Returning to one of my favorite cities after a number of years, it was incredible to see how rapidly Dubai has evolved into one of the most iconic destinations in the world, with its innovative neo-futurism architecture, and the ‘biggest’ and ‘best’ of everything.
The picture above was taken from the Waldorf Astoria, located on the Palm Jumeirah; an artificial archipelago created using land reclamation, and considered the largest man-made island in the world. Off in the distance to the left is Burj Khalifa, the city’s centerpiece, and the tallest structure in the world at 829.8m, with a Y-shaped tripartite floor geometry to optimize residential and hotel space. To the right is Burj Al Arab, a luxury 5-star hotel (erroneously described as the only 7-star hotel which is reportedly false); the third tallest hotel in the world, standing on an artificial island from Jumeirah beach.
With the amount of construction happening in Dubai, the city carries the moniker of ‘Crane Capital of the world’, at one point home to almost 25% of the world’s cranes, ultimately resulting in heavy pollution that blankets the emirate in smog, giving its landmarks a mirage-like appearance, which I found added to the mystique and surrealism.
