Frigid day in the UAE

Who would have thunk?  With lows in the 60’s at night people actually wear jackets here.

The temperatures have been downright pleasant lately, mid-80’s during the day with a pleasant, non dust stirring breeze and down to the 60’s at night.  If there were more green it would be the perfect climate!

Dubai, UAE

Dubai really is a unique town.  It’s a global city in the fact that it takes its global connections for the city to thrive. 

It is built in the desert adjacent to a salty body of water.  They basis of the growth of the city hasn’t been that it straddled any important trade route or was the seat of an empire, it was oil.

Luckily for Dubai, early on the ruling body realized that oil is a non-renewable commodity and they started investing in what we now call the service sector.  Dubai has built an economy around tourism and service.  Tourism is the base and service is being added on.  The hotels here run from nice to amazingly ostentatious.  Shopping can be done in a modernized souk (air conditioning, food courts, etc) to some of the largest malls in the world.  Dubai has opened an international banking center and the first stock exchange in the Middle East.  It really is visionary.

The history of the city is short, much like south Florida, but it has Arab influences it can pull from that keep it interesting.  So far, it has been an interesting visit.  Couldn’t live here though, too flat and too brown…

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I know, I know.  I’ll get to it…