Trip to United Arab Emirates

Dubai seems to have come out of the tales of 1001 nights, they used oil as a magic wand, transforming in an instant the small town into a huge metropolis, holding almost all world records for the biggest, fastest, most expensive, etc. The flight from Sofia to this magical place of endless possibilities lasted about 5 hours, as the airport in Sharjah was bright with large domes like a mosque. Along with the verification of our passports, the pupils of our eyes were scanned, and these strict measures lead to almost zero crime in the country. The journey from Sharjah Airport to Dubai also took about 1 hour, and along the way we learned that the United Arab Emirates actually consists of seven emirates – Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajaman, Fujairah, Ras al Kalma and Umm Al Quwain. They united in 1971, creating a state of 83,600 square kilometers, with a population of 6 million and a very rich one. Interestingly, power was shared between different emirates, i.e. The emir of Abu Dhabi is always the president of the UAE, the emir of Dubai is always vice president and prime minister, and these two posts are hereditary. The ruler of Sharjah is accordingly Minister of Economy and Trade, etc.

Moving from Sharjah to Dubai, we saw many constructions conquering the sandy territories. The sand impressed us even before landing, I had never seen so many deserted sandy areas. While traveling however, I saw palm trees everywhere turning the sandy landscape into a greenery one. The distance from Sharjah to Dubai was not big, but due to the large traffic jams, the trip took longer. In Dubai I saw the largest and most beautiful highways, some of which with 8 lanes, but even here there were traffic jams, as each family has at least 3-5 cars, or for each member of the family one car. Their gasoline is very cheap, at 1.50 drachma per liter in Abu Dhabi and 1.60 in Dubai, or less than 60 cents per liter. “Black Gold” / Oil had made this country so rich, but since these natural resources are not eternal, the emir of Dubai begun to turn the country into a major financial and commercial center of the east, as well as a major tourist destination.

As soon as we approached Dubai, tall skyscrapers impressed us with their unique architecture. No two skyscrapers were alike, and it seemed like they were all competing in uniqueness. On the Internet I had found an article according to which in 1991 there were only 1 skyscraper in Dubai, and today they are about 400! We couldn’t count them, but there were many, almost as many as the malls. While traveling in the bus, the guide explained us that the climate in Dubai is very hot, especially in summer. July and August temperatures exceed 40, and sometimes +50 degrees. This is the reason, why so many shopping malls were erected, inside filled with entertainment and shops. They all are air-conditioned, with many dining options, cinemas (only in one of the malls there are 22 cinemas), in the Mall of the Emirates there is an indoor ski slope, in the Mall of Dubai there is a figure skating ring, a water zoo, an indoor amusement park, etc.

We quickly checked into the hotel, then went out heading to the nearby mall, where we took the double-decker tourist bus to get an initial idea of Dubai. Our first impression was that the city was huge and it took a long time to get from one point to another.

Getting on the double-decker bus, we could enjoy not only the views, but also the strong wind. We got a 24-hour ticket combined with a night tour, and literally shivered with cold for more than 5 hours, but we took over 400 nice photos that kept us warm. It is difficult to describe that we were frozing in Dubai, where daytime temperatures at that time exceeded 30 degrees, but in the evening the same quickly dropped below 18, and the west wind made them look even lower.

After 2 hours, we toured only 60% of the city without getting off the bus. It was a pity to see so many interesting things, and not to have time to go down and look at them from the inside. We looked at the city from the bus and still couldn’t feel it, except for the wind, which has begun to intensify. The bus also had an indoor lower part, but taking pictures through glass is a challenge, especially while the bus was moving. That’s why I didn’t get up from my place on the second floor, where with headphones I listened to the tour guide in English (there were 10 other languages), who told interesting things about the glamorous Dubai, which, however, we still looked at as if on a screen without going down and feel it.

The night tour was also impressive. Instead of headphones, we had a live guide. At the end of the tour, the bus left us at the Wafi Mall, where there was a light show. It wasn’t the famous dancing fountains, but it still impressed us. Several floodlights changed their lights on the facade of the mall to the sound of music and the resulting effects created a great tourist attraction.

At the end of the program, the bus left us in front of the Mall of the Emirates at 22:00, from where we walked back to the hotel and quickly fell asleep, warmed up at last under the warm blankets.

The next morning we decided to try the Dubai Metro. It is the world’s first fully automated metro without drivers. The grand opening was on 09.09.2009 at 09:09 minutes from the Emir of Dubai. It is fully air-conditioned and is one of the cheapest ways to get around in the city. Its stops were huge and could be seen from afar. However, our guide had warned us that in the subway it is completely forbidden to eat, drink and even chew. There were cameras everywhere and each violation was punishable by a fine of at least 100 drachmas (41 BGN).

We took the metro to the Burjuman stop (which of course is another mall) and from there we boarded the double-decker bus again, which took us to a small port where the tourist boats docked and we boarded one of them, the price was included in the ticket on the bus. Instead of 11:30, the boat left 7 minutes later very slowly without hurrying. Punctuality is not one of the strengths of the Arabs, but in this heat, there is no need to hurry.

The sun was shining brightly, and yet we preferred to sit in front on the open deck to take better pictures. The boat was wooden on 2 floors, most of the upper deck had a canopy and everywhere there were tables with dusty white tablecloths and numerous chairs. The Persian Gulf was calm and we, undisturbed by wobbling, could photograph the banks covered with buildings.

After our one-hour boat trip was over, we had to wait 20 minutes. (the time during which the tourist buses pass) and get off at the next stop No6 – the Dubai Museum. It is located in a building of a military fortification with many interesting exhibits of weapons, knives and houses. Models and exhibits of real Arabian boats and straw houses were erected. Underground, there was an ethnographic museum with models of people in real size in their daily activities. There were blacksmiths, vendors, tailors, teachers with students, etc. The museum impressed me with its high technology and way of presentation.

From the museum we took a taxi to the Burjuman Mall, where we joined the blue line of the tourist buses and headed to the hotel, where at 15:30 began our previously booked Safari excursion in the desert.

Along the way, we took a beautiful photo of Burj al Arab. Burj Al Arab is the luxury 5-star hotel that claims to be 7-star due to its great luxury and service. It is also the tallest hotel in the world (at least for the moment), which rises to 321 meters in height. The hotel is built on an artificial island, 280 meters away from the coast of the Persian Gulf, connected to it by a narrow bridge. However, access to the hotel is limited only to hotel guests or reservations in the restaurant. An afternoon snack at the restaurant is $140. From the outside, the building is unique, representing the sail of a ship.

From here, the tourist bus took us to another artificial island with many hotels – the Palm Islands. These are some of the largest artificial islands in the world, with the beautiful shape of a palm, which, however, can only be seen well from above. From the ground we couldn’t believe we were on an artificial island, out of all these big highways and hotels. Our bus stopped in front of the Atlantis Hotel. I had seen this hotel on TV, it turned out that there are 2 identical hotels – one in Dubai and the other in the Bahamas. I hope I can take a picture of both of them!

We arrived at the hotel on time, and it didn’t take long before one jeep to come, and to take us to the desert. The jeep was driving fast, and the driving became really extreme, when we arrived at the dessert and it started to climbed sharply, and went down even more sharply among the giant dunes. The sand like water was enough and hit the windows, and we were trying to photograph the camels,  which here appeared among the dunes. This jeep ride was called a “desert carousel” and it was understandable why.

After about 30 minutes we reached the Bedouin village, which was a large yard surrounded by a straw fence, in which there were various entertainment for tourists. In front of the entrance there was a separate enclosure for camels that tourists could ride and of course I was excited. Climbing a camel was much easier than climbing a horse, but when the camel stands or sit it was shaking a lot, and you have to hold on very tightly. A Bedouin held our camel by the rope and we made a circle. It was short, but I was very pleased. I definitely liked the camel and it became one of my favorite animals – at least in the UAE.

After riding camels, we decided to try and dress with traditional folk costumes, which for women are respectively black abayas. Kanduri is called the men’s white garment that the Arabs wear on top. Black is definitely not my color, but I enjoyed the pictures with a falcon that I made there.

We continued to take pictures after that while snowboarding to the dunes, which were like real ski slopes. The best photos, of course, happened during the sunset, when the sun slowly descended over the dunes, illuminating everything in golden colors. The most interesting thing about the desert and the beach in Dubai after that was that their sand is NOT heated by the sun. On our Black Sea beaches in the afternoon one can not step on the sand, it is so hot, and here the same is cool throughout the day. The sand is very fine as flour, it was very nice to touch it with hands, except that both my shoes were filled with sand, which even in the hotel I hardly removed.

The evening program in the Bedouin village included a kuchek dancer and a spinning man dance with a large skirt, a buffet and a barbecue with different dishes, most of the foods were quite spicy. We had free soft drinks and water at our disposal. We sat on the ground on many carpets and pillows. I liked the moonlight picnic, and the stars, although far away, were many and wonderful. Late in the evening (around 22:00) the jeep took us back to the hotel.

The next day was Friday, which is a day off in the Arab world. In Dubai, even the metro opens on Friday after 13:00, so we had to take a taxi to get to the Dubai Mall, where the entrance to Burj Kaliha, the tallest building in the world, is located. The Burj Khalifa (Arabic for “Tower of the Caliph”) is the tallest building in the world, rising to a height of 828 m (e.g. the Eiffel Tower is 324 m high). Here is the fastest elevator in the world (18 m / s), it is the building with the most floors (160), the highest outdoor observation deck: at 452 m, the highest mosque (on the 158th floor), the highest swimming pool (on the 76th floor), the highest nightclub (on the 144th floor), etc. In general, while we were in the UAE, we learned that all the records for the biggest, fastest, most expensive, etc. are held by them. However, the building is unique, inspired by a flower, it is all glazed and reflects sunlight. It was erected between the end of 2004 and the beginning of 2010, right during the financial crisis that was felt even here. Initially, the name of the building was Burj Dubai, but since money for the project subsequently came from Abu Dhabi, the tower was renamed after the emir of Abbud Dhabi and the president of the UAE – Khalifa ibn Zaid al-Nahyan.

The two elevators take tourists to the 124th floor in just a minute, from there we were fascinated by the magnificent view. According to the brochures, the panorama stretches to 95 km distance, which is difficult to judge, but it is easy to see all the large skyscrapers in Dubai, which looked significantly smaller and we could safely inspect their roofs. The tour and the photos from above took us at least an hour, making us fascinated by Dubai. Coming down from the tower, we felt as descending from the 7th sky, everyone had huge sunny smiles from the beautiful landscapes we had fit in our cameras and in our eyes. We walked around the Dubai Mall, which has a huge ice rink, an underwater zoo, a huge aquarium, an indoor amusement park, a waterfall, numerous fountains and beautiful walkways. Indeed, shopping in these malls is only a small part of all attractions. It was cool inside, and very clean.

After the mall, we took a taxi and went to Madinat Jumeirah – a real oasis in the Dubai desert. It is a 5-star hotel complex with many artificial canals through which visitors can have a gondola ride. Palm trees and beautiful buildings reflect in the water and pose for tourists. In the distance you can see the 7-star Burj Al Arab Hotel, which at noon was shrouded in clouds and only its top protruded through the clouds, as if it really offered holidays in heaven.

It was cool, the fountains were rustling, the gondolas were passing us, and we were slowly walking, absorbing this wonderful place with all our senses.

Then we decided to walk to the nearby public beach, which turned out to be 30 minutes away, as we had to bypass the 3 five-star hotels – Medinat, Jumeira and Burj al Arab. We also passed by a large water amusement park, walking along a sidewalk with colorful flower alleys. The flowers smelled magnificent, as if bragging that they were not artificial and that they were taken care of, and they wanted to smile at the sun and share their rich aroma.

The public beach was relatively small, not very wide, but the water was cool and so pleasant to bath. The sand was still fine and cool, and the place was perfect for a short break. We also took wonderful photos with the 7-star Burj Al Arab Hotel at the background. Imperceptibly the afternoon passed and again by taxi we returned to the mall of Dubai, where at 18:00 the famous show of the fountains began. This is of course the largest show of light, music and water in the world, with the water rising to a height of 150 meters (equal to a 50-story building). We stood on a bridge, just opposite the Burj Khalifa and enjoyed the amazing and wonderful show, the water was in full tact with the music and moved into different shapes. The first song was only 2 minutes and we couldn’t wait for the show to continue, but the next song was after 30 minutes. It sounded I’ll Always Love You by Whitney Houston and the program was even better than the first song. The sun had gone down and the lights appeared in the water. The third song (which started after 19:00) was by Andrea Bocelli – Time to say goodbye and although it was very beautiful, we decided to say good-buy to the mall, which was huge and yet full of people, and we got cool again, despite all the heat during the day.

In Dubai we saw how people with lots of money, can make real even the most daring dreams. The poor nature was compensated by 2 million cubic meters of water (processed from the sea), and the city enjoyed beautiful greenery, along the shores rose artificial islands made entirely of natural materials. Light and water danced, and it was hard to imagine that all this had previously been a desert and Dubai a small fishing village. It is unlikely that previous generations and in their wildest dreams believed that Dubai would flourish so much.

There are no white nights here, but the boulevards and the city are so well lit that one does not want to go home, but wants to absorb more music and light.

Dubai seems to be out of a fairy tale, and the magic and amazement continue to arise, trying this city to capture all the top and best world rankings.

The UAE impressed me very pleasantly, this is one of the safest countries in the world, with low and almost no crime, with high standards and living conditions, and yet everything here is erected artificially with a lot of money, while my home poor country Bulgaria enjoys a wonderful green nature, that we seem don’t appreciate and destroy it. I hope we don’t turn it into a desert, and if we do, at least let it be like Dubai.

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT DUBAI:

Location: Dubai is located on the southeastern coast of the Persian Gulf and is one of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates.
Area:  4 114 sq.km
Population:  2 459 068 people (data from 2016)
Official language: Arabic
Altitude:  11 m
Climate: dry and hot. They say Dubai has two seasons: hot and hotter.
Time zone: UTC+4
Currency: dirham (AED)
Additional information: http://www.visitdubai.com/en/