Dubai is a city which is the seat of one of seven emirates, also sharing the name, of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi.
Since the founding of the oil industry, Dubai has attracted thousands of migrants from all over the world and, in fact, has the largest immigrant population in the world. Although Dubai's economy was built on the oil industry, it has become a global city and business hub. Today its main revenues are from tourism, real estate, and financial services, similar to that of Western countries. Dubai has recently attracted world attention through many innovative large construction projects and sporting events (football and cricket being the most popular).
Dubai lies directly within the Arabian Desert and sits roughly at sea level. Much of its landscape is highlighted by sandy desert patterns, while gravel deserts dominate much of the southern region of the country. The sand consists mostly of crushed shell and coral and is fine, clean and white. East of the city, the salt-crusted coastal plains, known as sabkha, give way to a north-south running line of dunes. Farther east, the dunes grow larger and are tinged red with iron oxide. The flat sandy desert gives way to the Western Hajar Mountains.
Dubai has no natural river bodies or oases; however, it does have a natural inlet, Dubai Creek, which has been dredged to make it deep enough for large vessels to pass through. Dubai has a very hot arid climate. Summers in Dubai are extremely hot, windy and dry, with an average high around 104 °F and overnight lows around 86 °F. Most days are sunny throughout the year. Winters are warm with an average high of 73 °F . Several indigenous trees such as the date palm and neem as well as imported trees like the eucalypts grow in Dubai's natural parks.
Dubai has more than 70 shopping malls, including the world's 7th largest shopping mall, Dubai Mall. Dubai is sometimes called "the City of Gold"; the Gold Souk market in Deira houses nearly 250 gold retail shops.
Modern Islamic – and world – architecture has literally been taken to new levels in skyscraper building design and technology. Dubai now boasts more completed or topped-out skyscrapers higher than any other city. A culmination point was reached in 2010 with the completion of the Burj Khalifa (Khalifa Tower), now by far the world's tallest building at 2,716 feet. The Burj Khalifa's design is derived from the patterning systems embodied in Islamic architecture, with the triple-lobed footprint of the building based on an abstracted version of the desert flower hymenocallis, which is native to the Dubai region.
The completion of the Khalifa Tower, following the construction boom that began in the 1980s, accelerated in the 1990s, and took on a rapid pace of construction unparalled in modern human history during the decade of the 2000s, leaving Dubai with the world's tallest skyline as of 4 January 2010.
RGM has similarly taken watchmaking to new levels. We were pleased to see the North Pointer ( Model # 254 ) prove its durability and craftsmanship, this is to be the standard that RGM sets for all our watches. RGM Watches stand the test of time. Unfortunately the End of our Adventure around the World has come to a conclusion. Next, Romain heads home to France, and we look forward to hearing from him about his experiences not only on his travels but also with the RGM North Pointer.
