Travellers Guide to Dubai

Dubai is the second largest of the seven Arab emirates that comprise the United Arab Emirates - the others are Abu Dhabi, the capital city, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah.

Facing the Persian Gulf, the city of Dubai straddles the Dubai Creek, a natural inlet which divides the city into the Deira and Bur Dubai districts.

By the turn of the 20th century Dubai was a sufficiently prosperous port attracting settlers from Iran, India and Baluchistan, while the souk on Deira side was thought to be the largest on the coast, with some 350 shops. The facilities for trade and free enterprise were enough to make Dubai a natural haven for merchants who left Lingah, on the Persian coast, after the introduction of high customs? Settlers were mostly of distant Arab origin and Sunni, unlike most Persians, and naturally looked across to the Arab shore of the Gulf finally making their homes in Dubai. Theymost Persians, and naturally looked across to the Arab shore of the Gulf finally making their homes in Dubai. They continued to trade with Lingah, however, as do many of the dhows in Dubai Creek today, and they named their district Bastakiya, after the Bastak region in southern Persia.

Oil was discovered in Dubai some 40 years ago. But it has not relied on this alone and has reinvested into creating a modern infrastructure and amenities and developing as a strong trading centre and tourist resort.

The UAE as a whole has an open economy with high income per head and a sizable annual trade surplus. It has a sub-tropical, arid climate with average temperatures ranging from about 24 degrees in January to 41 degrees in July.

An explosion of exotic property developments in Dubai was signalled by a 2002 Royal decree permitting foreigners to own property. Previously only UAE nationals were allowed the privilege. However, the problem remained that there was no federal law recognising freehold tenure.

Property laws are being developed but currently there remains a fuzziness about the value of Dubai freeholds (which come with a residency permit) whose value relies partly on the international trading credentials and good name of the country rather than enforceable law.

Even so the Dubai building boom has attracted investors from across the world, partly due to its tax incentives but also because of its climate and luxury lifestyle.

Since 2002 property prices have been increasing by rates as high as 25 per cent per annum. However, prices remain low by UK standards. Meanwhile rents are predicted to continue to rise at the same rate as property prices - although landlords should note that there are no eviction laws in Dubai.

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