Dubai - Las Vegas of the Middle East

Dubai is something that breaks all the popular notions you might have regarding Middle East especially Gulf. This is the most easygoing city in the region with the most happening nightlife and offers copious opportunities for duty - free shopping. Most international of Gulf Cities, Dubai hosts world-class golf and tennis tournaments, horse racing, and desert rallies. World Travel for Indians offers travel packages for Dubai to the outbound travelers in India.

Dubai is something of Middle East meets Hong Kong, with a little Las Vegas thrown in for style; a cosmopolitan melting pot at the crossroads of time - and the quintessential home of sand, sea, sun and shopping. Of the United Arab Emirates' seven sovereign shaikhdoms, Dubai is on the UAE's northern coast, approximately 125km (80mi) east of Abu Dhabi. The city is really two towns separated by Dubai Creek (Khor Dubai), an inlet of the Gulf. Deira lies to the north and Bur Dubai to the south. Both districts are packed with traditional architecture and bustling souks (markets), but the city center is in Deira.

Dubai hosts two major tourist-oriented events during the year. The fiercely promoted Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) runs from late March to late April, when shopping centers bust themselves to bring in the spenders.
The lower-key Dubai Summer Surprises is designed, along with cheap hotel rates, to attract tourists during the summer slump. Surprises include displays of traditional culture, cooking demonstrations, art shows and more raffle tickets.
If you attend any of Dubai's festivals, you may be lucky enough to see traditional dances like the fast-paced liwa or the Bedouin ayyalah performed. Most Bedouin crafts are practical as well as beautiful: Pots like the birnah and hibb are designed to keep milk cool, while the mehaffa, or hand fan, does the same for you.
The barjeel, a windtower (the Gulf's unique architectural form of non-electrical air-conditioning), directs the smallest breeze into the house; it's surprisingly effective air conditioning.

Travel Attractions of Dubai

Dubai Museum

The Dubai Museum, occupying the Al-Fahidi Fort on the Bur Dubai side of Dubai Creek, is not to be missed. Thought to be the city's oldest building, the fort was both the residence of Dubai's rulers and the seat of government until it was retired as a museum in 1971.
A collection of antique khanjars (curved daggers) and a complete grave from the Al-Qusais archaeological site are highlights. Multimedia and interactive displays touch on everything from traditional and modern methods of water conservation to a presentation of the city's development.

Grand Mosque

The Grand Mosque in Bur Dubai is home to the city's tallest minaret. It might appear to be a beautiful example of restoration work, but was in fact built in the 1990s in the style of the Grand Mosque, which dated from 1900 but was knocked down to make way for another mosque in 1960.

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