Leaving the bustling streets of Istanbul behind, we arrived in Dubai to welcome the New Year. The city impressed us at first sight: the incredible size of the Dubai Mall and the sight of the Burj Khalifa towering next to it made us immediately feel that we had fallen into a world of a completely different scale.
Although the city is famous for luxury, we were also looking for more authentic flavors. We had dinner at a fantastic Filipino restaurant, Lola’s Best, where we could taste the favorite dishes of the local community – the flavors were honest and the atmosphere was warm.
After the modern skyscrapers, we headed towards the desert. It was interesting to see local families who marched out into the dunes with huge tents to spend their days off there – a tradition that is still an integral part of their culture to this day.
We also saw Dubai through the eyes of a friend who lives there, who took us to the old part of the city (Deira and Bur Dubai). Here, the glamour was replaced by history: on the Creek River, traditional wooden boats, the abras, still serve as water taxis, transporting passengers between the spice and gold markets for just a few dirhams. Here we also saw the world’s largest gold ring, the Najmat Taiba: the 21-carat jewel weighs more than 60 kilograms and is decorated with 5 kilograms of crystals – a Guinness World Record sight.
The next day, we could also admire Dubai’s iconic buildings from the water. We sailed past the Burj Al Arab, which is the world’s only (unofficial) seven-star hotel. What’s interesting is that it stands on an artificial island, and its sail shape pays homage to Dubai’s maritime past; its interior is covered with more than 1,700 square meters of 24-carat gold leaf.
During the tour we passed by real sea giants, famous superyachts. The MAR is a stunning, modern luxury ship that represents the highest technology. The Blue is one of the largest yachts in the world, which is the pinnacle of sea luxury in terms of length and internal volume, and the Opera, which is a gigantic ship of more than 140 meters, which attracted all eyes with its elegance. Just an interesting fact is that we were able to admire the Blue in Malta a year ago.
We spent the last dinner of the year at the Kitchen6 restaurant, located in the JW Marriott Marquis. This restaurant is recognized worldwide for its six open kitchens and international selection – it is regularly ranked among the top 10 best international restaurants in Dubai in the TripAdvisor ranking.
The midnight fireworks and light painting on the Burj Khalifa were indescribable. However, after the party we were faced with reality, because of the crowd it was impossible to find a taxi, at least for a reasonable amount. A driver offered to take us for a total of around 200 USD. There were endless lines at the metro, so much so that we couldn’t enter the street leading there half a kilometer from the stop, the crowd was so big. We finally set off on foot at night, but luckily a minibus picked us up, so we arrived at our accommodation safely, even though exhausted.
On January 1st, we went up to the Burj Khalifa observation deck to watch the sunset from there, before leaving for our next stop the next day, Cairo.
Dubai’s history began with a modest fishing village in the late 18th century. Members of the Bani Yas tribe settled along Dubai Creek, where they mainly lived from pearl fishing and trade. In the mid-19th century, the city became one of the most important ports in the region, thanks to the tax-free trade policy that attracted Indian and Persian merchants, thus establishing the multicultural character of the settlement.
The turning point came in 1966 when oil was discovered in the region. Although Dubai’s oil reserves were much smaller than those of neighboring Abu Dhabi, the ruler at the time, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, wisely recognized that the revenues should be invested in infrastructure development. Roads, schools, hospitals, and the world’s largest man-made port, Jebel Ali, were built, in preparation for the time when oil would no longer be enough to sustain the economy.
By the 2000s, Dubai had become one of the world’s fastest-growing metropolises, built on tourism, real estate development, and financial services. The world’s tallest buildings and man-made islands grew out of the desert. Today, the city is a major hub for global trade, where traditional Arabian hospitality meets cutting-edge technology.
