Wanderlust World Wanderlust World Little is known of the history of Dubai before the early nineteenth century, when the Al Abu Falasa clan established it as a dependency of Abu Dhabi. Written records before 1799 do not exist, although the city itself is mentioned in passing in a number of earlier texts. Its advantageous position in the Persian Gulf made it a good spot for trade--particularly between India and the nations of the west--and historians believe that the city probably existed in some form well before the birth of Christ. In 1833, the British government took control of Dubai, and remained more or less in charge until 1971 when they departed the region. Dubai and other nearby emirates formed the United Arab Emirates in 1973.
Dubai is ruled by the Al Maktoum family, who helped run it with the British starting in 1833. The Dubai municipality handles city matters, and Dubai also has a considerable hand in the government of the United Arab Emirates. Its current leader, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, also serves as Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, and the emirate elects eight people to serve on the Federal National Council. Under the United Arab Emirates constitution, Dubai retains control over its own revenue and has the rights to its natural resources. Along with Abu Dhabi, it is the only one of the seven emirates which retains veto power in the national legislature.
Though it has thrived on oil and gas trade in the past, Dubai's primary economic value is as a trade port. It built an artificial harbor--Jebel Ali, in the 1970s--which currently ranks eighth in the world for container traffic transactions. Its airport was a vital conduit for Western forces during both the Persian Gulf War in the 1990 and the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Dubai has used these assets to springboard into the financial sector and IT development, which now forms the backbone of its economic health. The Dubai Financial Market first opened in early 2000, and high-tech companies such as Microsoft, IBM and Oracle all have a considerable presence within the city.
Like many parts of the Persian Gulf, Dubai is extremely hot, with temperatures climbing well above 100 degrees in the summertime. The city is surrounded by the Arabian Desert to the south and east and is blocked off by the Gulf to the west and north. The Western Hajar Mountains mark its border with Oman, and a single creek, Dubai Creek, has been artificially deepened to allow ship travel. Dubai boasts a population of approximately 1.5 million, more than 1 million of whom are men. Ethnic Indians and Pakistanis comprise a significant percentage of its populace (71 percent by some estimates).
The high percentage of Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis in the city make Dubai a fascinating melting pot of Hindu and Muslim cultures. The city celebrates Muslim holidays, such as Ramadan, as well as the United Arab Emirates' National Day every December 2. Food and music embrace a wide variety of different cultures, and shopping can be found in traditional settings and modern malls alike. The city hosts five different soccer teams who belong to the United Arab Emirates League, and cricket remains a popular sport as well. The Dubai International Film Festival attracts film lovers from all over the world, and the city embraces both American movies and Indian films from Bollywood. Despite strong regulation of liquor, Dubai boasts a thriving night life, with bars and nightclubs in many of the city's luxury hotels.