What You Need To Know

Dubai is the most populous city in the UAE. It is located on the southeast coast of the Persian Gulf and is the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, one of the seven emirates that make up the country. Abu Dhabi and Dubai are the only two emirates to have veto power over critical matters of national importance in the country’s legislature. The city of Dubai is located on the emirate’s northern coastline and heads up the Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area. Dubai is to host World Expo 2020. Dubai has emerged as a global city and business hub of the Middle East. It is also a major transport hub for passengers and cargo. By the 1960s, Dubai’s economy was based on revenues from trade and, to a smaller extent, oil exploration concessions, but oil was not discovered until 1966. Oil revenue first started to flow in 1969. Dubai’s oil revenue helped accelerate the early development of the city, but its reserves are limited and production levels are low: today, less than 5% of the emirate’s revenue comes from oil. The emirate’s Western-style model of business drives its economy with the main revenues now coming from tourism, aviation, real estate, and financial services. Dubai has recently attracted world attention through many innovative large construction projects and sports events. The city has become iconic for its skyscrapers and high-rise buildings, in particular the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. Dubai has been criticised for human rights violations concerning the city’s largely South Asian workforce. Dubai’s property market experienced a major deterioration in 2008–09 following the financial crisis of 2007–08, but the emirate’s economy has made a return to growth, with a projected 2015 budget surplus. As of 2012, Dubai is the 22nd most expensive city in the world and the most expensive city in the Middle East.  In 2014, Dubai’s hotel rooms were rated as the second most expensive in the world, after Geneva. Dubai was rated as one of the best places to live in the Middle East by U.S. global consulting firm Mercer.

Area: 4,114 km²

Population: 2.503 million

Currency

• The name of the currency in Dubai and the United Arab Emirates is the dirham (AED or Arab EmirateDirham – also commonly abbreviated to Dhs or DH). Notes come in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1,000 dirhams.

Culture

The UAE culture mainly revolves around the religion of Islam and traditional Arab culture. The influence of Islamic and Arab culture on its architecture, music, attire, cuisine and lifestyle are very prominent as well. Five times every day, Muslims are called to prayer from the minarets of mosques which are scattered around the country. Since 2006, the weekend has been Friday-Saturday, as a compromise between Friday’s holiness to Muslims and the Western weekend of Saturday-Sunday. The city’s cultural imprint as a small, ethnically homogenous pearling community was changed with the arrival of other ethnic groups and nationals—first by the Iranians in the early 1900s, and later by Indians and Pakistanis in the 1960s. In 2005, 84% of the population of metropolitan Dubai was foreign-born, about half of them from India. Due to the touristic approach of many Dubaites in the entrepreneurial sector and the high standard of living, Dubai’s culture has gradually evolved towards one of luxury, opulence and lavishness with a high regard for leisure-related extravagance.  Annual entertainment events such as the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) and Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS) attract over 4 million visitors from across the region and generate revenues in excess of $2.7 billion. Major holidays in Dubai include Eid al Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan, and National Day (2 December), which marks the formation of the United Arab Emirates. The International Festivals and Events Association (IFEA), the world’s leading events trade association, has crowned Dubai as IFEA World Festival and Event City, 2012 in the cities category with a population of more than one million. Large shopping malls in the city, such as Deira City Centre, Mirdiff City Centre, BurJuman, Mall of the Emirates,Dubai Mall (the world’s largest) and Ibn Battuta Mall as well as traditional souks attract shoppers from the region.

Dubai Shopping Festival

The Dubai Shopping Festival is a yearly event in Dubai, It started in 1995, attracts a lot of visitors from worldwide to visit Dubai and get advantage of the sales during this festival. In 2015 it started from 1 January and went until 1 February, but, The Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing in Dubai announced the cessation of all entertainment and musical activities related to the Dubai Shopping Festival for 3 days, starting from Friday, 23 January to Sunday, 25 January due to the death of King Abdullah bin Abdulazizformer ruler of Saudi Arabia.

Dubai Food Festival

The inaugural Dubai Food Festival was held between 21 February to 15 March 2014. According to Vision magazine, the event was aimed at enhancing and celebrating Dubai’s position as the gastronomic capital of the region. The festival was designed to showcase the variety of flavors and cuisines on offer in Dubai featuring the cuisines of over 200 nationalities at the festival. The next food festival will be between 22 February 2016 to 21 March 2016.

Economy

One of the world’s fastest growing economies. Dubai’s gross domestic product is projected at US$107.1 billion, with a growth rate of 6.1% in 2014. Although a number of core elements of Dubai’s trading infrastructure were built on the back of the oil industry, revenues from oil and natural gas account for less than 5% of the emirate’s revenues. It is estimated that Dubai produces 50,000 to 70,000 barrels (7,900 to 11,100 m³) of oil a day and substantial quantities of gas from offshore fields. The emirate’s share in the UAE’s total gas revenues is about 2%. Dubai’s oil reserves have diminished significantly and are expected to be exhausted in 20 years. Real estate and construction (22.6%), trade (16%), entrepôt (15%) and financial services (11%) are the largest contributors to Dubai’s economy. Dubai’s non-oil foreign trade stood at $362 billion in 2014. Of the overall trade volumes, imports had the biggest share with a value of $230 billion while exports and re-exports to the emirate stood at $31 billion and $101 billion respectively. By 2014, China had emerged as Dubai’s largest international trading partner, with a total of $47.7 billion in trade flows, up 29% from 2013. India was second among Dubai’s key trading partners with a trade of $29.7 billion, followed by the United States at $22.62 billion. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was Dubai’s fourth trading partner globally and first in the GCC and Arab world with a total trade value of $14.2 billion. Trade with Germany in 2014 totalled $12.3, Switzerland and Japan both at $11.72 billion and UK trade totalled $10.9 billion. Historically, Dubai and its twin across Dubai Creek, Deira (independent of Dubai City at that time), were 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. 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. Dubai’s Jebel Ali port, constructed in the 1970s, has the largest man-made harbour in the world and was ranked seventh globally for the volume of container traffic it supports. Dubai is also a hub for service industries such as information technology and finance, with 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 Hewlett-Packard, EMC Corporation, Oracle Corporation, Microsoft, Dell and IBM, and media organisations such as MBC, CNN, BBC, Reuters, Sky News and AP.

Dress Code

The Emirati attire is typical of several countries in the Arabian peninsula. Women usually wear the “Abaya”, a long black robe with a hijab (the head-scarf which covers the neck and part of the head). Some women may add a niqab which cover the mouth and nose and only leaves the eyes exposed. Men wear the “Kandurah” also referred to as “dishdasha” or even “thawb” (long white robe) and the headscarf (Ghotrah). The UAE traditional Ghotrah is white and is held in place by an accessory called “Egal”, which resembles a sort of black cord. The younger Emiraties prefer to wear red and white Ghotras and tie it round their head like a turban. The above dress code is not compulsory and many people wear western or other eastern clothing without any problems; but prohibitions on wearing “indecent clothing” or revealing too much skin are aspects of the UAE to which Dubai’s visitors are expected to conform, and are encoded in Dubai’s criminal law. The UAE has enforced anti-indecency prohibitions in all public places (aside from waterparks, beaches, clubs, and bars).

Ethnicity and languages

According to the census conducted by the Statistics Centre of Dubai, the population of the emirate was 1,771,000 as of 2009, which included 1,370,000 males and 401,000 females. The region covers 1,287.5 square kilometres (497.1 sq mi). The population density is 408.18/km² – more than eight times that of the entire country. Dubai is the second most expensive city in the region and 20th most expensive city in the world.

Health and Law

• Healthcare in Dubai can be divided into two different sectors: public and private. Each Emirate is able to dictate healthcare standards according to their internal laws, although the standards and regulations rarely have extreme differences. Public hospitals in Dubai were first built in the late 1950s and continued to grow with public health initiatives. There are now 28 hospitals in Dubai, 6 public and 22 private, with 3 more major hospitals scheduled to be built by 2025. By the end of 2012, there were also a total of 1,348 medical clinics, 97% of which are operated privately. In 2015, Dubai phased in mandatory health insurance for all inhabitants, thereby leading to increased demand for medical services.
• The Dubai Police Force, founded in 1956 in the locality of Naif, has law enforcement jurisdiction over the emirate. The force is under direct command of Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai. Dubai and Ras al Khaimah are the only emirates that do not conform to the federal judicial system of the United Arab Emirates. The emirate’s judicial courts comprise the Court of First Instance, the Court of Appeal, and the Court of Cassation. The Court of First Instance consists of the Civil Court, which hears all civil claims; the Criminal Court, which hears claims originating from police complaints; and Sharia Court, which is responsible for matters between Muslims. Non-Muslims do not appear before the Sharia Court. The Court of Cassation is the supreme court of the emirate and hears disputes on matters of law only.

Oil era

After years of exploration following large finds in neighboring Abu Dhabi, oil was eventually discovered in territorial waters off Dubai in 1966, albeit in far smaller quantities. The first field was named ‘Fateh’ or ‘good fortune’. This led the emirate to grant concessions to international oil companies, thus leading to a massive influx of foreign workers, mainly Asians and Middle easterners. Between 1968 and 1975 the city’s population grew by over 300%. As part of the infrastructure for pumping and transporting oil from the Fateh field, located offshore of the Jebel Ali area of Dubai, a number of 50,000 gallon storage tanks were built, known locally as ‘Kazzans’, by welding them together on the beach and then digging them out and floating them to drop onto the seabed at the Fateh field. These were constructed by the Chicago Bridge and Iron Company, which gave the beach its local name (Chicago Beach) until the Chicago Beach Hotel was demolished and replaced by the Jumeirah Beach Hotel in the late nineties. Dubai had already embarked on a period of infrastructural development and expansion. Oil revenue, flowing from 1969 onwards supported a period of growth with Sheikh Rashid embarking on a policy of building infrastructure and a diversified trading economy before the emirate’s limited reserves were depleted. Oil accounted for 24% of GDP in 1990, but had reduced to 7% of GDP by 2004. Critically, one of the first major projects Sheikh Rashid embarked upon when oil revenue started to flow was the construction of Port Rashid, a deep water free port constructed by British company Halcrow. Originally intended to be a four-berth port, it was extended to sixteen berths as construction was ongoing. The project was an outstanding success, with shipping queuing to access the new facilities. The port was inaugurated on 5 October 1972, although its berths were each pressed into use as soon as they had been built. Port Rashid was to be further expanded in 1975 to add a further 35 berths before the larger port of Jebel Ali was constructed. Port Rashid was the first of a swathe of projects designed to create a modern trading infrastructure, including roads, bridges, schools and hospitals.

Religion

Article 7 of the UAE’s Provisional Constitution declares Islam the official state religion of the UAE. The government subsidises almost 95% of mosques and employs all Imams; approximately 5% of mosques are entirely private, and several large mosques have large private endowments.  All mosques in Dubai are managed by the Government of Dubai and all Imams are also appointed by the Government. An Imam caught preaching racism or religious hatred or caught promoting Islamic extremism is usually jailed and deported.

Reaching the UAE’s Act of Union

Dubai and the other ‘trucial states’ had long been a British protectorate where the British took care of foreign policy and defense, as well as arbitrating between the rulers of the Eastern Gulf. This was to change with PM Harold Wilson’s announcement, on 16 January 1968, that all British troops were to be withdrawn from ‘East of Aden’. The decision was to pitch the coastal emirates, together with Qatar and Bahrain, into fevered negotiations to fill the political vacuum that the British withdrawal would leave behind. The principle of union was first agreed between the ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and Sheikh Rashid of Dubai on 18 February 1968 meeting in an encampment at Argoub Al Sedirah, near Al Semeih, a desert stop between the two emirates. The two agreed to work towards bringing the other emirates, including Qatar and Bahrain, into the union. Over the next two years, negotiations and meetings of the rulers followed -often stormy- as a form of union was thrashed out. The nine-state union was never to recover from the October 1969 meeting where heavy-handed British intervention resulted in a walk-out by Qatar and Ras Al Khaimah. Bahrain and Qatar were to drop out of talks, leaving only six emirates to agree on union on 18 July 1971. On 2 December 1971, Dubai, together with Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Qawain and Fujairah joined in the Act of Union to form the United Arab Emirates. The seventh emirate, Ras Al Khaimah, joined the UAE on 10 February 1972, following giant non-Arab neighbour Iran’s annexation of the RAK-owned Tunbs islands. In 1973, Dubai joined the other emirates to adopt a uniform currency: the UAE dirham. In that same year, the prior monetary union with Qatar was dissolved and the UAE Dirham was introduced throughout the Emirates.

Transport

• Transport in Dubai is controlled by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), an agency of the government of Dubai, formed by royal decree in 2005. The public transport network has in the past faced congestion and reliability issues which a large investment program has addressed, including over AED 70 billion of improvements planned for completion by 2020, when the population of the city is projected to exceed 3.5 million. In 2009, according to Dubai Municipality statistics, there were an estimated 1,021,880 cars in Dubai. In January 2010, the number of Dubai residents who use public transport stood at 6%.

Tourism 

Tourism is an important part of the Dubai government’s strategy to maintain the flow of foreign cash into the emirate. Dubai’s lure for tourists is based mainly on shopping, but also on its possession of other ancient and modern attractions. As of 2013, Dubai was the 7th most visited city of the world based on air traffic and the fastest growing, increasing by a 10.7% rate. Dubai is expected to accommodate over 15 million tourists by 2015. The emirate is also the most populous of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Dubai has been called the “shopping capital of the Middle East”. Dubai alone has more than 70 shopping centres, including the world’s largest shopping centre, Dubai Mall. Dubai is also known for the traditional souk districts located on either side of its creek. Traditionally, dhows from East Asia, China, Sri Lanka, and India would discharge their cargo and the goods would be bargained over in the souks adjacent to the docks. Dubai Creek played a vital role in sustaining the life of the community in the city and was the resource which originally drove the economic boom in Dubai.^[130] As of September 2013, Dubai creek has been proposed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Many boutiques and jewellery stores are also found in the city. Dubai is also referred to as “the City of Gold” as the Gold Souk in Deira houses nearly 250 gold retail shops. Dubai Creek Park in Dubai Creek also plays a vital role in Dubai tourism as it showcase some of the most famous tourist attractions in Dubai such as Dolphinarium, Cable Car, Camel Ride, Horse Carriage and Exotic Birds Shows.

Weather

Dubai has a hot desert climate. Summers in Dubai are extremely hot, windy, and humid, with an average high around 41 °C (106 °F) and overnight lows around 30 °C (86 °F) in the hottest month, August. Most days are sunny throughout the year. Winters are warm with an average high of 24 °C (75 °F) and overnight lows of 14 °C (57 °F) in January, the coldest month. Precipitation, however, has been increasing in the last few decades, with accumulated rain reaching 94.3 mm (3.71 in) per year. Dubai summers are also known for the moderate to high humidity level, which can make it uncomfortable for many. The highest recorded temperature in the UAE is 52.1 °C (126 °F), reached in July 2002.