Planning to visit Dubai? Historical and modern highlights to visit in Dubai is an overview of interesting places to visit. Dubai is the largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of residents. Dubai emirate has 2,4 million residents and 95% lives in the city. It’s estimated only 10-15% of the residents are locals. Other residents are from elsewhere and are a mix of 120 different nationalities.

In 2019 Dubai welcomed 16 million tourist mostly from China, Russia and Oman. The tallest building in the world is located in Dubai, Burj Khalifa. The largest shopping mall on our planet is the Dubai Mall. Dubai is popular by tourists because western traditions are mixed with exotic eastern traditions. In the middle of the Arab Spring Dubai remained a heaven of peace and political stability.

Dubai Creek

Dubai Creek is a saltwater extension from the Persian Gulf. The canal splits the city in half. In the east is Deira and in the west is Bur Dubai. Some say the Ancient Greeks called the creek River Zara. A traditional way to cross the canal is by taking an abra, a water taxi. Loading and unloading at the quay is an activity going back for centuries. The wooden abras are sometimes passed by unimaginable luxurious yachts. From the promenade you have a great view of Dubai’s skyline.

Bur Dubai

The historic area of the city is Bur Dubai. The area is located west of the Dubai Creek. From 1860 prominent families moved to this area and away from the city. A few houses are renovated and transformed to a museum. Other historical buildings along the Creek are temporarily closed. On the north side of the promenade is the Heritage and Diving Village with traditional Arabic architecture. When visiting the museum you go back in time. Local craftsmen are working in the village and sell their work in the shops. It’s popular among tourist and even the locals like to visit the area in the weekends.

Sheikh Said Al Maktoum House

A historical landmark in Bur Dubai is the renovated residence of the Al-Maktoum family. The residence is located at the Creek and is built with four windmills. The structure dates back to 1896. Multiple generations lived in the residence at the same time. Meetings of the central government were even held here. After the death of sheikh Said Al Maktoum the family moved elsewhere.

The structure fell into disrepair. In the early 90’s renovation works started. They used traditional materials like coral stone, decorative plaster and wooden carvings. A feature of the Islamic architecture are the number of rooms around the patio. It creates light and airiness. Today, the residence is a museum. The displays are about the history of Dubai, the city, the residence, marine life and the Al Maktoum Family.

Al-Fahidi Fort & Dubai Museum

The main museum of the city is Dubai Museum. It’s located in the Al Fahidi Fort. The fort is built in multiple phases. The oldest part is the tower and built around 1787. They say it is the oldest building in Dubai. The function of the structures changed several times. At first it was a private residence. Later it became a prison and today it is a museum. The building is made out of coral stone and it used the be the residences of rulers of Dubai.

The museum is presenting a 5000 year history of the trading city. There is a central courtyard inside the fort. It displays a bronze cannon and cannonballs. Various kind of boats are displayed in the museum: a Dhow, Al Abra and Al Hourey.

Al Bastakiya

One of the oldest neighbourhoods in Dubai is Bastakia or Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood. The area is created by immigrants from the city of Bastak in Persia around 1890. They moved away because the religious persecution. Other factors were the favourable import and export rates and incentives given by the Emirati government. In the 80’s a part of the neighbourhood was destroyed by developers. The other half was preserved. Some of the houses are private property. Others are offices, there is small museum, Arabian teahouses and art galleries.

Dubai Mall

The Dubai Mall is located next to Burj Khalifa and is the largest shopping mall in the world. Dubai Mall has more than 1200 stores. It houses the Dubai Aquarium, an Olympic indoor skating rank, movie theatres, restaurants and bars and an Entertainment Centre. There is a separate gold souk with 300 jewellers. Outside the mall at the entrance of Burj Khalifa is the Dubai Fountain. The project to built a lake and fountain costed over 200 million dollars. The Fountain Show in the early evening is worth seeing.

Burj Khalifa

Burj Khalifa is Arabic for Khalifa Tower. They started construction in 2004 and the building was inaugurated in 2010. The total height is 829 meters. It is the tallest building in the world surpassing the skyscraper Taipei 101. Burj Khalifa was a part of a new city development named Downtown Dubai. The floorplan is shaped in the form of a Hymenocallis. It’s also called a Spider Lily. Burj Khalifa is located within an 11ha park. The architectural design of the park is also inspired by the Hymenocallis. The water used for watering the plants in the park is collected from the building’s AC.

The skyscraper has 163 floors and 55 elevators. It has office spaces, 900 apartments, a restaurant at the 122th floor, a nightclub at the 143th floor and a mosque on floor number 158. There are two observatories, one on the 124^th floor and the other on the 148^th floor.

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Jumeirah

The area of Jumeirah is situated along a 9km coastline with white sandy beaches. A few public beaches are Jumeirah Open Beach, the beaches at the Palm Jumeirah and Kite Beach. Jumeirah is mostly a residential area with expensive and large private houses. There are many hotels in this area. It’s popular among expats to live here and who are working in the emirate.

Burj Al Arab

Burj Al Arab is one of the most iconic landmarks in Dubai. It is located in Jumeirah. The building is designed as a curved ship sail. It’s a modern luxurious hotel and is situated on an artificial island. The hotel is a seven star hotel. Along with the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi it’s one of the few seven stars hotel in the world. The only people allowed in are hotel guests and guests for the restaurant. You need to reserve a table at one of the restaurants. They don’t allow you to enter without reservation or booking.

In The World’s Jungle – Travel blog

If you like to see more of Dubai, go through the photo gallery of Dubai. Make a stop-over in Dubai or Abu Dhabi when you are flying from Europe or Africa to Asia. Are you looking for other travel destinations? Start with the beginner travel guides for India, Malaysia or Sri Lanka. Feel free to leave comments below the articles..

In The World’s Jungle – Personal Travel Guide

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