Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Dubai is the most spectacular of the seven emirates that composed the United Arab Emirates. Visiting Dubai produces the same awe-struck feelings that Aladdin must have felt while flying on his magic carpet...

The Burj Al Arab Hotel is the first 7-star hotel  and the most luxurious hotel in the world. It has become the iconic symbol of Dubai. The Burj Al Arab hotel is probably the most famous hotel in the world.  With it's own man-made island and showcasing 8,000 square meters of 22-carat gold leaf, the Burj Al Arab Hotel has turned out to be one of the most magnificent  architectural structures in recent years.

This fabulous hotel, which was built on its own island 280 meters from the Jumeira Beach mainland, had cost well over $650 Million and is the tallest hotel in the world. This "Tower of the Arabs"  also boasts the tallest lobby of any hotel in the world. It is 180 meters high and takes up just over a third of the interior space inside the hotel. 

Construction of this iconic hotel began in 1994. It was built to resemble the billowed out sail of a dhow (Arabian sea faring vessel). The Burj Al Arab, after its fabulous Grand Opening, became the  distinctive symbol of Dubai.

With its characteristic and fabulouse wave-shape, the Jumeirah Beach Hotel is one of Dubai’s best-known luxury hotels. It is near the Wadi Wadi Waterpark and offers fantastic views of the world-famous Burj Al Arab Hotel.

Dubai's Atlantis The Palm Hotel is a sprawling $1.5 Billion themed resort based on the Lost City of Atlantis. This fabulous 6-star hotel was constructed on the artificial palm tree shaped island called the Palm Jumeira, an engineering marvel in its own right.

The Atlantis The Palm Hotel has 1,539 luxurious rooms and is modeled after its sister resort in the Bahamas.  The resort boasts a giant aquarium on its 42 acre aqua waterpark and featuring stingrays,  sharks, and dolphins which have been flown in from the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific. The key focus is an ocean-themed resort, whose aquarium features 65,000 fishes in an open air tank and 24 bottle-nosed dolphins in a dolphinarium named Dolphin Bay.

Positioned like a jewel in a priceless setting, Atlantis The Palm Hotel is the glittering centerpoint of the Palm Island, a man-made island noted for its luxurious scale and distinction. Voted as the best visitor attraction at the "Best in Dubai Awards 2009", the hotel is a paragon of luxury. The resort covers over 113 acres, with over 1,500 rooms. Major onsite attractions include a 42-acre water amusement park, an undersea city and a sizable lgoon. Atlantis The Palm boasts a distinct aquatic theme throughout the hotel, and the guest rooms are no exception. Every room has touches of the sea in its decor and details, from a bowl of seashells on an accent table, to a depiction of coral on drapery. Room colors pick up the sea theme, with sea-foam colored chairs, blue window borders and sandy tones on the walls and carpets.

Atlantis the Palm is known for its marine and water park attractions. Adults and children can swim with dolphins, view an underwater city, learn scuba diving and feed Cownose Rays at Shark Lagoon. Aquaventure, the resort's waterpark, features river rides, water slides and its own beach.

Dining options abound at Atlantis The Palm. Award-winning restaurant Nobu is the creation of renowned chef Nobuyuki Matsuhisa. Designed with variations of silver and pearl, Ossiano is an underwater fine dining experience. Casual dining ranges from a stylish coffee house in the main lobby to Saffron, an Asian-inspired restaurant with 20 theatrical cooking stations.

The Arab traveller and adventurer Ibn Battuta was a man of great vision and strong Islamic values. He set off to journey the world at the age of 20 and soon became acknowledged as a scholar and a man of great wisdom. Today Ibn Battuta Mall is the first shopping complex inspired by an individual’s life nearly six centuries after he embarked on his renowned journey. 

Each region Ibn Battuta explored – Andalusia, Tunisia, Egypt, Persia, India and China – is reflected in the architecture and theme of the mall’s six courts. These courts strongly project the historical and cultural richness of this Arabian icon’s life, serving as inspiration to all those who visit.

Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Battuta or simply Ibn Battuta, also known as Shams ad–Din (1304–1369), was a Moroccan Berber Islamic traveler known for his fascinating travels published in the Rihla (literally, "The Journey"). Spanning thirty years and most of the known Islamic world, he then extended beyond North Africa, the Horn of Africa, West Africa, Southern Europe and Eastern Europe in the West, to the Middle East, South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia and China in the East, a distance surpassing his near-contemporary Marco Polo. Ibn Battuta is considered one of the greatest travelers of all time. He travelled more than 75,000 miles (121,000 km), a figure unsurpassed by any individual traveller until the coming of the Steam Age some 450 years later.

After returning home from his travels in 1354, and at the instigation of the Sultan of Morocco, Abu Inan Faris, Ibn Battuta dictated an account of his journeys to Ibn Juzayy, a scholar whom he had previously met in Granada. The account is the only source for Ibn Battuta's adventures. The full title of the manuscript A Gift to Those Who Contemplate the Wonders of Cities and the Marvels of Traveling but is often simply referred to as the Rihla, or "The Journey".

The Address Dubai Mall is a luxury hotel located in the heart of Downtown Dubai’s shopping district. The 245-room hotel is connected to the shops, entertainment and cafés of the dynamic The Dubai Mall, set to be one of the largest shopping destinations in the world.

Ski Dubai is the first indoor ski resort in the Middle East and offers an amazing snow setting to enjoy skiing, snowboarding and tobogganing or just playing in the snow. The construction covers an amazing 22,500 square meters covered with real snow all year round. 

Ski Dubai has 5 runs that vary in difficulty, height and steepness. The longest run being 400 meters with a fall of over 60 meters, making it the world’s first indoor black run. Skiers and snowboarders of all skill levels will enjoy these various slopes and snowboarders can also practice their stunts on the 90-metre long quarter pipe. Kids and parents alike will have fun in the interactive Snow Park which is the largest indoor snow park in the world with 3000 square meters.

The pure white sandy beach and the warm tranquil Gulf waters of the world famous Jumeirah Beach in Dubai are spectacular. Jumeirah Beach is one of my favorite places in Dubai to take a leisurely stroll at sunset. Jumeirah which means beautiful in Arabic is an apt name for this wonderful place...