| Dubai is one of the seven emirates
that make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the
Middle East. It is also known as the emirate's main
city due to its popularity. In fact, the term Dubai
City is used in order to clearly distinguish it
from the emirate names Dubai. Most of the time when
people say Dubai they rarely refer to the emirate
but rather Dubai City.
The United Arab Emirates s located at the southeast
end of the Persian Gulf. Dubai is also the second
last emirate in terms of size though it is the
most populous of them all.
One major distinction between Dubai and the other
emirates is that the government of Dubai is aggressively
pursuing trade practices that are geared towards
reducing its dependence on oil. Most of Dubai's
revenues are now coming from Jebel Ali Free Zone
(JAFZ) through the tourism industry.
Apart from tourism, Dubai also promotes free trade
with no significant taxes levied on imported items
that can be purchased by anyone at the lowest
prices anywhere in the world.
Located on the very shores of the Persian Gulf,
Dubai is sometimes nicknamed the Hong Kong of
the Arab World. It is a tax-free commercial port
where buying, selling, and shipping has surpassed
the oil trade of the emirate. The population of
Dubai is approximately 1 million. Out of these
a majority are South Asia or South East Asia expatriates.
Almost 25% of its population can trace itself
back to Iran. Then there are about 100,000 British
and other western expatriates Dubai. This makes
the emirate unique in that the native population
is an overwhelming minority.
The Dubai map in political terms is divided into
9 sectors. Sectors 1-4 and 6 are urban. Sectors
7-9 are rural. Sector 5 is Jebel Ali and sector
7 is Hatta. Each sector is then divided into communities.
There were 132 communities at last count.
Geographically the Dubai map can divided into
five regions:
- Deira along the east coast
- Bur Dubai, on the center shoreline
- Jumeriah Beach, on the west coast
- irport region located in the interior western
part
The Jumeirah Beach involves a strip of 20 beach
front hotels and resorts strung along from Jebel
Ali Hotel and Golf Resort (9-hole golf course
and a marina) in the west all the way to the Regent
Beach Resort to the east. Other areas in this
region include Wild Wadi Water Park, Internet
City, and the Camel Race Track. Bur Dubai is located
around Port Rashid on the east bank of the Dubai
Creek and includes the Dubai World Trade Center.
Bur Dubai and Deira are separated by the Dubai
Creek and make up the City Center. |
