Dubai is located in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on the southern shore of the Arabian – or Persian – Gulf, at 25°N  55°E. The city of Dubai is the capital of the emirate of the same name, the second largest of seven emirates (or sheikhdoms) that comprise the federation of the UAE. The other emirates are Abu Dhabi (the federal capital), Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Qaiwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah. Dubai is often referred to as “The New York to Abu Dhabi’s Washington DC”.

Dubai faces Iran, with which it has a maritime border, and has an eastern land border with Oman. The emirate covers 3,885 sq km (1,500 sq miles) of flat coastal plain and rolling desert dunes, with barren mountains – the foothills of the Hajar range – in the east, around the Dubai enclave of Hatta.

At 72 km (45 miles), Dubai’s natural coastline is short, but it has been lengthened by ambitious, headline-grabbing land-reclamation projects, three of which are the palm-tree shaped Palm islands, so large they are visible from space. The sandy coastline of the Jumeira, Umm Suqeim and Al Sufouh districts in the south of the city is packed with the luxury resort hotels that have helped establish Dubai as the Middle East’s second most popular tourism destination, after Egypt.

The Ruler of Dubai is His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who is Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE. The President of the UAE is Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Ruler of Abu Dhabi. While Abu Dhabi is oil-rich, Dubai now depends more on business and tourism than oil, which accounted for less than six per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2005 and is likely to run out by 2010.

The UAE population was estimated to be 4.1 million in 2005. The figure is set to increase as Dubai, in particular, continues to attract inward investment and foreign workers to boost the economy. UAE nationals are in the minority, with expatriate workers accounting for 80 per cent of the total population. Between 1 and 2 million people are concentrated in Dubai, which is growing rapidly thanks to economic development and vast construction projects. The population in the city is more than double what it was just 10 years previously, in 1996.

History of the UAE
What’s now known as the UAE was on the trade routes between the ancient civilisations of southern Mesopotamia – the birthplace of Abram; present-day Iraq – and the Indus Valley, and later on the route between the European powers and their Eastern colonies. So the region has welcomed, traded with and been influenced by foreign visitors for several millennia.

To the Sumerians of southern Mesopotamia the region was known as "Magan", as famous for its copper in the 3rd millennium BC as it has been for its oil in the 2nd millennium AD. To the Persians of the 1st millennium BC, ruled by the Biblical king Darius the Great (521-486BC), Magan was "Maka", which was incorporated into the Persian empire in the 6th century BC. Soldiers from Magan fought alongside Darius’ successor, the Biblical king Xerxes, in the battle of Doriscus in 480BC. To the 5th century BC Greek historian Herodotus the region was "Mykoi". A century or so later, the sailors of Alexander the Great’s navy, which explored the coast on their return from the Indus Valley, nicknamed the inhabitants "Ichthyophagi", or "Fish-Eaters".

During the Hellenistic era, from around 300BC to a century or so after the time of Christ, two of the most important cities were Mleiha, south of Dhaid in Sharjah emirate, which was first excavated in 1973, and Ad-Dour, near Umm Al Qaiwain, which is the largest pre-Islamic site on the Gulf coast and was possibly the great city of Omana, mentioned by the ancient chroniclers Strabo (circa 64 BC-21AD) and Pliny The Elder (circa 23-79 AD). Finds at these locations include Greek pottery, wine jar handles from Rhodes, and Roman glass.

Aramaic lettering on much of the coinage found at Mleiha and Ad-Dour, as well as on stone and bronze inscriptions, indicate that the language of Christ was the lingua franca of the region in the pre-Islamic era, spread by the dominant empire of the Persian Sassanids, or Sassanians, in the 3rd to 7th centuries AD. To the Sassanids, the area was "Mazun", the 27th land of their empire, controlled from Ctesiphon, south of modern-day Baghdad. From the 4th century AD to the Islamic conquest of the 7th century, a significant number of its Sassanid-era inhabitants were Christians.

The early church knew the UAE coast as "Bet Mazunaye", and established monasteries along it, one of which, on Sir Bani Yas island in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, has been excavated and preserved. According to the UAE Ministry of Information and Culture, “After the Christianization of the region of Bet Mazunaye, Aramaic would have become the principal liturgical language of the Emirates before the ascendancy of Arabic.” The Emirates converted to Islam in 632AD and Arabic subsequently replaced Aramaic.

To 18th century Europeans, the UAE was known as "The Coast of Julfar", named after the prominent port of the day, the birthplace of the legendary Arab navigator Ahmad Ibn Majid, near present-day Ras Al Khaimah. In the 19th century, after 1820, when Britain signed truces with local sheikhs, the region became known as "The Trucial Coast". Prior to the formation of the UAE in 1971, its seven sheikhdoms were known as "Trucial Oman".

The Al Maktoum family has ruled Dubai since 1833, when they arrived from Abu Dhabi. They based themselves initially on the Shindagha peninsula, where the former ruler's palace is now a heritage museum. Under the visionary Al Maktoums, Dubai has developed from a small and relatively poor fishing and pearling village on the banks of Dubai Creek to one of the most dynamic cities in the modern world, comparable in its rapid growth in the early years of the 21st century to Hong Kong and Singapore in the second half of the 20th century.

Faith
Islam is the official religion of the UAE, with Sunni Muslims in the majority, but there is freedom of worship for Christians in church compounds on the understanding that they don’t proselytise. Christian churches are grouped along Oud Metha Road in Bur Dubai and in Jebel Ali Village. The main services are held on Friday – the local weekend. Bibles and Christian materials for personal use can be carried into the country.

According to the Bible Society in the Gulf, the breakdown of religions in the UAE (percentage of population in 2000) is as follows:

- Sunni Muslim: 60.6 per cent
- Shi’a Muslim: 15 per cent
- Christian: 11.1 per cent
- Hindu: 7.6 per cent
- Bahá’í: 2.3 per cent
- Other: 3.4 per cent

Climate
Dubai has an arid, desert climate with mild, pleasant winters and very hot, humid summers. The period June-September is particularly hot, with temperatures topping 48°C (118°F) during the day with around 90 percent humidity. From October to May, the weather is at its best, with monthly averages between 22°C (71°F) and 32°C (90°F), and lows of 10°C (50°F). In fact, evenings in January and February can be quite chilly. Humidity also falls considerably between October and May, making this the best time to visit. The little rain Dubai gets falls very occasionally between October and March.

Visit visas
Visas are available on arrival at Dubai International Airport for business and leisure travellers from 33 countries, including the UK, Ireland, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, most of Europe and selected Asian nations. The visa is valid for 60 days and can be renewed for a further 30 days at the Department of Immigration and Naturalisation near Trade Centre Roundabout, for a fee of Dhs500. Those who don’t qualify for a visa on arrival, including South African citizens, can get a 30-day, non-renewable tourist visa through a hotel or tour operator sponsor. This should be arranged before entry to the UAE; visitors should have a fax copy of the visa with them when they travel; and they should stop to collect the original at a designated desk in the airport before they head for passport control. The cost is around Dhs120.

Arriving in Dubai
The point of arrival for most visitors is Dubai International Airport (www.dubaiairport.com), a Middle East hub for international air travel and the home of the award-winning airline Emirates (www.emirates.com), which connects Dubai with more than 77 cities in 54 countries (the list keeps growing), including destinations in Europe, the United States, Africa, the Far East, Australia and New Zealand. The flying time from London to Dubai, direct, is around seven hours.

Voted the world’s best airport at the 2005 World Travel Awards, "DXB" is located close to the city centre. Its futuristic air traffic control tower and Sheikh Rashid Terminal (Terminal 1) are Dubai landmarks. A new, state-of-the-art Terminal 3, part of a US$4 billion expansion programme, is due to open in 2008. It will accommodate Emirates airline’s new A380 ‘super-jumbos’ and boost the airport’s handling capacity to 70 million passengers per year.

Dubai airport is at its busiest throughout the night. On arrival, to speed you past the long queues at passport control, book the Marhaba ("Welcome") greeting service at least 24 hours in advance (tel: +971 4 224 5780, www.marhabaservices.com). The fee is Dhs75 per passenger from immigration. The taxi rank is off to your left as you exit the airport building.

Staying in Dubai
One-, two- and three-star hotels can be found among Dubai’s 400 plus hotels and hotel apartments, but the vast majority of business and leisure visitors stay in four- or five-star hotels. In 2006, the cost for a standard double room ranges from around Dhs300-350 per night in a one-star city centre hotel to between Dhs525-1,000 at a four-star hotel, and between Dhs1,000-3,500 at a five-star hotel (a suite at the seven-star Burj Al Arab is Dhs7,800 per night). Dubai’s high season rates peak in December and April. The low season stretches through the hotter months of June, July and August. Seasonal promotions and packages with airlines or tour companies, booked from your home country, can result in savings on rack rates. The Dubai Youth Hostel (tel: +971 50 298 8151), part of the UAE Youth Hostel Association (www.uaeyha.com), is located on Al Nahda Road on the Al Ghusais side of Dubai International Airport. Stays are limited to a maximum of three days and payment must be made in cash.

Currency
The currency in Dubai is the UAE dirham (Dhs or AED), which is pegged to the US dollar at the rate of Dhs3.675 to US$1. There are 100 fils in a dirham. The best places to change foreign currency and travellers’ checks into dirhams are the numerous exchanges found in malls and souks, which keep shop timings (for currency conversions,
click here). Major international credit and debit cards are accepted in large shops, restaurants and hotels.

Personal safety
Crime is rare in Dubai. Visitors are unlikely to encounter it and needn’t be concerned about being extra cautious with their possessions. Most people feel safe on the city streets, even late at night, and there are no neighbourhoods to avoid.

The US-led "war on terror" has led to increased concerns for the safety of citizens of countries associated with American military activity in the region and the UAE is no exception. However, the country is an ally of many Western nations and ordinary Emiratis are friendly to Westerners. On-going tensions between Israel and its Arab neighbours are of concern to residents, but generally the situation has no direct effect on life in Dubai.

Dubai’s roads are notoriously dangerous – statistically among the most dangerous in the world. The infrastructure is good, but driving can be appalling. Visitors should get comprehensive travel and medical insurance before travelling.

The local 'lingo'
Arabic is the official language in the UAE, but English is widely spoken. English-speaking visitors should not encounter any difficulty in hotels, restaurants and shopping malls, but if you’re keen to commit a few Arabic words and phrases to memory, the following may be useful:

Read all about it!
For more information about Dubai and the UAE, click on the website links below:

Newspapers and magazines
7Days
Emirates Today
Gulf News
TimeOut Dubai

Government and commercial sites
CIA World Factbook – UAE
Dubai International Airport
Dubai Municipality
Emirates Airline
Government of Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM)
Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum
UAE Ministry of Information and Culture