Already at the Dubai airport, the first-time visitor to this city is aware of having arrived at a crossroads where continents, civilizations and worlds meet. The initial impressions hint at the same kind of exhilaration as carried by the maqamat (stories) Scheherazade had woven in the A Thousand and One Nights bringing to life the beauty and specific features of life, the sounds, colors and spirit of the Orient.
Following a fifteen-minute drive in a reasonably priced taxi, the impression only deepens. People of all races and nations are engaged in the most diverse jobs everywhere in the city, and the demand for such people is increasing at an incredible rate. The completion of a facility that sets a new standard in luxury only sparks a new project that will raise the standard even higher. The end to this standard setting is nowhere in sight.
This fact was the departure point for the visionary Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, who died last year, but not before turning a small fishing village into one of the world’s major metropolises. In the process, the sheikh took into consideration facts such as the sea and the inhospitable desert. The heart of his vision was unfettered capitalism; he proved his point by scrapping both the corporate and personal tax. His message was simple and straightforward: "Bring your know-how or capital and do business in Dubai." Clear rules were set, their implementation was not questioned, and the race began. The finish line is open-ended, and no restrictions are in sight.
All great ideas appear simple once they have been realized. Over forty-odd years, the wise sheikh realized his vision of creating a megalopolis that ranks among the best of international capitals, and which is one of the favoured destinations of international jet-setters, business leaders and well-off tourists.
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A slow drive around the city is like driving in an exhibition of the world’s greatest architectural works, including landscape architecture. Lines of glimmering skyscrapers, miles of superbly arranged grass lawns with palm trees and blooming flower beds are treats to the tourist’s eye.
Among the first impressions in Dubai, the strongest is that everything is larger and more luxurious than one expects, yet smaller and more modest than the hosts would like.
The whole world is present in Dubai, as is seen in outdoor billboards and advertising panels – ranging from the smallest to those that stretch across the facades of several of the tallest skyscrapers. Everyone is here, including Bentley and Ferrari, Burburry and Lacoste, Nokia and Sony. They have all joined in the merciless race for a share of this opulent market, a race that anyone can win in Dubai.
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The hotel offers are perhaps the best in the world. One can find accommodations from 100 to 150 dollars per night at smaller hotels on the city’s outskirts, but to spend the night in the presidential suite at the Burj al Arab Hotel costs several thousand dollars.
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All the world’s leading hotel chains, from the Hyatt and Intercontinental Hotel to Kempinski, have up to several hotel facilities and are continually building new ones. A newly-built hotel is trendy for several months, and then another chain completes a new facility that leads the pack for a number of months, and so on and so forth.
There is, thankfully, one exception to this – the already mentioned Burj al Arab Hotel – Dubai’s landmark. This building, shaped like the sail of an Arab fishing boat, goes well beyond the boundaries of the existing hotel accommodation standard. Architect Tom Watkins succeeded in creating a facility that immediately became a symbol of Dubai. The hotel and city now seem inseparable, as if they have always co-existed. Its very construction pushed the boundaries of technology. Created on a man-made island some 280 meters from the shoreline, Burj al Arab ranks among the most complicated architectural and construction undertakings from the late 20th century. "Raising this sail" cost some $650 million from 1994-1999. The opening of the Burj al Arab marked a new standard in hotel luxury. Although it is a five-star hotel, it is informally categorized as a seven-star facility.
Two features are rather telling in this respect: eight thousand square meters of the hotel’s interior is plated with 22-karat gold, and the entrance fee to tour the hotel costs $50, while the permit takes a week to obtain. The hotel has earned $80 million from entrance fees, or nearly one-eighth of its original investment. |
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While the Burj al Arab Hotel is rightly the symbol of Dubai, the city’s landmark could also have been the construction crane, which is omnipresent. Whichever way one looks around the city, cranes are everywhere, tirelessly lifting, lowering, moving things from one place to another, 24 hour a day. They say that manufacturers of construction cranes cannot meet the insatiable demand of these machines in Dubai and still maintain a steady supply on world markets.
Mlađa Mihajlović, Jat’s representative in Dubai, says: "Anyone who has a profession or a craft and knows English is bound to find a job seven days after arriving in Dubai, even without knowing anyone in the city." I tell him I will quote him on that. "Quote me, quote me, I’m saying this for that very reason. Write it down."
Apart from being the Jat Airways representative, Mihajlović is a sort of unofficial consul or diplomatic representative, if you will. Where else would Serbian citizens go if not to the Jat office to get information, assistance and advice?
"According to official data, there are 5,000 Serbian citizens in Dubai; and according to unofficial data, this figure is probably closer to 15,000, making it the city with the ninth largest Serb population in the world. I have informed the Foreign Ministry about this, but at this time the conditions do not exist to open a consulate here, so our embassy in Egypt is in charge of our affairs here. I suppose there is a shortage of funds", laments Mihajlović, without bitterness. |
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