Day 50 ~ We finally get off the boat in Dubai, Part One

“Nothing succeeds like excess.” ~ The Dowager Countess of Grantham, as played by the indomitable Maggie Smith in ‘Downton Abbey.’

Those seem to be Dubai’s words to live by. This home of the world’s tallest building prides itself on being the biggest and best at whatever it attempts. They definitely offered us the nicest tour bus we’ve encountered so far (ergonomically designed leather seats!) for our tour called “Easy Dubai.” The DH’s headache was better today, so we looked forward to an informative drive around the city with stops at some key places.

But before I take you on our tour, a little UAE background first. In the early part of the 20^th century, this part of the Arabian peninsula situated north of what’s known as the Empty Quarter, was home to nomadic tribes, camels and antelope, but not much else. The Brits had been here in the 19^th century, protecting the area from the encroachment of the Ottoman Empire. (Which might explain why there is a lot of English signage. It’s as if the country had subtitles!) The pearl trade brought some wealth to the area in the 1930’s, only to have the pearl market tank after the Japanese learned to culture pearls. Then in the 50’s oil was discovered and everything changed.

The Arabs are a sea-faring people. They used to sail dhows like this one all the way to India, trading as they went.

On December 2, 1971, the seven major family groups joined to form the United Arab Emirates as a constitutional monarchy. Each of the emirates is ruled by their own Sheikh, but the capital is Abu Dhabi and according to their constitution, Sheikh Zayed of that city is the president. Sheikh Mohammed who rules Dubai, however, is their prime minister.

This is a wall of remembrance for Emirati soldiers who have died in the war the UAE and Saudis are fighting against the Iranian-backed Yemenis.

Only 20% of the people who live here are Emiratis. In order to be a citizen, it’s not enough to have been born here. You must be a member of one of the original tribal families. There are many perks associated with being a citizen. For example, when an Emirati man marries, he’s given money to buy a house. If he wants a university education, even one in the West, it will be paid for by the government. An Emirati will always have a job.

St. Louis has an arch. Dubai has a Frame. If you look one direction, you see the old historic part of the city. The  newer section faces the opposite way.  

What about the 80% who are not in that favored group? Many are ex-pats, professionals who have come from other countries to take a job with one of the thousands of multi-national companies that have made Dubai their headquarters in this part of the world. (My niece and her husband lived here for several years when he worked for IBM in their Dubai office.) Because it’s only a 7 hour flight away from London, South Africa or Singapore, Dubai’s location is highly favorable for business. Our tour guide was a young woman from Great Britain who came here 18 years ago with her New Zealander husband when he took a job flying for Emirates Airline. His employer provides him with a Visa and he is able to sponsor his wife and their daughter. Visas must be reviewed every couple of years to make sure you’re still being a productive member of the society.

One of Dubai's nicknames is "City of Gold." Even the buildings are blinged out.

Our guide did not mention the controversial “guest worker” program that brings in the larger portion of ex-pats to take on the construction and menial positions in the country. The majority of these folks come from southeast Asia on five year contracts. For years, they had to surrender their passports and could not leave until their employer released them, though we were assured that situation had changed and they now have control of their own passports.

Even older parts of town (Read: 1980's! Dubai is a very new city) is being beautified by the addition of large murals. Love this darling one of a little boy and girl.

Our guide was quite proud of the fact that there are no homeless people in Dubai. Of course, the main reason for that is that if you do not have a job, you have no Visa and are required to leave the UAE within 30 days.

Sheikh Mohammed loves petunias and has ordered that they be planted all along the roadways. But the climate doesn't agree with them and they must be replaced every 45 days.

The society is a tightly controlled one. We were told not to engage in public displays of affection while in port. The most that would be tolerated, even between a husband and wife, was holding hands. In fact, a crew member on board the Pacific Princess has a friend in Dubai who told her that a man and woman were arrested for kissing on the beach last week.  

The blue checked building reminds me of standing folded napkins. 

Our guide told us Dubai is very tolerant of other religions. The government offers land for Christian churches and Hindu and Buddhist temples to be built on. There are, however, no official synagogues.  

Dubai has positioned itself to be a major business and financial hub.

Like Singapore, the city is very clean, but very much under construction. There are building projects everywhere. The designs are whimsical, soaring—if someone can imagine it, Dubai can build it. Everything is ultra modern. It’s amazing what the Emiratis have accomplished since the oil money began rolling in. They have really invested in their infrastructure. Not only have they poured their wealth into fantastic architecture, and broad well-planned roads, they’ve built schools and hospitals and museums. They’ve vaulted from a simple collection of desert dwellers to become a vibrant, thriving city in a very short time.

The Burj Khalifa dwarfs the rest of Dubai's skyline.

I hope this post isn’t sounding too critical. I’m just trying to make sense of a system that’s so very different from the one I’m used to. Not that we Americans have it all figured out. Not by a long shot. Dubai doesn’t suffer from the crime rate we do. Its buildings aren’t covered with graffiti. There are no school shootings here. There may be no freedom of speech in Dubai, but in America, our public discourse has disintegrated so badly we won’t even let people we disagree with talk to us.

I fear I’ve been rambling, but this stop has made me think about so many things. I promised to take you on our tour and I will. 

Tomorrow.