Dubai

Dubai has been transformed since His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan took over from his father running the country. The previous link shows some of his vision for the area, but what's staggering is comparing the modern city-state with its recent incarnation as little more than a fishing port.

more than anything, Dubai is currently in the world's eye for its audacious attempts to create a network of man-made islands to increase its size. Dubai has recently been known for an explosion of building; I've been reading up on the projects and the architecture.

• Nakheel The company set up by the Sultan to manage all the over-the-top developments. If you go to this site and click on 'project fact sheets' you'll see most of them.


• Independent Travel"So bad it's good- A seven-star hotel, chic stores, an artificial archipelago that creates a world map in the sea, the tallest building ever, the first underwater hotel: there are no heights - or depths - to which Dubai won't go in its bid to become a tourist mecca"



specific projects



• The Gardens


• Hotel Burh Al Arab


• The World, Dubai


• The Palm, Jumeirah


• The Palm: Interesting facts


• The Emirates Towers hotel


• The Gardens Shopping Mall of course, it'll be the largest in the world