Dubai is the second largest and the most populous of the seven United Arab Emirates in the Persian Gulf. Surprisingly the wealth and splendor of this country of 1.3 Million does not come primarily from oil (the petroleum reserves are just one twentieth of it's neighbor Abu Dabi), but from a smart combination of businesses - a rapidly growing tourism industry, its free trade zone and harbor, international banking, construction and a real estate boom which is bursting at the seams. The sheikhdom has been ruled by the Maktoum family since 1833. The current ruler, Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, runs the country autocratically like a gigantic and highly prosperous corporation.


Dubai city is growing at breakneck speed, thanks to strong foreign investment and a workforce of laborers from neighboring countries (80% of the population are expatriates). Between 15 and 25 per cent of the world's large tower cranes are currently busy around the clock in Dubai. Hundreds of apartment- and hotel-towers are rising in the Marina district, luxurious villas are being built on man-made islands in the gulf and the world's highest structure, the Burj Dubai, is rising in mid-town, rumored to reach the 810 meter mark (2600 feet) when it will be finished in 2008.


Among the luxury goods which are on sale in the Emirate are goods which one would normally not expect in a hot and steamy desert (summer temperatures go beyond 100 degrees F. - 38C.). So it's no wonder that the indoor slopes of "Ski Dubai" and the outdoor pools, rivers and waterfalls or "Wild Wadi Park" (all water is pumped from the ocean and desalinated) are highly prized attractions for tourists and natives alike.