High-rises and beaches

After being in Dubai almost a week, I am continually impressed by the scale of this city. Everywhere I go there is skyscraper next to skyscraper upon skyscraper, and the shopping malls are nearly too large to fully cover in four hours' time. The view outside my dorm room window is an example of the sheer momentum with which Dubai's physical creation is propelled forward--the construction here is never-ending, and once one crane has completed its project, it is snatched up to begin work on the next.

Within my first couple days here I saw another great example of the size, grandeur, and audacity of Dubai and those who run the city: the Burj Al Arab, the most globally recognizable symbol of Dubai. In a book I just finished about Dubai called City of Gold: Dubai and the Dream of Capitalism, I learned that there are rumors that the hotel cost so much to build that even at full occupancy for a hundred years, its owner (Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammad) will never recoup the investment. The Burj was designed to be as easily recognizable as other world-famous structures like the Eiffel Tower, Empire State Building, and Sydney Opera House. The Burj's opulence can be seen both on the outside through its unique structure, and on the inside in its $7,000-a-night suites. The Burj is physical manifestation of Dubai's dream to be the next New York, London, Paris or Tokyo.

Dubai's Burj Al Arab hotel

I've not only been impressed by the size of Dubai, but also the mixture of cultures that settles here. Women in burqas and men in traditional Emirati dress stroll the shopping malls right alongside Westerners in their shorts and tank tops. A couple days ago I decided to sit for a while at Ibn Battuta shopping mall and people-watch. My favorites were the Emirati fathers dressed in the traditional kandura long white robe and guthra headscarf--they could have been from several centuries past--pushing their children in bright pink and patterned plastic strollers, as well as adolescent girls with open abayas and slipping sheer headscarves carrying designer purses and Forever 21 shopping bags. The amazing part about all of this is how accepting and encouraging the society and government is of this multiculturalism. Dubai thrives on expatriates touring, living and working here, a fact that Dubai's government has recognized and capitalized on by opening up visas and property ownership to pretty much anyone. Of course there are undersides and exceptions to the apparent acceptance of all cultures, but out in the open it's refreshing and encouraging to see such a progressive diversity in a Muslim, technically authoritarian country.

Last night I decided to take my first trip to a Dubai beach to watch the sunset. I set out planning to walk to entire way--the beach was less than a mile away and the setting sun meant that it wasn't as hot as during the day. Unfortunately, I didn't get very far when I realized that it really wasn't possible to walk there without risking my life darting in and out of traffic. Road construction near the university has rendered streets already not conducive to pedestrians completely unwalkable. This is one truly unfortunate thing I've found about Dubai--while everything is relatively close, there are very, very few accommodations for pedestrians and bikers. The cars drive too fast and there are too many highways and interchanges to make it even close to a safe means of getting around. Construction of a high-tech metro system is chugging along, but unfortunately the station right next to the university is one of the last few holding out on opening. Taxis, luckily, are cheap, but they strain my desire to hold my carbon footprint below the average Dubaian (whose emissions, incredibly, exceed those of the average American). Ultimately, for this trip, I was forced to opt for a short taxi ride the rest of the way to the beach.

The beach was nice, but my desire to watch the sun set was foiled by a haze along the horizon. I haven't yet figured out yet what that haze is, which also clouded my view of the Burj al Arab; I have no idea whether it's natural or human-made. Regardless, the beach was certainly a sight not to be missed. Shoreline apartments, swanky restaurants (open now only for grand iftar buffets after sundown) and luxury hotels lined the area in all directions.

Open beach near the Jumeirah Beach Residence

I still have a couple weeks before classes start, and I feel there's much of the city I still haven't seen, including the Burj Khalifa (the tallest human-made structure), the original city center, and the Dubai creek.