Dubai

Dubai. The Emirate on the southeast coast of the Persian Gulf. One of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Dubai. The city lots of people have heard of; the Burj Khalifa building that Tom Cruise absailed down in Mission Impossible Protocol. The city where Sex and the City 2 was supposedly filmed, yet it was Morocco but you wouldn’t realise the difference if you haven’t visited this part of the globe.

It was flabbergasting to see the skyline of Dubai and how much it had changed from years ago when we arrived in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE. It was 18-and-a-half years ago when we arrived and the landscape was completely different.

You should have seen the amount of desert back then, the numerous camels roaming the sandy white dunes, the little architecture that existed. A marvellous transformation has taken place. The vast multitude of buildings, all shapes, sizes and architectural styles. So many highways, roads, so much more traffic too. And talking about traffic, you should see the fabulous cars which zoom on by. Gosh, the speed they go too despite the whopping 140kmph speed limit on motorways! A race track you could say, or wacky races as my Grandma pointed out. I love seeing all the cars on the roads, it’s as if you’re in a showroom full of all the amazing cars Dubai has to offer.  

We say that there isn’t much of the desert left as properties, shopping malls, hotels and many more buildings have taken the place of the sand which we were welcomed by 18½ years ago. The doors to Abu Dhabi airport opened and blimey, we were hit by the shocking heat and the gust of humidity attached to it; as though we stepped into a sauna. It’s unbelievably unbearable in the summer months, with temperatures over 50°C, difficult to imagine when you’ve grown up and lived in the UK for example.

Before I was born, my Mum, Dad and brother lived in Sharjah, covering 2,600 km². It’s amazing to hear their stories of how this emirate was not so long ago. I remember them telling me that roads were narrow, one-laned and it sounded like the compound they lived on was lovely. My Mum says that their bungalow backed onto the communal swimming pool where mums and toddlers used to gather in mornings, swap stories and socialise. Thinking about how life was in Sharjah back then and how much Abu Dhabi and Dubai have changed from when the four of us arrived, makes me wonder about how great and wonderful the United Arab Emirates are, and how powerful the rulers can be in advancing their emirates with the help of construction workers, consultancies and workers like you and I.

I’ve had a fabulous time growing up in Abu Dhabi with my family. We’ve had so many opportunities to travel around the globe, grow up amongst a multi-cultured society, and for that, I am truly thankful to my parents for broadening my brother’s and my knowledge and opening our eyes to the many wonders which this world has to offer.