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 Silhouette of a dhow in the Bur Dubai creek
Silhouette of a dhow in the Bur Dubai creek
Dubai is unusual in that its population comprises mainly expatriates, with UAE nationals (Emiratis) constituting the minority. The vast majority of these expatriates come from South Asia and the South East Asia. A quarter of the population reportedly trace their origins to neighboring Iran.[5] The UAE government does not allow any form of naturalization or permanent residence to expatriates.
Nearly all of the commercial establishments are run by expatriates with a silent local partner who merely "rents" the business license for a negotiated annual fee without taking part in any capital investment. The numerous free trade zones allow for full expatriate ownership.
There is an increasing number of "freehold" villas and flats on artificial islands such as the Palm Islands. The "lease" on these freehold properties was first offered for 99 years but was later changed to permanent ownership. It is, however, illegal to seek employment on this visa. Ownership of lease does not guarantee any form of legal residency status in the UAE. The Federal Government is still formulating laws pertaining to ownership of property and considering issuing residency status to those who own such property.
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English is the medium of instruction in most schools in Dubai. Annual fees for nursery and pre-school vary greatly.
Some English College, and Jumeirah College are all British style eleven-to-eighteen secondary schools which offer GCSE and A-Levels. The Emirates International School, Al Diyafah High School and Cambridge International High School are also secondary schools that offer a combination of GCSE, IGCSE, and IB courses to the expatriate community. The International School of Choueifat and Emirates International School offer both British and American curricula. Emirates International School is known to offer the best all-round pre-college education in Dubai, with the prestigious International Baccalaureate Diploma program, and graduating seniors who consistently receive offers from the best universities across the globe.
A growing number of K-12 schools offer the American syllabus. The American School of Dubai (ASD), which is located in Jumeirah, and Dubai American Academy (DAA) have been around the longest. ASD offers an accredited American high school diploma; DAA offers both an American-accredited high school diploma and the International Baccalaureate [IB] diploma. There are also some primary and high schools that offer Canadian and Japanese syllabi.
Many expatriates tend to send their children back to their home country for Al Ghurair University, Dubai Women's College, Wollongong in Dubai">University of Wollongong in Dubai, and Zayed University.
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 The Jumeira Palm island.
The Jumeira Palm island.
The government's decision to diversify from a trade-based but oil-reliant economy to one that is service- and tourism-oriented has made real estate more valuable, and corporations such as Emaar Properties, and Nakheel have benefited. Corporate office enclaves on Sheikh Zayed road were developed to shift Dubai's traditional business area from the Dubai creek to the western parts of the city.
Dubai's land-reclamation projects — the three Palm Islands of Jumeira, Jebel Ali and Deira; The World archipelago; and the Dubai Waterfront — will be the largest man-made offshore structures in the world, housing villas, hotels, shops and holiday resorts.
The first villa freehold properties that were occupied by non-UAE nationals were The Meadows, The Springs, and The Lakes (upper-class neighborhoods designed by Emaar Properties, collectively called Emirates Hills). Somewhere from 2005 to 2006, most of the freehold skyscrapers and other villa projects will be ready for occupancy.
The city has modern skyscrapers such as Emirates Towers, which are the 12th and 24th tallest buildings in the world[8], and the Burj al-Arab located on the Persian Gulf and is currently the tallest hotel in the world.
Emaar Properties is currently constructing what will become the world's tallest building, the Burj Dubai. It is expected to be completed in 2008.
In February 2005, the construction of Dubai Waterfront was announced [9], it will be 2˝ times the size of Washington D.C., the size of the island of Manhattan. Dubai Waterfront will be a mix of canals and islands full of hotels and residential areas that will add 500 miles of man-made waterfront. It will also contain Al Burj, another one of the tallest buildings in the world.
Dubai has also launched Dubiotech. This is a new park to be targeted at Biotech companies working in pharma, medical fields, genetic research and even biodefense. The aim of this park is to foster the growth of this sector in Dubai and to utilize the region's talent in addressing this rapidly growing sector.
The International Media Production Zone is a project targeted at creating a hub for printers, publishers, media production companies, and related industry segments. This project was launched in 2003 and is estimated to be completed by 2006.
Immigrants have been pouring capital into Dubai in the past several years, greatly contributing to the city's prosperity. Iranian expatriates alone are estimated to have invested up to $US 200 Billion in Dubai.[10]
Dubai interests have also purchased large amounts of real estate in foreign countries, in particular snapping up trophy properties in global centers like New York and London; a typical purchase in 2005 was New York's 230 Park Avenue (formerly known as the New York Central Building or the Helmsley Building) and Essex House on Central Park South.
See the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing's list of developments [11] in Dubai for more information.
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Dubai has a fairly large bus system run by the Dubai Municipality. The bus system has 59 unique routes on weekdays and transports over 200,000 people each week. The government has issued plastic, swipable "e-go" cards. There are also several discounts and period pass options available. Unfortunately though, the bus network is used extensively by lower income groups and does not do enough to attract higher income earners who would do well to use the bus transport system and ease traffic congestion that has recently become a major problem in Dubai and the United Arab Emirates. Traffic congestion has come about mainly due to lack of foresight on the recent rapid population increase, the relative ease of credit facilities for obtaining a car and the convoluted road networks that are constantly being changed, improved or reconstructed. Furthermore, Dubai has developed a reputation for having the most number of deaths and road accidents in the developed world clocking in with a statistic of having a minor road accident at least every 3 minutes. Due to the frequency of such incidents, road networks are blocked and held up quite frequently.
Dubai also has an extensive taxi system, by far the most frequently used means of public transport within the emirate. There are both government-operated and private cab companies. The Dubai Transport Corporation operates cream-colored taxis. Some of the private cab companies are Cars Taxi, National Taxi, Cititaxi and Metro Taxi. Prices are reasonable (the meter begins as Dhs. 3, which is approximately 50pence, or 1 USD), and are charged by distance, although if the cab stops for more than 1 minute, 1/2 a Dirham will be added to the meter. Taxi drivers will usually try to avert this happening in traffic queues by moving slightly forward every 30 seconds or so. Cabs can be found anywhere, any time although difficulties may be experienced during large events.
One of the more traditional methods of getting across Bur Dubai to Deira is through abras, small boats that ferry passengers across the Dubai creek, between abra stations in Bastakiya and Bani Yas Road, for a nominal charge of 1 Dh.
There is currently a $3.89 billion Dubai Metro project under construction for the emirate. The Metro system is expected to be partially operational by 2009 and fully operational by 2012. The construction contract for the project was given to Dubai Rapid Link (DURL)[12], a consortium lead by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Also involved are two other Japanese corporations, Obayashi and Kajima, and a Turkish company, Yapi Merkezi. The metro will comprise two lines: the Green Line from Rashidiya to the main city center and the Red Line from the airport to Jebel Ali. The Dubai Metro will have 70 kilometers of track and 43 stations, 33 above ground and ten underground. Trains are expected to run every 90 seconds when the project is completed. Dubai is building this train system to ease congestion on its road network and to meet the transportation demands of its growing population. Seven monorails are also slated to be constructed to help feed the Metro system, connecting various places such as Dubailand, Palm Jumeriah, et al, to the main track.
Dubai is also investing heavily in developing the reach of its airline, Emirates. The idea is to develop Dubai's air transportation ability so that passengers from any city can fly direct to Dubai. The airline has placed an order of 45 of Airbus's A-380 'superjumbo' doubledecker aircraft, the largest of which has a capacity of 641 passengers. The A380 aircraft have already been charted to fly from October 2006 onwards. In addition, Emirates has placed an order of 42 of the new Boeing 777 aircraft in November 2005.
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Dubai is divided into 9 sectors: 1-4 & 6 are urban; 7-9 are rural; 8 is Jebel Ali.
Each sector is sub-divided into communities of various size with major (named) roads as the boundaries. Currently there are 44 communities.
Communities:
Al Barsha
Al Burj
Al Garhoud
Al Hamriya
Al Jafilia
Al Karama
Al Mamzar
Al Mankhool
Al Quoz
Al Quoz Industrial Area 1
Al Quoz Industrial Area 3
Al Qusais
Al Qusais Industrial Area
Al Safa 1
Al Safa 2
Al Satwa
Al Satwa East
AL Sufouh
Al Tawar
Al Wasl
Arabian Ranches
Bastakiya
Burj Dubai
Deira
Dubai International Airport
Emirates Hill 1
Emirates HIll 2
Al Anz">Hor Al Anz
Jaddaf
Jebel Ali Free Zone
Jumeira
Jumeira 2
Jumeira 3
Marsa Dubai
Mirdif
Oud Mehta
Port Rashid
Port Saeed
Shindagha
Trade Centre 1
Trade Centre 2
Umm Hurair 2
Umm Suqeim 1
Umm Suqeim 2
Umm Suqeim 3
Za'abeel
Within these communities are numbered streets and house/building numbers. In general, even numbered streets run parallel to the coast and increase in number as one goes inland. Odd numbered street are perpendicular to the coast and increase as one moves away from the creek. Note that these progressions are repeated within each community so, for example there will be numerous street number 5 along the Jumeirah 1, 2, 3, and Umm Suqeim 'strip'.
Addressing and location: The formal addressing system is: sector number, community number, street number and building number.
In common practice, an address consists of: street number, building number and community name although the order may vary. For example:
Street 1a, Villa 2
Umm Suqeim 3
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
There is no home postal delivery with post office boxes used instead.
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Dubai is fast gaining its name as international venue for sporting activities. Recently ICC choose Dubai as its new Headquarters leaving Lords which hosted ICC for 95 years.
Rugby is quickly becoming a popular sport.
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Hotels in United Arab Emirates - Dubai >>
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