How a settlement of 800 members of the Bani Yas tribe evolved to a population of 2.5 million of people residing in Dubai today is an amazing story to tell. The Bani Yas tribe settled down in 1833 at a creek being a natural harbour which is now known as Dubai Creek. This harbour rapidly became a hub for fishing, pearling and sea trade. As the 20th century came along, Dubai became a very popular port with the largest Souk (market) of around 350 shops which attracted many visitors and businessmen.
Here’s a video of Dubai Creek today:
In the 1950’s Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum started a very ambitious project of making this port bigger by dredging the waterway and this enabled Dubai to be a even bigger port thus strengthened Dubai’s position as a focal point for trade and export. Then in 1966, the abundance of oil was discovered and Sheikh Rashid used this opportunity to utilise the revenues from the oil to transform Dubai by investing in its infrastructure where he built schools, roads, telecommunications and must importantly Dubai International Airport. The most logical trend to follow then was to connect Dubai with the rest of the world via its airline Emirates allowing people from all over to the world to visit Dubai.
There are innumerable things to do in Dubai – the list is endless and I felt like the 8 days (even though 3 were busy meetings) I had were no where close to enough to cover all the things I wanted to do!
Dubai today is an amazing tourist destination and its one of those places with so much to do because there is always so much happening there! Its hard to to be everywhere at the same time.
Here are my top 5 favourites:
Al Fahidi – Historical Neighbourhood
A visit to the Al Fahidi Neighbourhood is a good introduction to Dubai’s heritage and culture. A step into the past this neighbourhood was home to some of the most elite textile and trade merchants from Bastak in Iran. This part of Dubai was my highlight of the trip!
Local House Restraurant
Now this neighbourhood is a hub for local artist showcasing the most popular art that Dubai has to offer with Majis Gallery being Dubai’s oldest art Gallery and XVA Gallery
XVA Art Gallery is a must see!
The following blog does real justice to this spot: https://theculturetrip.com/middle-east/united-arab-emirates/articles/dubais-heritage-a-tour-of-al-bastakiya/
JBR – The Walk
JBR stands for Jumeirah Beach Residence which is the poshest locality in Dubai – clearly the place to be and also the coolest beach to hang out in. Some of the finest places to dine and coolest spots to party and grab a drink if you like.
Ain Dubai observation wheel is one of the highest of its kind.
Night-time view of JBR
Sky Diving.
If you are a fan of sky diving – I highly recommend sky diving here because it has the most AMAZING view of the Palm. This was my first diving experience which was short but sweet and mind blowing 😉
Adventures in the desert
This is a very touristy thing to do but never the less it is a worthwhile experience especially for a first timer for people who visit Dubai because after all this is what Dubai mostly was less than 100 years ago!
Atlantis at The Palm
This is a really cool spot as well – with a really awesome aquarium and nice restraurants and loads of other adventures such as a water park and dolphin tour etc. Its a wonderland with a similar feeling of so much to do and not enough time!!!
I could sit here for hours just staring at all these fishes!
Turiya Tatyana 