Destination: Dubai

What if the Burj Dubai was in Manhattan?

Kottke posts an altered version of the Midtown skyline. Puts things in perspective, doesn’t it?


Slate Takes a Ramadan World Tour

Slate Takes a Ramadan World Tour Photo by tinou bao via Flickr (Creative Commons)
Photo by tinou bao via Flickr (Creative Commons)

Writer Jason Rezaian has spent time in five different Muslim-majority countries—Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Iran and Turkey—during the annual month of fasting, and in a short essay he reflects on the subtle (and not-so-subtle) differences in the ways each one celebrates their shared holy month.


Dubai in the Downturn

Dubai in the Downturn Photo by Larsz via Flickr (Creative Commons)
Photo by Larsz via Flickr (Creative Commons)

“It’s all a bit scary,” one expat tells the Washington Post’s Andrew Higgins. He’s not the only one cowering and fleeing. Many expats believe there’s a hunt on for “foreign culprits to blame for the sheikdom’s sliding economic fortunes.”

In Dubai’s defense, its Media Affairs Office told Higgins that it “prides itself on a well-established system of law and order and judicial fairness,” but it didn’t “respond to repeated and detailed questions.”


Non-Places and the End of Travel

Non-Places and the End of Travel iStockPhoto

Frank Bures on airports, Dubai and Marc Augé's "Non-Places: An Introduction to Supermodernity"

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Welcome, JetAmerica and flydubai

Welcome, JetAmerica and flydubai Photo by joiseyshowaa, via Flickr (Creative Commons)
Photo of Dubai’s airport by joiseyshowaa, via Flickr (Creative Commons)

The list of lost-cost carriers now has two new names: JetAmerica and flydubai.

JetAmerica, a charter company with a home base in Toledo, Ohio, will fly to five cities. They are advertising $9 fares, with a “convenience fee” of $5, thus selling some seats (before taxes and fees) for $14.

Over at The Cranky Flier, Brett Snyder isn’t optimistic. “I honestly couldn’t make this sound any worse if I tried,” Snyder writes. “The CEO is John Weikle, one of the original founders of Skybus.”

Meanwhile, in the U.A.E., flydubai has been born, with initial routes beginning this week between Dubai and Beirut and Amman. They plan to expand from there. “You’ll soon be able to flydubai to other cities in the Middle East, GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] and India,” their website states. “And eventually, the network will extend to Iran, Eastern Europe and North & East Africa.”

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I’m Dreaming of a Green Dubai (or at Least Some Clean Beaches)

I’m Dreaming of a Green Dubai (or at Least Some Clean Beaches) Photo by bryangeek via Flickr (Creative Commons).

It’s been a rough few months of sewage-on-the-beach damage control for the city of excess and $25,000-a-night hotel suites on artificial islands shaped like palm trees. After raw sewage, chemical waste and toilet paper washed up on opulent, luxury hotel-lined Jumeirah Beach and made international headlines, an environmental group is trying to clean up the beach and others along the United Arab Emirates coastline. The Emirates Wildlife Association will encourage managers of the beaches to apply for a Blue Flag designation and meet international standards for water quality and cleanliness.

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Morning Links: JetBlue Fare Refunds, America’s Emptiest Cities and More

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Morning Links: God and Jerry Springer in Italy, a Tourist in Falluja and More

Morning Links: God and Jerry Springer in Italy, a Tourist in Falluja and More Photo of U.S.-Mexico border by Allen Ormond, via Flickr (Creative Commons)
Photo of U.S.-Mexico border by Allen Ormond, via Flickr (Creative Commons)

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Morning Links: Skycar, Disney Shanghai and More

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Dubai ‘Sex on Beach’ Travelers Sentenced to Three Months in Jail

The British couple was fined $272 each for the now-infamous transgression. The attorney representing the duo said he will appeal the case, citing a medical report that the “sex on beach” couple didn’t actually have sex. 

Related on World Hum:
* Duo in Dubai ‘Sex on Beach’ Case Asks Judge to Let Them Return to Britain
* British Couple Arrested for Having Sex on Beach in Dubai


The QE2’s Final Hurrah

Before she is remade into a floating hotel in Dubai, the Queen Elizabeth 2 is taking a farewell journey. She recently pulled into the port from which she launched 41 years ago. The Daily Mail reports on the trip, and features a series of photos of the ship as it sailed home one final time.


Duo in Dubai ‘Sex on Beach’ Case Asks Judge to Let Them Return to Britain

The judge denied the request, setting another hearing for next week. Michelle Palmer and Vince Acors are on trial for, as we previously noted, allegedly having sex on the beach in Dubai. Palmer says she and Acors hugged and kissed, but didn’t have sex, according to the AP. Still, as Barbara Surk writes, “Public display of affection, such as touching, kissing or hugging, is illegal in Dubai and couples—particularly if not married—can be detained by police for indecency.”

Related on World Hum:
* Brits Go on Holiday, Europe Cowers in Fear


British Couple Arrested for Having Sex on Beach in Dubai

Contributor Elyse Franko recently wrote that Dubai is “the place where kids can be kids and dads can indulge their midlife crises.”  But apparently it’s not the place where a couple of Brits can have sex on the beach and not get arrested.


First Moving Skyscraper to be Built in Dubai

Eighty ever-shifting floors? Oh, Dubai, you just give and give and give.


Dubailand to Add Marvel Comics, Ferraris

We’ve already noted plans for Dubailand, Dubai’s massive amusement park complex that’s been staked out by Universal Studios and Six Flags. According to the Wall Street Journal, recent deals will to the mix add a Marvel superhero-themed park and a Ferrari-themed park called (you guessed it) Ferrari-Land. Ah, Dubai: The place where kids can be kids and dads can indulge their midlife crises. 

Related on World Hum:
*Theme Parks Bound for Mumbai and Dubai