Dubai

To travel around all the Emirates and then onto other countries in the Middle East as quickly and as often as possible.

This TB is another in our series related to life in the Middle East that we released in the UAE during 2011.

Dubai is both a city and one of the emirates. It has a larger population than Abu Dhabi which in turn is the largest emirate by land mass. People have lived along the creek for centuries but modern Dubai was formally established in 1833 by Sheikh Maktoum bin Buti al Maktoum when he persuaded 800 members of the Bani Yas tribe, living in what is now part of Saudi Arabia, to follow him to the Dubai Creek. It remained under their control until it became a protectorate of the UK in 1892. It rapidly became an important trading port. Dubai joined with Abu Dhabi and four other emirates to form the UAE in 1971 with RAK joining shortly afterwards.

Oil was discovered in 1966 and this brought a huge influx of foreign workers. today the majority of the population of Dubai are ex-pats from India, the UK and South Asia. Dubai attracted world attention through many innovative large construction projects and sports events. This highlighted labour rights and human rights issues concerning its largely South Asian workforce. Oil no longer forms the majority of the emirates revenues. Its focus is on property, tourism and finance akin to many western economies.Dubai's property market experienced a major deterioration in 2008 - 2009 as a result of the worldwide economic downturn.

Dubai has a hot arid climate with summer temperatures reaching over 40 degrees centigrade but it is often the high humidity that makes life along the Gulf coast uncomfortable. In the winter the more moderate temperatures and virtually no rain means that an outdoor lifestyle of BBQ's beaches and camping is popular with many ex-pats.