Dubai

Dubai's relentless love affair with tourism continues to transform the city's skyline. Waterfront hotels and tax-free shopping malls spring up along the serene Gulf coast in mere months while new theatres and performance venues tap into a newfound thirst for cultural stimulation. The city is all about spin, and it likes to float at least half a dozen audacious new projects each year. Current headline-grabbers are the construction of the world's tallest tower and the world's largest indoor ski.

Visitors to Dubai should not expect sightseeing in the classic sense. For those in search of history, however, there are a few pockets of old Dubai still in existence, the most impressive of which is Bastakia, a carefully renovated and pedestrianised conservation area. Its narrow alleyways are lined with old buildings constructed from coral and crowned with wind towers, the pre-electricity form of air-conditioning. On the other side of the Creek from Bastakia lies Deira, home to the city's remaining old souks. Take a wooden abra boat across the water and you'll hit a network of old shopping streets that spiral into one another, housing scores of old-school merchants who hawk spices, gold and fabrics to locals and tourists alike.

To check out the modern side of the city you should make for Sheikh Zayed, a strip filled with stunning futuristic skyscrapers. Head to the top of the Emirates Towers for a drink at Vu's Bar and you'll get a wonderful view over the city, stretching from the iconic Burj Al Arab to the outskirts of the desert. Other particularly impressive architecture includes the bow-legged Dusit Dubai, the pyramid-topped Fairmont and the extravagant majesty of the Shangri-La. The city's other real sightseeing interests lie on Jumeirah Beach Road, which curves along the coast and is home to Jumeirah Mosque (the only mosque open to non-Muslims) and the beautiful Jumeirah Beach Park.

Local history

Britain decided to give back the then colonial outpost of the Trucial States in 1967, which became the United Arab Emirates in time for the explosion of development that the 1970s’ petrodollar boom brought to the UAE. Thanks to Sheikh Zayed’s conscientious use of the oil money that Dubai had unearthed, the city developed exponentially, recreating itself into a tourist destination extraordinaire.

Local politics

Much of Dubai’s success is dependent on its employment and immigration policies. Migrant workers are allowed to stay in the UAE as long as they are working and take on management, skilled or unskilled jobs. The higher skilled roles go to UAE nationals and westerners mostly, while the building and maintenance of the world-leading hotels and attractions is mainly carried out by Sri Lankans, Pakistanis, Indians and Filipinos.