Dubai is quickly becoming the wealthiest hot spot in the world. Known as the palm tree island city, it boasts of some of the most extravagant hotels and condominiums. Just out of curiosity, I got online just to see what it would cost to stay in one of those hotels. After sucking all the oxygen out of the air, I decided that it was just a tad bit beyond my meager means. However, the wonderful thing about the internet is that I can surf the Dubai sites for free and still enjoy pictures of the sites. One can almost feel the awesomeness of standing on the helipad that is jutting off the side of the high-rise condo roof.
I was watching a session on television about how one of the world’s renowned hotels had a grand opening complete with a firework show that could be seen from outer space. Although the show highlighted the extravagance of the small country, it also talked about the effect that the world’s plummeting economy has had on Dubai. According to the report, housing prices have fallen approximately 40 percent. It would seem that even the rich areas are not immune to the economic struggle. However, I’m sure it’s not as bad as some places in the United States.
No matter how good or bad the economic front is on the palm city, there is no question that construction has not been hugely affected. This is evident by the skyline dotted by 20 percent of the world’s construction cranes. This has got to be somewhat frustrating for the residents that have shelled out millions of dollars for their prime piece of real estate. Cranes themselves don’t necessarily block a lot of view but the crane baskets and the construction materials can. Despite the crane dotted skyline, I’m sure that the palm city is absolutely breathtaking.
I was reading a while back where there were problems with algae build up around the man made palm islands because of the lack of water flow. They did manage to find a solution to the problem. These islands are so big that they can be seen from outer space. The islands increase the United Arab Emirates shoreline by over 150 percent. The crescent around the palm island acts as a breaker wall should a storm surge occur. The making of the main island took engineers a long time to develop to insure the safety and stability of the island. They bring in boulders from sixteen different quarries and each bolder has a specific location that it is placed in. I often wondered if Dubai will be the new Babylon. Only time will tell. Should I happen upon some unknown wealth one day, Dubai would certainly be on my short list of places to visit.