UAE - intro

I recently returned from a trip to the UAE, spending time in both Abu Dhabi and Dubai.  It was my first time not only in that country but also in that part of the world.  Before I go into some of the more entertaining stories I will introduce the cities (or emirates) and country.  

The United Arab Emirates is a collection of seven different emirates each governed by one person but all with the same national president.  Early in the 1900’s the pearling industry thrived but was basically eradicated during the two wars and the culture pearls of Japan.  

In the 1960’s is when the oil era began the UAE had long had a close relationship with the United Kingdom.  Agreements were in place that no land would be released/sold to anyone other than the British and no foreign relationships made without their consent.  In exchange for this agreement the British offered their military to defend the land and ports of the Sheikdoms (what would become the UAE).  

The seven sheikdoms plus Bahrain and Qatar were in negotiations to combine into one country.  Bahrain and Qatar chose to be independent while the other areas joined to become the UAE with Abu Dhabi as the capital.  

The first UAE president Sheik Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, referred to as the ‘father’, died in 2004 and was succeeded by his son Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan as the ruler of Abu Dhabi and, therefore, the president of UAE.  Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Mouktoum is the current ruler of Dubai and prime minister of UAE.   

Burj Khalifa

Many highways and buildings in Dubai and Abu Dhabi are named and created in honour of the rulers.  The Burj Khjalifa  (Tallest building in the world) was originally to be named Burj Dubai but after a lot of support was given by the current UAE president the tower was renamed in his honour.  In almost all, if not all, buildings and randomly on street signs you will see large posters/pictures paying their respects to each ruler.  

Fountain show from atop the tallest building in the world at ~830m

Abu Dhabi is the financial center of the UAE and takes up almost 90% of the total land of the country. Dubai is quite a bit smaller but is regarded as the city to go to for entertainment.  Land in general is very scarce, much of it owned by the rulers and their sons.  The ruler of Abu Dhabi has 32 sons (from different wives) that each have their own large piece of land with proper, ostentatious palaces.  I asked a friend why some of the palaces or pieces of land were larger than others if all 32 sons got a ‘piece of the pie’.  The answer is that the son’s wealth depends on whether his mother was from the UAE or of another nationality.  The natural citizens receive the bigger piece of said pie.  Due to the lack of land many construction projects have first created new land on the coast by dredging the sand from the gulf.  The more famous ones being the Palm and ‘The World’ in Dubai but also major, less assuming projects in Abu Dhabi.  

Over the past couple decades there has been a significant change in the cityscape of both Abu Dhabi and Dubai.  The picture below shows a main street of Dubai in the 90s and then again in 2003. Add another 9 years of non-stop construction on to that...

   

This all started a long time ago when the rulers came up with the ‘2030 initiative’.  This plan, in conjunction with Qatar, was to make both countries in the list of top 10 places to live.  There wasn’t a very large population of Emiratis so to realize this vision the UAE decided to make their country an open and welcoming place for foreigners.  The current population of ~ 8 million people is only about 15% Emirati.  Foreigners were enticed with above average compensation and a high-class lifestyle.   They understood that they would never be afforded the same luxuries as a native citizen, including:

-          They could never become citizens

-          They would not receive free health care, schooling and accommodations

-          They would have to pay tax (zero tax for Emiratis)

-          Allowance towards cleaning staff and childcare

-          Almost impossible to marry a citizen

So, in the end they would receive compensation but would not be able to stay in the Emirates unless supported to work.  If their work or contract ended they would be expected to leave almost immediately.  All of these government sponsored programs are coming from oil so the next question is…what happens when the oil is gone?

The answer is that the rulers, and government, obviously realized this would happen someday so they made a plan to invest in only foreign companies or countries with the objective to sustain themselves financially for 50 years after the oil is gone.  What happens after that would be the next question….

All in all it’s a great country to visit and all your needs are taken care of.  It has a bit of an extreme climate but it’s a nice change from the Russian winters.  Since most of the people in the Emirates are foreigners the common language ends up being English.  It makes it very easy to get around as a tourist and get what you need but the downside is being in a different country but not getting a sense of its people, culture and history.  At first view the cities seem very ‘perfect’.  It’s unnaturally clean, artificially green and everything in its place.  You can see the instant transition from the edge of the perfect cities to the bare desert.

'grass' to desert transition

Anyways, to finish this off it is a great place to visit and if you can afford it an exciting and entertaining place to live.  Look into it if you get the chance.    

Soon to come...my adventures in Dubai