# Dubai - The Lost Soul....



## The Legend (Apr 13, 2006)

I cannot believe what has happened to my once favorite city in the Middle East - Dubai. I lived there from 1999 up to 2003, so I am very familiar with its people, the city and its surroundings. 

For me, Dubai always felt like that special, undiscovered gem - a beautiful, eclectic mix of Western Culture backed by a strong sense of Arab heritage. 

And now onto 2006....

I just spent 6 weeks in Dubai, and I'm truly shocked at how the quality of life has severely deterioated. It's become expensive, ridiculously over crowded, incredibly polluted (the thick smog which looms over Sheik Zayed is a disgrace) and is riddled with traffic problems that even New York would be ashamed of. 

I'm sorry to say, but Dubai has become a complete and utter soul less concrete jungle. Are we still in Arabia people? 

I can't but help feel that all these Western Countries which are coming in as so called 'advisors' are doing so not to help with the problems, but to line their own pockets with the seemingly endless supply of money. They see Dubai as the ultimate 'smash and grab' city. If you have a 'story' an idea, no matter how crazy or innane it may appear - someone, somewhere in Dubai will buy it off of you. Will they still be around when the pot of money is empty? Yes....you'll find them at the travel agent booking their one-way tickets home.

Dubai is expecting 4 million people to be living there by 2017? That will not happen, never in a million years. The place is simply too small and the infrastucture is already bursting at the seems with a little over a million residents. Before any of you jump on the 'they're dealing with it' bandwagon - if you think adding an extra lane on Sheik Zayed is going to solve the problems then you will be pleased to know that you are already living in 'Dubai land.' All we are seeing are 'Quick fixes' which may work in the interim - but in the end will only add more coal to the fire.

As for the ongoing Tourism debate. Well, I don't buy all this nonsense about Dubai being / trying to become the shopping capital of the world either. It's simply pricing itself out of the equation for a start. Do you know, it's now comprable from a price perspective for people in the middle east to take their family to London and stay in a decent hotel - than it is to stay in Dubai? Hmmm....that's not right is it?


In the short term (few years) I'm sure tourists will still continue to come to Dubai because of the world wide frenzy surrounding the place. Credit should be given the immense Marketing campaign sighting Dubai as a place of fabulous luxury (flooding the market with images of palatial hotels, giant malls, the semi-unique 'Palms') - but Tourists aren't stupid, and once they see Dubai for what it really is, just another 'expensive, overcrowed city with a mostly unfriendly climate' - it does not bode so well for the future. 

Perhaps the much fabled 'Dubailand' will bring them in? They're going after Disney's market share aren't they? Well, if you can handle the sweltering summer humidity and horrific 3 km/h drive to the place - you might be onto a winning idea there....somehow, I just don't see it. 


From a business perspective, I believe that within 3 to 5 years a lot of the business will have diversifed into cheaper and less crowded Gulf countries where the quality of life is still comparitively high and the actual cost of doing business are dramatically cheaper. And what of the Third World Nationals who do most of Dubai's servicing needs? The recent much publicised strikes and wage riots are hardly likely to inspire people to seek work in Dubai now are they? 


It's very evident to me that Dubai has been a wonderful social experiment. In fact, its been the perfect guinea pig for the re-development of the entire region. Developers from all over the area will take Dubai as the perfect case study, a tool for analysis, something which we can all learn from and most importantly improve upon. What happens when all these surrounding countries start developing 'the right and proper way'....? It's already happening now, all over the Gulf, large projects are appearing, all ready to take a nice bite from that Dubai cake. 

Dubai may have a head start in a race, but let's not forget that life and business is a marathon - something which seems to have been forgotten amongst the announcement of a brand new multi billion dirham 'Mobile Phone Village.'


It's such a shame, the old Dubai truly was a special place, a tranquil haven where life was simple, enjoyable and most importantly soulful.


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## Krazy (Apr 27, 2004)

It still is soulful, just as long as you stay on the other side of DWTC.... I agree with you the Dubai seems very artificial at the moment the moment you hit the first interchange... but all that will change soon inshAllah. 

I will let people like smussuw and dubaiflo post their replies. Thanks for the post, we appreciate your views about the city.


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## luv2bebrown (Nov 4, 2004)

i lived there from 1985-2000. i know what you mean.
but karama, deira, burdubai have remained largely unchanged. theyve just grown bigger. so spend more time there. new dubai on the other hand is creating a whole new culture/soul/character. in the end, thats what dubai is about - contrasts. the old and and the new. the past and the future. i love everything dubai was, and i love everything dubai is becoming.

even 1999 was WAAAY different from what it was in 1993 for example. i kinda find it funny how you think 1999 Dubai was tranquil  


anyway, the traffic situation can be fixed. but soaring rent and inflation is what might kill the city. the city is around 1.7 million now and rapidly growing. i do think it will hit the 3.5 million mark.

but what else do you expect the city to do? it must adapt or become extinct.
you cant expect everything to stay the same. i loved my childhood in Dubai, but I cant expect to remain 9 years old forever. sooner or later, im gonna have to grow up


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## Krazy (Apr 27, 2004)

^^ I will miss Dubai of the 90s


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## Pish-REZ-pash (Oct 20, 2005)

The Legend said:


> I cannot believe what has happened to my once favorite city in the Middle East - Dubai. I lived there from 1999 up to 2003, so I am very familiar with its people, the city and its surroundings.
> 
> For me, Dubai always felt like that special, undiscovered gem - a beautiful, eclectic mix of Western Culture backed by a strong sense of Arab heritage.
> 
> ...


well if you still need an alternative try Bahrain, sure there aren't that many skyscrapers but you can still get affordable accomidations and it aint that expensive as well


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## The Legend (Apr 13, 2006)

luv2bebrown said:


> i lived there from 1985-2000. i know what you mean.
> but karama, deira, burdubai have remained largely unchanged. theyve just grown bigger. so spend more time there. new dubai on the other hand is creating a whole new culture/soul/character. in the end, thats what dubai is about - contrasts. the old and and the new. the past and the future. i love everything dubai was, and i love everything dubai is becoming.
> 
> even 1999 was WAAAY different from what it was in 1993 for example. i kinda find it funny how you think 1999 Dubai was tranquil
> ...




Luv2, you are indeed correct, there are pockets of Dubai (Deira, Karama) that have remained relatively unchanged, however, this is not necessarily a good thing for the same reasons that you stated - increased population without the luxury of expansion possibilities. 

In essence, all that's happened is more people have moved into what was an already overly tight space - ultimately causing a depreciation in the overall standard of living for all concerned. 

If we get to the crux of the problem here, Dubai has done too much too soon. For example, the roads, the metro, the general city infrastructure should have been thoroughly planned out MANY years prior to launching a free trade and open commerce policy. 

The city should have laid the foundations in PREPARATION for such vast expansion, unfortunately, we have seen the exact opposite - in true vigilante fashion - let's shoot first and ask the questions later. 

History has taught us that you cannot simply build around such innate problems, which is why I strongly believe that we are going to see some serious repurcussions to this, what former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan famously coined, 'irrational exuberance.'


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## mookieflookie (Mar 12, 2006)

They'll be fine. All developing cities faced the same challenges. All had people like you worried about places losing their 'soul.' New York went through the same stuff.


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## smussuw (Feb 1, 2004)

I totally agree The Legend


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## The Legend (Apr 13, 2006)

smussuw said:


> I totally agree The Legend



Smussuw, with you being an Emirati yourself, I value your opinion regarding the rapid expansion of the City. How do you feel about the free trade policy, the construction, the traffic problems, the pollution? 

I am very interested to hear what the true Locals have to say - as it's there homes which have been completely transformed. It's quite possible that Ex-pats will one day return back to their native countries, so the overall transition and quality of life may not be of paramount importance , as for them 'The Dubai experience' - may just be a transitory phase of their lives.


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## dubaiflo (Jan 3, 2005)

Krazy said:


> I will let people like smussuw and dubaiflo post their replies. Thanks for the post, we appreciate your views about the city.



what is that supposed to mean 

i still think dubai has a good mix from old and new, but it is true, after passing the first IC it is loosing its soul a bit, mainly due to the construction.

nevertheless.. i am sure it will be a different thing in 2010.

still this is the only way to put dubai on the map in a very short period of time.

i don't think it has lost its culture, at least not seen from an (non muslim) european's view.


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## Dubai-Lover (Jul 4, 2004)

no doubt, construction is ruining the city's soul, but it will recover step by step
it can also be amazing to see a city changing and growing, so, for me there is not really something bad about it


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## Dubai_Steve (Jan 11, 2005)

Yes it is only temporary because of construction and unlived in communities. From 2010 onwards Dubai will develop a new vibrant soul and become the envy of the world. Dubai's soul is transforming and soon it will emerge again free and beautiful like a butterfly.


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## Seabee (May 19, 2005)

I agree with luv2, there are really two Dubais now. The Creek areas, Satwa, Bur Dubai, those sort of places are what I remember as Dubai. Now I live in Dubai Marina and it isn't Dubai. Very nice, but it ain't Dubai.


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## The Legend (Apr 13, 2006)

Seabee said:


> I agree with luv2, there are really two Dubais now. The Creek areas, Satwa, Bur Dubai, those sort of places are what I remember as Dubai. Now I live in Dubai Marina and it isn't Dubai. Very nice, but it ain't Dubai.



Seabee, how do you like living in the Marina? I frequently visit the restaurant areas over there - and whilst it certainly looks nice; I can't imagine the traffic stress on the place once all 200 buildings and the Palms (with the alleged 80!! hotels) are operational. 

Those roads leading into the Marina from Sheik Zayed are ridiculously small, it took us an astonishing 1.5 hours to travel 2km when we visited the Dubai boat show last month. 

Very scary prospect.


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## The Innovator (Apr 4, 2006)

I think you have the best analysis of whats going on and whats going to happen in the future in dubai :applause:


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## Dubai_Steve (Jan 11, 2005)

40% of the marina will be rented to tourists who will not own/rent cars. They will get taxis or use the metro.


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## DUBAI (Aug 24, 2004)

To be honest, i think it was the day they threw the pipes over the dam and started flooding the marina, that i realised dubai had lost its old soul.

importantly the spirit remains. and so long as you dont live down in 'new dubai' [or emirates road] some of the soul is their too


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## Naz UK (Jan 28, 2006)

The above analysis probably does accurately represent indigenous sentiments, but as I see it, Dubai only ever had 2 choices...either stay exactly as it is and in 10 years when there's no oil become a third world country...or come up with the most ambitious contingency plan ever launched in any country and transform a once oil dependent economy into one of the world's most dominant centres of commerce, tourism and urbanity.


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## dubaiflo (Jan 3, 2005)

i was on the creek today and dubai has definetly not lost its sould


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## zee (Nov 30, 2005)

Naz UK said:


> The above analysis probably does accurately represent indigenous sentiments, but as I see it, Dubai only ever had 2 choices...either stay exactly as it is and in 10 years when there's no oil become a third world country...or come up with the most ambitious contingency plan ever launched in any country and transform a once oil dependent economy into one of the world's most dominant centres of commerce, tourism and urbanity.


totally agree with ya there


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## dubaiflo (Jan 3, 2005)

COVER STORY: TOWERING AMBITION
GLOBAL CENTRE RISES FROM THE SAND
From man-made island chains to the globe's tallest building and biggest airport, a Persian Gulf powerhouse is rewriting the book on what an Arab state can aspire to, MARK MacKINNON writes

MARK MACKINNON 

DUBAI -- To understand the scope of this booming port city's ambition, you have to see it from above.

Emerging from the turquoise waters of the Persian Gulf some four kilometres off a coastline packed with expansive beach resorts is an archipelago of 300 man-made islands. Visible from space, and brashly named The World, each island is expected to be snapped up by developers for tens of millions of dollars before its completion in 2007.

Just north of The World, another man-made island chain is emerging from the sea, this one shaped like a gigantic palm tree. Engraved on the gigantic breakwater constructed to protect the villas and luxury hotels that will eventually populate The Palm are the Arabic words: "It takes a man of vision to write on water."

Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, is both the poet who wrote that phrase and the man who decided that it should be inscribed on The Palm. The words may sound arrogant, but it's difficult to challenge their truthfulness. Dubai is Sheik Mohammed's vision, and The Palm and The World are his ideas, as was the Burj al-Arab, the iconic sail-shaped seven-star hotel that dominates the stretch of beach between the artificial island chains.

Under the rule of Sheik Mohammed and his family, a city that could easily have dwindled into another forgotten outpost on the Arabian Peninsula has become the region's primary travel and trading hub. When it became apparent that the oil that is abundant in the neighbouring emirate of Abu Dhabi, but much scarcer in Dubai, would eventually run out, the al-Maktoums improbably turned their emirate into a hot destination for tourists from across Europe, Africa and the Middle East, drawing five million visitors to the city in 2005.

When the stock of beachfront property that lured so many investors here started to run low, Sheik Mohammed came up with The Palm and The World, dredging the ocean floor to add hundreds of kilometres of sandy beach to the paltry 67 kilometres with which Dubai was originally gifted.

"Sheik Mohammed is the visionary who thinks up all of these concepts. We carry them out," said Hamza Mustafa, the gregarious general manager of The World. "He wants to see this become one of the major capitals of the world, like London, like New York."

If speed of construction is any measure, he's on course. Dubai's skyline is crowned by uncountable hundreds of cranes, which rotate and lift long into the night as developers rush to meet fast-approaching deadlines. The city of 1.4 million is home to an estimated one-fifth of the world's construction cranes, and an even higher share of the planet's dredging machines.

Perhaps most remarkably in a Gulf region awash in oil profits in these days of $70 (U.S.) crude, they did it with almost no oil money of their own. Lacking the resources that lie beneath Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and even some of the emirates of the UAE, Dubai instead transformed itself into the safest and most profitable place for their affluent neighbours to invest their oil windfalls.

The city-state's ambition is seemingly boundless. The centre of the city is being redeveloped in a $20-billion (U.S.) project that will be crowned by the Burj Dubai (Dubai Tower). The tower's final height is a closely guarded secret, but developers say that at more than 700 metres, it will be easily the tallest building in the world, and will contain corporate offices, residential suites and the world's first Armani hotel. A block-long billboard staking out the future site of the adjacent Dubai Mall, which, naturally, will be the world's largest, proclaims "The World Has A New Centre."

The city's international airport -- one of the world's busiest, handling 21.7 million passengers last year -- is to be replaced by the audaciously named World Central International Airport, which will be the largest in the world at the combined size of London's Heathrow and Chicago's O'Hare. Emirates Airlines, the state-owned passenger carrier, doubled its passenger load to 12.5 million between 2001 and 2005.

Beyond tourism, the city has developed a knowledge industry centred around a series of 100-per-cent tax-free zones. Dubai Internet City has drawn investors like Microsoft, IBM, Hewlett-Packard and Dell, while nearby Dubai Media City has used a similar strategy to put itself on the map and lure giants such as Reuters and Time Warner's CNN. Another attraction has been a cheap pool of foreign labour, and loose labour laws.


"They created a business environment that no one else in the region can touch," said John Chilton of the economics department at the American University of Sharjah, the emirate bordering Dubai. He traced the development of the regional hub back to the establishment of the Jebel Ali free-trade zone on the edge of the city in 1985 by Sheik Mohammed's father, Sheik Rashid Bin Saeed al-Maktoum.

The free-trade zone was the first place in the Arab world where foreigners could have 100-per-cent ownership of the land; there are no import duties and companies were allowed to repatriate all their profit. Because of such policies, Dubai, two decades later, is one of the busiest ports in the world. "When they built that huge Jebel Ali port, everybody was asking 'how will they ever fill that thing up?' But that's the kind of vision these people have," Prof. Chilton said.

While Dubai is lauded by the hundreds of businesses that have flocked here to cash in on the boom, none of this is capitalism in the sense Adam Smith would appreciate, free of state interference. Dubai Inc., as it has been dubbed, is capitalism run by the city-state.

One common feature linking The World, The Palm, Burj al-Arab, Burj Dubai, the World Central airport project and the Emirates is that they're all controlled by the al-Maktoum family through a series of holding companies. The family controls the companies, and the companies, analysts and observers say, control the government.

As one Western diplomat stationed in the city put it, "Dubai Inc. is the Maktoum family." And Sheik Mohammed is the CEO.

If that potential conflict of interest bothers investors, they have an odd way of showing it. According to the government, foreign direct investment into the United Arab Emirates, the federation that includes Dubai and has a total population of 4.3 million, doubled last year to a staggering $18-billion -- with by far the largest share of that going to the city of Dubai. The figure is roughly three times that of India, another rapidly growing economy with a population of 1.2 billion.

While much of what comes into the UAE is re-exported to third countries, a surprising amount stays. The bustling Canadian consulate in Dubai has a list of almost 100 Canadian companies that have some kind of physical presence in UAE. The list of who's here ranges from some of the usual suspects, and some surprising ones. Montreal's Aldo shoes has some 20 outlets here in UAE mega-malls, while Calgary-based cinnamon bun maker CinnZeo has a pair. Enterprises as disparate as Nortel Networks, Royal Bank of Canada and Ritz-Carlton have all set up shop here.

"I don't think I've seen any companies who've come here and set up and not done well," said David Barrette, outgoing chairman of the Canadian Business Council in Dubai. "But Canadians have to be willing to invest money to be successful here . . . to do well here, you have to come, to invest, to spend some time here and develop relationships."

According to Statistics Canada, Canadian investment has shot up from $181-million in 1999 to $550-million last year. Some of it is in surprising markets: Canadians seem to have the lingerie market cornered (La Senza and La Vie en Rose are both here), while Second Cup and Montreal's Café Suprême are both battling the ubiquitous Starbucks -- as well as a slew of domestic competitors selling strong, thick Arabic coffee -- for supremacy.

To James Metcalfe, who first landed in the United Arab Emirates more than 30 years ago, it's astonishing how much has changed. "There wasn't much here back then. It was unrecognizable compared to what we see today," chuckles the president and chief executive officer of Cansult Ltd., an engineering and project management firm with deep roots in the UAE. "Back then it was just a small city with lots of income." Although Cansult's head office remains in Markham, Ont., the company's largest operations are now in the UAE and Mr. Metcalfe himself lives and works in the second-largest city, Abu Dhabi.

It's an advantageous place to be. Cansult, because of its long presence here, has been involved in some of the biggest projects to come out of Dubai's boom. They were master planners on the $1.1-billion Healthcare City project (a similar concept to Internet City and Media City) and design consultants on the $250-million Global Village, completed last year and which Mr. Metcalfe compares to a smaller version of Florida's Epcot Centre. They're the traffic consultants charged with untangling the anticipated snarls around the monster Burj Dubai project.

"It's a place with really good soil. You throw some seeds there on the ground and they grow," Mr. Metcalfe said. "A lot of developers and entrepreneurs have been encouraged to develop big ideas."

It doesn't hurt, either, if one can get the Sheik onside. Personal relations, Mr. Metcalfe said, are important anywhere, but doubly so in a place like the UAE. "If Sheik Mohammed likes an idea, it can go from idea to opening in three years. In Toronto, it could take 30," he said. "There's no doubt that he's a major, major factor in what's happened here."

Emiratis who know the Sheik personally agree with that assessment, but add the culture of capitalism wasn't something the royal family had to teach. "We all love business, it's in our blood. We all love making money," Mr. Mustafa of The World says, adding that Dubai is different from its neighbours because of its history as a trading port on the shipping route from Europe to India, which instilled a tradition of respect and openness for different cultures. "This is not Saudi Arabia. Dubai has always been liberal. The people from Dubai have always been different. They are a different tribe of Arabs."

On the night of March 21, construction at the giant Burj Dubai -- Dubai Inc.'s signature project -- came slamming to a halt. What began as a protest by more than 2,500 poorly paid foreign labourers, most of them from India and Pakistan, over low wages and atrocious living conditions, turned into a violent riot that continued all night and the following day. Workers rampaged through the construction, smashing company vehicles and machines, doing nearly $1-million in damage. "They chased the security officers at the site and beat them up. I have never seen workers so angry," an unnamed eyewitness told the Khaleej Times newspaper.

The plight of many of the foreign workers -- by some estimates foreigners make up three-quarters of Dubai's population -- had long been the boom town's dirty little secret. Many come to Dubai expecting a better life in what they envision to be a modern-day El Dorado. Instead, they live in squalid camps and have frequently gone months without receiving wages. A recent report by New York-based Human Rights Watch on the situation found 880 workers had died at construction sites in 2004. The report predicted "further unrest."

It's a number the government hotly disputes -- by its count there were 34 workplace deaths that same year -- but the riot and other demonstrations by aggrieved labourers have forced the UAE to concede development can't continue without some parallel progress on political and social fronts. The government has pledged to allow labour unions and collective bargaining by the end of the year.

And, pulled along by the U.S.-led "war on terrorism" -- which calls for democratization of the Middle East -- the UAE's government has promised to introduce some form of elections in coming months. The UAE is the only Gulf country without elected bodies of any kind; all political parties are banned.

"It's become an embarrassment of a sort. [Having elections] was not something the UAE wanted to be behind in. They see themselves as leaders," Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, a professor of political science at Emirates University, said of the UAE's lack of political progress. "They also found out you can't have a global city and a closed one."

So, will a potential end to cheap labour bring an end to the construction boom? Could elections -- as they have elsewhere in the Middle East -- return a parliament less receptive to Sheik Mohammed's pro-American, pro-business policies?

Few here seem to think so. Dubai Inc. has just been too successful for anyone to let it fail. If Dubai's bubble starts to pop, analysts say Sheik Mohammed could count on Abu Dhabi's oil money to prop the market up. The U.S. also has little interest in seeing Dubai -- which it sees as a model of what the Arab world could be -- fail.

Mr. Mustafa of The World says the naysayers who expect Dubai's boom to eventually go bust are underestimating the city and its people. "Building the impossible is in our blood," he says.

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Did not know where to put this. but interesting read.


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## zee (Nov 30, 2005)

Love that last line..."Building the impossible is in our blood"

and what a job he has..'the General Manager of The World' :rofl:


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## luv2bebrown (Nov 4, 2004)

dubaiflo said:


> i was on the creek today and dubai has definetly not lost its sould



what has happened is that the untouched areas of dubai, like the creek, karama, bur dubai (even thuogh there has been eexpansion), still maintain their soul. its only when new developments are built over the old ones that an area can lose its charm. 

the dubai marina is a great project, but it was built over one of my fav areas of dubai. it used to be a calm peaceful and dark area of town... close to my old school. now its turned into a skyscraper park, which is cool - but at the same time, erases that entire area.

this is why i hate the palm deira so much. my dad used to work in the Hyatt Regency so i used to spend a lot of time in the Hyatt and that area. the corniche was so peaceful and serene. now the hamriya market is gone, and im sure the view of the endless ocean from the hyatt will be destroyed by the Palm deira. aslo, those going fishing will find themselves squashed between to land masses (the world and palm deira).

the dbuai waterfront is also one of my fav projects but it too completely destroyed the quiet beaches of that area. what will happen to the serenity of the jebel ali beach hotel? i have some very special childhood memories of those areas and i am sad to see them go. even SZR is now completely different from it used to be.


on the other hand, developments like Business Bay, JLT, Dubailand - all very cool projects and they dont infringe on any of the older parts of dubai (apart from the wildlife sanctuary) so those dont really hurt the city at all.

i wish there was a way to have the palms and also have the quiet beaches that used to be. unfortunately, its either one or the other.


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## dubaiflo (Jan 3, 2005)

it is a pity that they mostly used older, quite areas for the projects , like Dubai Marina , and especially Palm Jebel Ali and Dubai Waterfront.

I completely agree, it is merely a matter of where u build.

Deira and parts of Bur Dubai will always remain the same, even if new buildings are built.

And this is also the major issue with Palm Deira.

the old city will not be able to stand this massive project.

and the corniche (which was more or less public is now gone).

Same in Jebel Ali, the Beach area and the lonesome Jebel Ali Hotel have lost their charme, or rather will lose it.

But still, u can't only build at such a scale in untouched areas. and AFAIK the Dubai Marina area was more or less barren land 10 years ago, even if it had a certain purpose before.

the quiet unknown places, like Jebel Ali beach, are gone or will be for that matter. and this is really a pity.


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