Dubai has begun to specialise in the resort-shopping mall combination and there are a number of resorts and shopping centres that now showcase this marriage of two holiday essentials. Used restaurant equipment Emirates Mall is also part of the Kempinski Resort,
The Madinat Resort complex has an extensive shopping area as well as a range of restaurants and cafes.
Dubai is a city within an emirate (state or province) of the same name. It is a place of many faces, some call it a fairyland with its desert and mountains, rich greenery, long white sandy beaches, and brilliant blue and green ocean, the Arabian Sea. Dubai is a sprawling metropolis intertwined with major highways and the Metro train system which opened in September 2009. Underpasses, overpasses, bridges, this is a city that never sleeps, a 24/7 phenomena that is continuing to expand.
Dubai is not just a tourist destination, but a major financial centre, industrial hub, and regional headquarters for many corporations. The commercial activity in Dubai is another major contributor to the city and emirate's tourist and travel industry - it helps to fill airline seats and hotel rooms. From the sparkling new Atlantis on Palm Jumeirah, to the iconic Burj al Arab on the Jumeirah Beach coastline, the region's hotels are mushrooming. All the major hotel chains are here and the existing large number of hotels is being added to virtually by the week. A large number of hotels are under construction or planned for all parts of Dubai.
Aside from the modern attributes there are still the relics of a bygone era.
The City
The central part of Dubai housing the CBD comprises Deira on the northern side of the Creek, and Bur Dubai on the southern side. There is a tunnel and two bridges linking the two areas. All over the city, in Deira and Bur Dubai, there are skyscrapers, major office towers, hotels, souks, banks, universities, colleges, schools, hospitals, mosques, and shopping malls. The city too is dotted with huge apartment towers and low-rise villas, as residential living has become popular in the city as well as in the suburbs.
To the north of the city is the adjoining emirate of Sharjah. To the south are the suburban areas of Satwa, Jumeirah, Umm Suqeim, Dubai Marina and Jumeirah Beach.
No comments yet