Burj Dubai (World's tallest tower)

Ever wondered, where the tallest tower on earth is? Is it the Taipei 101 in Taipei, Taiwan; or is it the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia; or is it the Sears Tower in Chicago? Well, they were the tallest but now the tallest structure on earth is taking shape in the emirate of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

Dubai is already the world's hotspot for record breaking construction works, with 20% of the world's construction cranes located here. The Burj Dubai's completion is expected to occur somewhere late this year, though the exact details are shrouded in secrecy.



Burj Dubai in Arabic stands for the Dubai Tower. This magnificent tower rising from Downtown Dubai has broken records as the tallest building in the world, under construction. Standing at 2,320 ft it has earned its way into the Guinness Book of World Records as the tallest structure, tallest freestanding structure, the building with the most floors and the highest vertical concrete pumping ever done for a building.

The construction of this tower takes place throughout the whole day in shifts, at an astonishing pace, with contractors and engineers working hard to meet the given deadline. The entire Burj Dubai project is worth a whopping $4 billion US dollars.

The building when completed will have around 164 floors; the first of its kind Armani hotel; posh residences, corporate office spaces, a zero entry swimming pool and an observation deck.

Besides this, it will also feature the world's fastest double decker elevator. The tower is designed by the famous Skidmore, Owings and Merrill who also designed the Sears Tower in Chicago and the Freedom Tower in New York.

Highlights of the Tower

Exterior

The exterior part of the tower has a lot of influence from Islamic Architecture. When completed, the whole tower from the outside would take the shape of a pointed structure rising high, with peelings narrowing the size of the structure until it reaches a pointed spire.

Interior

The interiors of the Burj Dubai would be lavishly designed by famous interior designers, making this the most luxurious tower on earth. As mentioned above, the tower would consist mainly of corporate offices,apartment suites and a jewel in the crown Armani Hotel, which would be the first of its kind in the world.

Burj Al Arab

Have you wondered what this strange looking building is..? Well... its not just a building but an architectural wonder, which is in fact the World's tallest and first 7 star rated hotel. Known as the Burj Al Arab or The Tower of the Arabs (in English), it is a massive hotel structure that takes the shape of a billowed out sail of a dhow (Arabian sea faring vessel).

This architectural marvel has now become the symbol of Dubai, and has often found itself associated to many things in the Emirate of Dubai. For e.g. The majority of the vehicles in Dubai, carry the symbol of the Burj on their number plates and so does the recently released Dubai Souvenir Gold Coin.

Exterior

The Burj Al Arab, looks like a massive billowing sail of an Arabian Dhow; when seen from the outside.

The whole sail shaped covering stretched across the tower, is in fact a steel exo-skeleton wrapped around a reinforced concrete tower.

The whole structure is made up off reinforced concrete, fiber glass and reflective glass. The top of the tower, has a suspended helipad which is used not only for elite transfers, but also for hosting publicity events like notable tennis and golfing shows.

The Burj Al Arab, is built 280 meters offshore on an artificial island.

The whole building contains over 70,000 cubic meters of concrete and 9,000 tons of steel..!! It indeed is an engineering marvel...!!

Interior

Wow... this is the most exciting and most awaited post that I have been waiting for...
If you can imagine this building i.e. the Burj Al Arab; to be the most iconic buildings in the world, let alone it being a landmark symbol in Dubai; and it being called the tallest, the epitome of luxury, the this and the that....with all the superlatives attached to it.....

Though it is the tallest hotel in the world, the towering Burj Al Arab has only 28 floors. What makes it the tallest hotel is that each floor is double the height of a typical storey inside a hotel.

Each of the 202 duplex suites at the Burj Al Arab has floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook the water surrounding this offshore property. At guests' fingertips are controls that can close the curtains and adjust the 42" plasma TV.

Al Mahara, one of the restaurants inside Burj Al Arab, starts with a three-minute simulated submarine descent. Then patrons enter and take their seats nearby a floor-to-ceiling saltwater aquarium at the center of the room.

To pamper guests, the hotel services are at its best, with world class dining facilities, spas and royal suites. For pick ups and drop offs, there are a fleet of Rolls Royce limousines. One can also make a grant entry by landing on the hotel's helipad, in a helicopter.

In conclusion, a stay at this hotel would be the pinnacle of luxury for each one of you..!!

Major Happenings

Dubai is a city that is full of fun. There's always something new happening everyday. Be it the tallest tower being constructed or the longest cake being cut; something wonderful is always bound to happen...!!

Next, we'll be posting the major record breakers of Dubai..

Dubai (Geography - Flora & Fauna)

Dubai lies directly within the Arabian Desert. However, the geography of Dubai is much different from that of the southern portion of the UAE. Much of Dubai's 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. Towards the 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, which run alongside Dubai's border with Oman at Hatta. The Western Hajar chain has an arid, jagged and shattered landscape, whose mountains rise to about 1,300 meters in some places. Dubai has no natural river bodies or oases; however, Dubai does have a natural inlet, Dubai Creek, which has been dredged to make it deep enough for large vessels to pass through. Dubai also has multiple gorges and waterholes which dot the base of the Western Al Hajar mountains.

A vast sea of sand dunes cover much of southern Dubai, which eventually lead into the desert known as The Empty Quarter. Seismically, Dubai is in a very stable zone — the nearest seismic fault line, the Zargos Fault, is 120 km from the UAE and is unlikely to have any seismic impact on Dubai. Experts also predict that the possibility of a tsunami in the region is also minimal because the Persian Gulf waters are not deep enough to trigger a tsunami.

The sandy desert surrounding the city supports wild grasses and occasional date palm trees. Desert hyacinths grow in the sabkha plains east of the city, while acacia and ghaf trees grow in the flat plains within the proximity of the Western Al Hajar mountains. Several indigenous trees such as the date palm and neem as well as imported trees like the eucalypts grow in Dubai's natural parks.

The houbara bustard, striped hyena, caracal, desert fox, falcon and Arabian oryx are common in Dubai's desert. Dubai is located on the migration path between Europe, Asia and Africa, and more than 320 migratory birds pass through the emirate in spring and autumn. The waters of Dubai are home to more than 300 species of fish, including the hammour.

Dubai

Dubai is one of the seven emirates and the city with the most population in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The emirate of Dubai shares borders with the capital city of Abu Dhabi in the south, the cultural city of Sharjah in the northeast, and the Sultanate of Oman in the southeast. Hatta, a part of the emirate of Dubai, is surrounded on three sides by Oman and by the emirates of Ajman (west) and Ras Al Khaimah (north). The Persian Gulf borders the western coast of the emirate.

Dubai is positioned at 25°16′11″N 55°18′34″E / 25.2697°N 55.3095°E / 25.2697; 55.3095 and covers an area of 4,114 km² (1,588 mi²).

It is said that there are written accounts that show the existence of the city for at least 150 years way before the formation of the UAE. Dubai shares legal, political, military and economic functions with the other emirates within a federal framework. Dubai has the largest population and is the second largest emirate by area, after Abu Dhabi. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are the only two emirates to possess veto power over critical matters of national importance in the country's legislature.

The emirate's revenues are from trade, real estate and financial services. Revenues from petroleum and natural gas contribute less than 6% of Dubai's US$ 37 billion economy. Real estate and construction, on the other hand, contributed 22.6% to the economy in 2005, before the current large-scale construction boom.

Dubai has attracted worldwide attention through its innovative real estate projects and sporting events.

Welcome to Dubai

This blog is created to bring to your attention regarding the city of Dubai, its people, its culture and all the great happenings taking place here. Welcome to Dubai...!!