Peering through the glass on the 124th floor of the world’s tallest building, the office blocks and apartments dotted below seem to forfeit the right to be called ‘skyscrapers’ in the shadow of the behemoth that now lords over them.
Shimmering green in the desert sun, its layered design reminds me of the Emerald City in The Wizard of Oz- Patrick Cooke
Patches of irrigated greenery add a dash of colour to the dusty ground; a busy highway and innocuous low density buildings stretch into the desert abyss, and through the October haze I can just make out one of the man-made palm islands and the now famous dhow sail shape of the seven-star Burj Al Arab hotel on the waters of the Persian Gulf.
Standing there in the heavens I can’t help but wonder – where the heck am I?
It’s a question I find myself asking often during my short but undeniably enjoyable stay in Dubai. This is a city that rises from the dust, situated in the heart of one of the most socially conservative and – in recent decades at least – volatile regions on the planet. Yet it is swimming in decadence, westerners flock here for holidays or tax free salaries and alcohol is drunk freely by non-muslims (and illicitly by some muslims) in the bars.
In an effort to see what life was like before the boom, I spend my first morning on an ‘Old Dubai Tour’ with Arabian Adventures, the Emirates Group’s destination management company.
My guide is unfailingly friendly, polite and knowledgeable, but before we see ‘old’ Dubai he insists we make a photo stop at the Burj Khalifa, the aforementioned world’s tallest building that stands at an impressive 828 metres tall and houses, among other things, the world’s first Armani hotel.
Opened in January 2010, it seems almost obscenely tall and can be seen from all over the city and beyond, defiant against the ever present haze.
Shimmering green in the desert sun, its layered design reminds me of the Emerald City in TheWizard of Oz, and 60 years ago the possibility of such a structure ever being built in Dubai would have seemed just as fanciful as the flying monkeys and munchkins in that classic film.
Next, I am taken to the Madinat Jumeirah, an area of restaurants, bars and shops built around waterways to resemble a traditional Arabian souk, with wind towers and lantern lit hallways. Only it’s not a traditional Arabian souk – it’s purpose-built and forms part of a luxurious five-star resort owned by the company that also owns the Burj Al Arab.
That’s not to say it isn’t impressive and it wouldn’t be a lovely place to spend an evening, but it makes you wonder what happened to the real thing.
I find out later as I’m led through the Al Bastakiya area, Dubai’s tiny ‘historical district’ of winding alleys and late 19th- and 20th century wind towers which once dominated the horizon. My guide proudly tells me that people were still living there just over 20 years ago.
“The government paid for them to move to modern houses and apartments and now this area is has been renovated and preserved so that tourists can see what life was like before.”
He obviously thinks that is a good thing. After all, who needs a traditional wind tower when you can have air-conditioning in your brand new apartment, with views of man-made islands in the Gulf, or man-made towers in the sky?
Hmmm. I’d presumed there would be at least a few pockets of traditional life left in a city that has grown from small trading port, to oil boom town, to a global capital of financial services, property deals and tourism in half a century. But life has changed so fast that the only remnants of old settlements still standing now house cafes, galleries and museums, giving tourists a glimpse of what life was like just a few generations ago.
That said, the nearby Dubai Museum – housed in Al Fahidi Fort, Dubai’s oldest remaining building, dating from 1787 – has some interesting exhibits on life before the discovery of oil in 1966, complete with life-sized models of Arabs engaged in traditional activities like pearl diving and trading.
But if you find that the pulse is faint in Al Bastakiya, and the museum’s life-sized models lack, erm, life, across Dubai Creek in Deira’s gold and spice souks the heart beats much stronger.
This area began to really expand after the discovery of oil, but in a much more haphazard way than the carefully planned developments Dubai is now famous for. It’s a vibrant, multicultural district that feels much less Westernised than other areas of the city – Iranians, Indians, Pakistanis, east Asians and Africans are all here peddling their wares or looking for a bargain.
Later that afternoon I leave the city behind and head out into the desert, this time in one of Arabian Adventures 4x4s driven by another gregarious guide. Our destination is Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, the largest protected land area in the United Arab Emirates.
This is a different world – just sand dunes and sky... and a large convoy of 4x4s. At the edge of the reserve all cars stop to deflate their tyres, then they bound onto the dunes as the guides transform into rally drivers and career over the dunes, eliciting laughter and screams (and, judging by one car, vomit) from their passengers.
After a falconry display and the odd sighting of an Arabian oryx or gazelle, the cars drive on to a rendezvous site deep in the reserve, where they park up to watch the dramatic sunset, the sky blending orange with the sand as the sun disappears into the dunes in a matter of minutes.
It’s then onto a desert camp for a thoroughly enjoyable if obviously clichéd Arabian nights-style evening of camel riding, belly dancing, barbecue food and wine before we head back in convoy to our five-star hotels in the city.
The next day I head even further afield – back in the 4x4 with my guide, we head for the Hajar Mountains on a journey that takes us eventually into neighbouring Oman. The contrast from the city is stark – towns and settlements appear intermittently along the highway and for the first time I see one-storey buildings, some of them with corrugated roofs, their owners sitting outside waiting patiently for passing trade.
As we enter the dark, jagged Hajar Mountains my guide tells me that belief in genies is still widespread in the region. Forget what you think you know about genies and lamps – in this area they are thought to be spirits who inhabit the empty canyons, ravines and dwellings and are capable of mischief and evil deeds. ‘The genie did it’ is no doubt a popular excuse among the local kids.
Despite Dubai only receiving 150 mm of rainfall a year on average, it had rained heavily in this area the week before and we were rewarded at a wadi (valley) surrounded by high rock walls that had filled with fresh water and was perfect for a cooling mountain swim.
Somehow, this remote mountain pool was full of those little fish that supposedly give you a pedicure and are very much ‘in vogue’ in Malta these days – a nice novelty for sure, but not so fun when they start swimming up your shorts.
You can combine thrills, spills, sun, sea and shopping with a selective taste of Arabia- Patrick Cooke
On the way back we stop at a camel farm where a farmhand allows us to feed some of the ravenous animals with carrots. With no previous experience of making small talk with a camel farmhand, I plump for what I’m sure is a safe question.
“Is it easy to milk a camel?” I ask. “You can milk anything if you tie its legs together,” is the reply, delivered in a manner that causes me to fold my arms defensively over my nipples.
The farm includes a shop that sells luxury chocolate made from camel milk – a unique and surprisingly tasty present to take back home.
Of course, it’s not tradition, nor desert, nor mountains, nor genies that bring most of the millions of visitors a year to Dubai.
Beyond the world’s biggest mall and the world’s tallest building, there are countless top class eateries, swish bars and nightclubs located in skyscrapers and luxury hotels, miles of white sandy beaches and an ever expanding portfolio of world class leisure facilities.
One of them is Aquaventure at the Atlantis Resort on The Palm Jumeira island, which I visit on my final day. This is a water park that boasts its own private beach offering stunning views of the city in the distance. Its main attraction is the ‘Leap of Faith’, a near vertical drop slide that propels those who dare through a shark-filled lagoon in a transparent tunnel.
For all my reservations about Dubai – and it does feel like a tenuous place, still unsure of its identity and slightly uncomfortable with its direction – it is hard to argue against it as a luxury leisure destination; you can combine thrills, spills, sun, sea and shopping with a selective taste of Arabia, largely without the risks, restrictions and instability associated with other countries in the region.
They say things built on sand are not made to last, but after seemingly surviving the credit crisis which engulfed it in 2008 and 2009, Dubai seems here to stay as a luxury destination, genies permitting...
Patrick Cooke flew and stayed in Dubai courtesy of Emirates Airline. Emirates operates flights on a daily schedule from Malta to Dubai via Larnaka, Cyprus.