Since 1892, Dubai and the other “Trucial States” had been a British protectorate. The British government took care of foreign policy and defence, as well as arbitrating between the rulers of the Eastern Gulf. In 1968, Harold Wilson announced that all British troops were to be withdrawn from “East of Aden”. The decision created a political vacuum that threw the coastal emirates into fevered negotiations. A proposed nine-state union was derailed in 1969 when British intervention against aggressive activities by Bahrain and Qatar caused them to walk out. The remaining emirates, by 1972, formed the UAE. There were a few border disputes but by 1979 things had settled down. Dubai, fuelled by oil and trade, began a boom era.
The world’s biggest mall includes an aquarium. Opened in 2008 this obviously, because it is Dubai, included several world records. It holds the Guinness World Record for largest shopping mall aquarium. We thought we would have a look. First job was finding it. The world’s biggest mall is extremely big so finding anything, even the world’s biggest aquarium, can be a challenge. It does not help when your partner wants to keep checking out shops to find some new trousers. We did eventually manage both the big fish tank and the new trousers. The Dubai aquarium is also a zoo. I have mixed feelings about zoos. They play a role in conservation and sometimes it is nice to see animals and fish up close. On the other hand, the poor creatures are in captivity and, I think, generally live a pretty miserable existence. Somehow, fish tanks do not seem so cruel as animal cages.
The zoo is spread over three levels and surrounded by shops. 5 million people visit it each year, many of whom seemed to be there on the day we were. The start is a tunnel through a humongous tank featuring sharks and stingrays. Very strange watching them swim over your head. You could also see through the tank to the rest of the mall. So, we had a vision of sharks swimming around some of the big brand shops. This seemed meaningful in some way. The other levels contain a mixture of tanks and cages containing aquatic creatures, reptiles, birds and a few animals. We saw an axolotl, a type of salamander known for its unique appearance and regenerative abilities. Famous for their ability to regenerate lost body parts, including limbs, gills, and even parts of their eyes and brains. There were otters being cute and penguins in a special freezer section. I have seen many Gentoo penguins in the wild and did not like seeing them like this. There were parrots, snakes, lizards, a very cute chameleon, an electric eel and two crocodiles. Saltwater crocodiles, our largest living reptiles, not very friendly, best viewed through a very solid piece of reinforced glass.
Fish tank done, we decided to go up the Burj. This is all part of a massive complex, the Dubai Downtown area. Not just the mall but also, a large lake, many restaurants, high rise towers and other things. The Burj Khalifa rises like a great phallus above the surrounding structures. An extraordinarily high-speed lift takes you up close to the top. The building is quite narrow at floor 154, only a hundred metres across. The view, from this height is always going to be quite impressive. Dust and smog did tend to make things hazy. It was an interesting way to get a feel for how Dubai is built and laid out. Beyond the downtown area are many, many housing estates. The houses are, for the most part, very grandiose and probably cost millions. They are, nonetheless, still laid out just like the ex-council housing I used to occupy in Rotherham. Posh housing estates.
Dubai has a dark underside. Much of it was built using labour from South Asia. Workers were notoriously underpaid (£2.85 a day), worked long shifts, lived in cramped, basic conditions and often had their passports taken. So only a smidge short of slave labour. Capitalism usually involves exploitation. For years, Dubai has been labelled as a major hub for laundering illicit cash, primarily through its real estate market. Due to the UAE’s lack of proper regulations and extradition treaties with many countries, fugitives found it to be a perfect hideout. The “Dubai Unlocked” investigation in 2022 revealed how Dubai’s real estate market became a haven for criminals, money launderers, drug lords, fugitives, political figures accused of corruption, and sanctioned individuals. In 2022, foreign ownership in Dubai’s real estate market was worth approximately $160 billion. Until 2022, there was no obligation for real estate agents, brokers, and lawyers in Dubai to report large cash or cryptocurrency transactions to authorities.
The Burg Khalifa was used in one of the Mission Impossible films. Tom Cruise climbed out of a window on the 130th floor. As well as being the tallest building in the world it is also the tallest TV screen. Lights run its entire height on the side overlooking the fountains. These are used to make quite a remarkable display surface. We hung around enjoying the views until the sunset. Sadly, all the dust made this a bit of an anticlimax. We rounded the day off at a restaurant looking out at the fountains. These are the fountains in the big pool at the base of the Burj. You will not be surprised that the Dubai Fountains are the world’s largest choreographed fountain system. $218 million gets you 6,000 lights, 25 projectors and water shooting up to 150 m. Shortly after we arrived, the first show of the evening kicked off with dancing water, flashing lights and the Burj Khalifa video screen, set to the sound of the Mission Impossible theme. Every half hour after that, came another display, each one set to different music. The food was good but everywhere was packed and felt a bit manic. Not really a relaxing meal. We were sat outside where it was ridiculously hot and there were throngs of people all bustling around to get a good position for the next fountain show. I was quite happy to get back to our cool, quiet hotel room.
Next day, we went to have a look at the Palm Jumeirah. There is a tower that looks over the Palm. For a fee, you can visit the viewing platform and look down on the people living there. We paid extra so that we could jump the queue. My heritage as an Englishman makes me respect the great institution of queues. On the other hand, I really hate standing in a queue. In this case, I felt vindicated. Even with the more expensive tickets, we spent over half an hour queuing. The alternative could have taken many hours.
The Palm Jumeirah is a cluster of artificial islands in the shape of a palm tree. 25,000 people live here. The circular outer breakwater is used for upmarket resorts and hotels. As best I can tell, a house here will cost you at least £5 million. So, the whole place is an exclusive reserve for the rich. It is sterile. There is no natural vegetation and barely any planted greenery. A monorail and road system connect it to the rest of Dubai. There are no animals at all. At least none that I could see. The beaches are perfectly smooth and free of blemishes. To be honest, I don’t get it. Why would you want to sit in your very expensive house, surrounded, closely, by other very expensive houses, in 35° C of heat, looking across a short stretch of artificial waterway at yet more very expensive houses. It is an enclave built by and for the very rich (and the criminals, etc.). I hope they enjoy it – at least it keeps them all out of the way.
In the morning, we flew out. I managed to get a couple of poor photos of the desert that surrounds Dubai. Then we settled down for the flight to Delhi.
