About United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates is a fascinating country and a unique success story. Where 50 years ago there was little more than desert, today stand some of the most impressive and imposing buildings in the world.
On 2 December 1971, Great Britain granted independence to the Trucial States. On the same day, the rulers of Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Fujairah, Sharjah, Dubai and Umm al-Qaiwain met and founded the United Arab Emirates, with Sheikh Zayid bin Sultan Al Nahyan as president, which joined the United Nations a week later, on 9 December. On 11 February 1972, Ra's al-Khaimah became the seventh and last emirate of the former Trucial States to join the UAE.
Burj el Arab
One of Dubai's modern landmarks is the Burj El Arab, built between 1994 and 1999.
The Burj al Arab is a hotel in Dubai. With a height of 321 metres, it is one of the tallest hotel buildings in the world. Its striking sail-shaped structure and exposed location make it a landmark of the city, and it is also considered one of the most luxurious and expensive hotels in the world.
The hotel is operated by the Jumeirah Group, which also runs the neighbouring Jumeirah Beach Hotel, the Emirates Towers and, among others, the Bab al Shams in Dubai. The group also owns other properties in London and New York.
The design is by Tom Wright, an employee of Atkins Middle East. The builders' express wish was to create an architectural icon that would become a symbol of Dubai. The design is shaped like the sail of a modern yacht and is intended to symbolise Dubai's past as a maritime trading centre and its future orientation.
Murray & Roberts and Al Habtoor Engineering Enterprises formed a joint venture to realise the construction. Construction began in 1994; it took around two years to build the load-bearing artificial island, and the actual construction lasted until 1999.
At 321.25 metres, the hotel is slightly lower than the Eiffel Tower (324 metres).
Burj Khalifa
At 828 metres high, the Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world; it was completed in 2008.
A global icon and vertical city, Burj Khalifa is a symbol of Dubai’s boundless aspirations. Towering at an incredible height, it stands as the tallest structure in the world. Redefining Dubai’s skyline, it represents a marvel of modern engineering and architectural brilliance.
The world's first Armani Hotel has moved into the lower 38 of the 163 floors that are open to the public. The floors above house 43 offices and several suites.
The 124th/125th floor is designed as a viewing platform at a height of 456 metres with a 360-degree view, called ‘At the Top, Burj Khalifa’. Visitors are transported to the 124th floor in 60 seconds via two lifts. Since autumn 2014, visitors have had access to another viewing platform, ‘At the Top, Burj Khalifa SKY’. One lift takes visitors to the 124th floor, and another lift then takes them up to the 148th floor to a slightly more exclusive viewing platform with an outdoor terrace at a height of 555 metres. The rush of visitors is much less on the 148th floor than on the 124th/125th floor. Both terraces (124th/125th and 148th floors) are positioned so that visitors have a good view of the Dubai Fountain water feature, which starts daily at 6 p.m., but the view from the 148th floor does not offer a 360-degree panoramic view.
In January 2011, the @mosphere restaurant, which belongs to the Armani Hotel, opened on the 123rd floor. Based on the number of floors below it, it is the highest restaurant in the world.
The highest inhabited floor is the 163rd, at 584 metres.
Elevators go up to the 189th floor at 638 metre.
Impressive shopping centres - MERCATO SHOPPING MALL
Mercato, located on Jumeirah Beach Road, is one of Dubai’s most charismatic and best loved shopping malls because of its individual and unequalled ambience. Although Mercato is essentially a community mall, serving the needs of residents in Jumeirah and surrounding areas, it also attracts tens of thousands of tourists from all over the world every year. Spanning 643,067 square feet, Mercato is home to over 140 shops and service outlets and prides itself in offering customers a superb variety of international fashion and lifestyle brands, a comprehensive selection of service outlets and a mouth-watering choice of cafes and restaurants
IBN BATTUTA MALL
The malls offer everything your heart desires.
They are essentially fully air-conditioned modern souks that are both in keeping with Arab tradition and consistently oriented towards modernity.
Desert state – that was yesterday.
Individual freedom to live...
The United Arab Emirates are predominantly Muslim countries. And yet, over 160 nations live here peacefully and completely freely with and alongside one another. Alongside the economic success of the UAE, this is probably its greatest achievement, or...
perhaps it is also the prerequisite for its economic success. While Muslims in Europe are becoming increasingly conservative and hostile towards other religions, here it is exactly the opposite. The beach in Dubai is a colourful hive of activity with swimwear from all over the world. Those who like it can wear a burkini, but bikinis and normal swimsuits are just as accepted and welcome.
Tolerance is not a foreign concept in Dubai.