How and thanks to whom Dubai has turned from a small settlement in the desert to a land of luxury and wealth

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Once it was only a small settlement, defeated by the advancing desert, where the inhabitants honestly and without special pretensions toiled, providing themselves with food. But that is in the past. Now Dubai focuses only on rich guests, which is understandable: without them, this richest city simply cannot survive. How not to survive and to that newcomer who cannot be useful here - with his wallet or rather hard work.

Dubai's past

Dubai is the capital of the emirate of the same name, located on the Arabian Peninsula. The coastline stretches for almost 80 kilometers.

About nine thousand years ago, this coast of the Persian Gulf was covered with mangrove forests, they rose above the territory flooded by the sea tides. Over time, the coastline changed, on one side the desert was advancing, on the other - the sea. The first settlement on the site of modern Dubai arose in the third millennium BC; nomads, whose main occupation was cattle breeding, arranged temporary dwellings here. Later, they were already engaged in agriculture - they grew the date palm, and in addition, they were engaged in pearl mining and fishing.

Trade also developed - thanks to its favorable geographical location and access to the sea. Etymologically, the word "Dubai" is associated with the Arabic "young locust" - once these insects were found in those parts in large numbers. The city of Dubai was founded at the end of the 18th century by the Bani Yas family who came from Abu Dhabi. In the next century, this territory, along with other countries located along the coast, came under the influence of Great Britain, and until the middle of the 20th century, the United Kingdom somehow determined the policy of Dubai: the British had a monopoly on sea transportation along the Persian Gulf.

Despite the domination of Europeans, the indigenous people of Dubai managed to maintain their identity, and although it is currently impossible to find ancient buildings in the city, traditions and culture have been preserved since ancient times, without being particularly influenced by the British. Formally, Dubai came out of control of Great Britain in 1892. One of the main advantages of the city was its geographical location, Dubai was a large seaport located not far from India and the states of Europe. That is why it was always possible to meet here in a large number of traders and merchants. The main income for the locals was searching for pearls, but in the thirties of the last century the Japanese began to produce artificial pearls, and therefore this traditional form of earning fell into decay.

How trade and oil turned a small town into a large shopping and entertainment center

In the forties, the ruler of Dubai Sheikh Said ibn Maktoum relied on foreign economic relations, the port of Dubai became the largest on the coast during the years of his power, the population increased several times.

By that time, oil had already been discovered in the Persian Gulf, and in 1966 its field was discovered in Dubai as well. The mining and processing of black gold began, foreigners began to flock to the city to work, the volume of investments increased sharply. The income of the emirate, and with it the local population, grew.

Tax conditions were eased, and businessmen flocked to Dubai. The Gulf War of 1990-1991 also played a role, when Dubai actively sold fuel and other oil products to the armed forces of other states. And if back in the nineties on the site of the future capital of luxury there was a low-rise and not particularly remarkable city, then further the economic development of the city went on increasing, without stopping for a day - right up to the present time. The prosperity of the emirate depends on oil only conditionally - this is not the strategic advantage of Dubai.

The economy of the state continued to develop after the death of Sheikh Said, thanks to the fact that the policy of the ruling family remained unchanged.

Wealth, luxury, curiosities

Dubai made a bet on the rich - and it was right. In this city, those who came to spend are accepted as kings, while those who are ready to invest their labor in its prosperity are provided only with the conditions necessary for their existence. Losers in Dubai have nothing to do: there is no infrastructure in the usual European sense, in the absence of their own car it is inconvenient and too hot to move around the city - in summer the air temperature is about 50 degrees Celsius; conditions for pedestrians and public transport passengers are rather poor. Only the recently opened metro makes you feel like a welcome guest of Dubai.

Those who were born in the emirate, which means, by default, are a wealthy person, and those who have come to buy as much of the best as possible are provided with dizzying opportunities. In Dubai, there is a lot of "most": the tallest building in the world - Burj Khalifa, the world's largest shopping and entertainment center - Dubai Mall, seven-star Burj Al Arab hotel. Here is perhaps the largest number of "miracles" that allow you to spend money comfortably and luxuriously.

For those who love historical monuments and artifacts, Dubai may be boring: this is not something worth coming for. There are no old buildings in Dubai, but a very authentic imitation of a fishing village of the last century has been created, where the appearance and atmosphere of that time are accurately and accurately reproduced.

Over the past couple of decades, Dubai has experienced dizzying changes. Now it is difficult to imagine this city without its luxurious bulk islands - "palm trees", where houses cost fabulous money, without expensive yachts, without the world's best hotels and restaurants, without a singing fountain and light shows. All this is necessary for Dubai to attract tourists - and help them shell out more and more.

The Emirate of Dubai is one of the seven states in the UAE, the largest in terms of population. Almost three million people live here, of which about one tenth are indigenous.

Abu Dhabi, the neighboring largest of the emirates in terms of area, is not far behind Dubai. In 2017, it opened here, neither more nor less, a branch of the Parisian Louvre.