Dubai Vacation Rentals - Dubai events.

Dubai
Attracting several million tourists each year with festive lifestyle, Dubai has also become one of the most desired places to call home. Bustling with activity and fun, Dubai is fast becoming one of the most important property hubs in the world.
Gateway to the Gulf, Hottest Tourist Destination, Perfect Holiday Spot, City of Gold, Modern Metropolis, Bustling Commercial Hub - whichever way you look at it, Dubai figures prominently on every businessman's and fun-lover's itinerary.

This futuristic city offers you a comfortable tax-free life, the most modern & advanced amenities and a crème de la crème lifestyle, comparable to the best the world over.

The major part of the Dubai emirate consists of rolling sand dunes lapping the foothills of the arid Hajar mountains in the east. Until a decade or two ago, the dunes were inhabited by nomadic bedouin roaming with their flocks and herds.
Today the nomads have all settled, in villages in the few fertile oases or valleys, or else in the city. Modern Dubai is the product of the past 20 years of intensive development. Prior to that, Dubai was a small trading port, clustered around the mouth of the Creek.
It had grown gradually from a fishing village inhabited in the 18th century by members of the Bani Yas tribe. Its origins, however, go back into the far more distant past. The town's museum displays a rich collection of objects found in graves of the first millenium BC at nearby Al-Qusais, while a caravan station of the sixth century AD was excavated in the expatriate suburb of Jumairah.

The village really began to grow in the early 19th century, when some 800 members of the Bani Yas tribe, the Al Bu Falasah, moved north and settled in Dubai. Dubai lacked the productive hinterland of Abu Dhabi, with its fertile oases of Liwa and Al Ain - its inhabitants were committed to life on the coast, and looked to the sea for their living.
They based their livelihood on fishing, pearling and sea trade. By the turn of the 20th century Dubai was a sufficiently prosperous port to attract settlers from Iran, India and Baluchistan, while the souk on Deira side was thought to be the largest on the coast, with some 350 shops.
The facilities for trade and free enterprise were enough to make Dubai a natural haven for merchants who left Lingah, on the Persian coast, after the introduction of high customs' dues there in 1902. These people were mostly of distant Arab origin and Sunni, unlike most Persians, and naturally looked across to the Arab shore of the Gulf finally making their homes in Dubai.
They continued to trade with Lingah, however, as do many of the dhows in Dubai Creek today, and they named their district Bastakiya, after the Bastak region in southern Persia. Meanwhile a flourishing Indian population had also settled in Dubai and was particularly active in the shops and alleys of the souk.
The cosmopolitan atmosphere and air of tolerance began to attract other foreigners too: by the 1930s, nearly a quarter of the 20,000 population was foreign, including 2,000 Persians, 1,000 Baluchis, many Indians and substantial communities from Bahrain, Kuwait and the Hasa province in eastern South Arabia.
Some years later the British also made it their center on the coast, establishing a political agency in 1954. The international trade which flowed from Dubai's
cosmopolitan contracts was the basis of rapidly increasing prosperity. This gave the city an early start in development before the beginning of oil production in the late 1960s. Like the other towns along the coast, Dubai had been severely affected by the decline of the pearling industry, due to competition in the 1930s from Japanese cultured pearls, and by the drop in trade in the Second World War.
But Dubai contacts and mercantile skills increased resilience and the ability to profit from favourable conditions for entrepot trade with Persia and India after the 1939-45 war. The successful early development was due in large part to the foresight of Dubai's rulers.
During the 20th century the city has benefited from the stabilizing influence of two exceptionally long rules: that of H H Shaikh Saeed Bin Maktoum from 1912 to 1958, followed by that of his son, H H Shaikh Rashid Bin Saeed al-Maktoum.
For many years prior to his father's death in 1958 Shaikh Rashid has played a leading role in directing the state. Since then he has guided Dubai in its expansion from a small, old-world town to a modern state with excellent communication, and industrial infrastructure, and all the comforts of contemporary life. Since 1980 Shaikh Rashid has played a background role due to ill health but his four sons have continued his policies in exactly the same mould.

About Dubai - Known as the "City of Gold," Dubai is the hub of commerce and tourism in the Middle East. From its extensive range of shops, to its white-sand beaches, to dozens of luxury hotels, Dubai is an exotic location that has rapidly grown its tourist industry.

The Emirate of Dubai lies on the west coast of the United Arab Emirates. It has an open economy with a high per capita income and a sizable annual trade surplus. Dubai's economy was built around oil and gas production but recently it has been successfully diversifying its economy to reduce oil dependence. Tourism and financial services have been central to this effort. Dubai Media City, which opened in January 2001, is now home to more than 600 companies, including a number of global media giants and regional leaders, such as CNN, Reuters and Bertelsman. Dubai Internet City, designed to attract the best IT minds in the region, opened in October 2000 attracting some 700 companies, including Microsoft, Oracle, IBM, Dell and HP, bringing the total number of media and technology organizations hosted by the twin free-zone 'cities' to 1,300.

Dubai has invested heavily in building its infrastructure, including the award-winning $540 million expansion of the Dubai International Airport, with a new $2.5 billion third phase of expansion now underway. In 2002, Dubai served more than 16 million passenger arrivals, a 180% increase over 1993 and the plan is to increase this to 30 million arrivals by 2010. The number of stay-over tourists has increased from 1.8 million in 1996 to 4.1 million last year. Dubai Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) has developed a growth plan that projects 15 million tourist arrivals by 2010. Dubai also recently completed, a $231 million Convention Center, which is currently hosting the International Monetary Fund meeting.

In order to service the growing number of visitors, there has been a building boom in Dubai. The number of hotel rooms has increased from 9,400 in 1993 to 22,800 in 2002. In order to cater to the anticipated number of new tourists, the number of hotel rooms will have to reach approximately 70,000 to 80,000 by the end of the decade.

Dubai's tourism is supported by Emirates Airline, which operates one of the youngest fleet of aircraft in the industry and recently announced the largest order in civil aviation history, worth $19 billion, at the Paris Air Show 2003. By the end of the decade, the airline will have over 100 aircraft including 21 of Airbus's new double-decker planes. Emirates Airline was recently awarded Passenger Service Airline of the Year 2003 at the Air Transport World 29th Annual Airline Achievement Awards.

About The Palm - The Palm involves the creation of the world's largest two man-made islands known as The Palm, Jumeirah and The Palm, Jebel Ali. Located just off the coast of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, the two palm tree shaped islands are expected to contribute to the city's position as a premier global tourist destination. The project will increase Dubai's shoreline by a total of 75 miles (120 kilometers) and create a large number of residential, leisure and entertainment opportunities, all within a unique and inspiring setting.

The Palm, Jumeirah extends approximately 3.5 miles into the ocean and has 35 miles of new beachfront, a 75% increase to Dubai's existing beachfront. On the fronds of the Palm, 1,800 luxury villas have been sold, including one to world-renown footballer, David Beckham. Demand for these home sites has been strong as these sales were completed over a three-week span. On the trunk of The Palm, Jumeirah, there will be 2,200 condominiums (all sold out), five hotels, two marinas and a major retail center.

The vision of The Palm was conceived by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai. Following many years of research and planning, construction commenced in June 2001. Each island takes approximately two years to be completely raised from the sea. The land reclamation for The Palm, Jumeirah is now complete. A further two to three years will be required to complete the infrastructure and the buildings. The end-result will be the creation of two virtually self-contained communities within the islands.

About Nakheel LLC - Nakheel LLC is the uniquely focused property development company behind a variety of new landmark property developments in Dubai. Nakheel's goal is to implement unique, iconic and genuine solutions that have been conceived after detailed planning and research.

Nakheel aims to redefine the concept of property development whether residential, tourist, commercial or retail. It has therefore placed great importance on examining the requirements of the different sectors of the community and developing its visionary projects around these findings.

Nakheel's portfolio currently includes The Palm, The World, Jumeirah Islands, The Gardens and The Gardens Shopping Mall and Jumeirah Lake Towers.

Dubai Desert Challenge
Heat, high dunes and the desert are awaiting the Volkswagen factory team in its dress rehearsal before the start of the Dakar Rally. In the UAE Desert Challenge from 5 to 10 November in the United Arab Emirates Volkswagen factory drivers Ari Vatanen/Fabrizia Pons (Finland/Italy) and Carlos Sainz/Michel Périn (Spain/France) will be competing with two Volkswagen Race Touareg 2 cars. In the vast sandy desert Volkswagen will also be meeting the Mitsubishi factory team contesting the event with the three Dakar winners Luc Alphand, Stéphane Peterhansel and Hiroshi Masuoka.

The UAE Desert Challenge comprises five legs across the desert between Dubai and Abu Dhabi. On four evenings, the contenders head for a bivouac in the desert near Moreeb, about 350 kilometres from Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

The UAE Desert Challenge, the FIA Cross-Country Rally World Cup’s final round of the season, covers a total of 2443 kilometres. 1520 of these are timed kilometres on five special stages. The event will start with a Superspecial near Dubai on the afternoon of 5 November. On the following day the Volkswagen factory drivers and their rivals will drive from the starting location of Abu Dhabi to the desert bivouac in Moreeb. From there, the teams will complete three loops around Moreeb on the following days before starting to a 287-kilometre final stage from Moreeb to Dubai.

In the FIA Cross-Country Rally World Cup title defender Volkswagen has only been contesting selected rallies during the 2006 season in preparation for the "Dakar".

Dubai Shopping Festival
For serious shopaholics there can be no more tempting prospect than a festival of shopping in the latest up-and-coming destination for glitz and glamour, Dubai.

The emirate is making no secret of the fact that it wants to concentrate on expanding tourist numbers and currently boasts the world's tallest and most ostentatious hotel (the Burj al-Arab), as well as some of the most ambitious construction projects (such as The World, an archipelago of man-made islands off the Gulf coast).

Mammoth shopping malls are also commonplace here and each year the city holds the Dubai Shopping Festival, sponsored by Dubai Duty Free, which spans a whole month.

Next year's event will be held in January and February and will see tourists from all over the world arrive to take advantage of huge discounts on their purchases.

Anything from jewellery to electrical items can be picked up at bargain prices, while prize draws featuring prizes like Rolls Royces and gold will also play a major part. Film festivals, fireworks displays and street performances will also help to bring the city to life.

It is estimated that retail spending over the course of the festival will amount to around $1 billion.