Not content with building the biggest constructions, the tallest skyscrapers or just creating the largest man made islands in the world, Dubai went one better this year. It brought snow to this sun-baked desert oasis. Ski Dubai boasts a 400-metre indoor ski slope, which holds more than 6,000 tonnes of snow and was built at a cost of $US272m.
However, does anyone wishing to indulge in a bit of snowboarding and the like really feel that Dubai is the destination for them? What’s more as Dubai’s sprawling metropolis threatens to engulf the old parts of the city, is the new city in danger of forsaking its past for the future?
Architectural Phenomenon or Architectural Folly?
Dubai’s skyline has changed somewhat dramatically in the last few years, never mind since it first struck Black Gold in the 1950s. The Burj Al Arab is among the surplus of so called iconic skyscrapers that adorn the horizon of the gulf municipality. And that is not the only thing that has changed, with the coast having been altered to accommodate the luxury Palm Jumeirah Islands, as well as mini metropolises springing up such as Media City, Sports City and Dubailand.
It is all down to the grand vision of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, who
laid down the blueprint of creating a new Dubai out of the old Middle East trading post that had semi-transformed itself through the exportation of oil. Nevertheless, Sheikh Mohammed realised that with the reserves already running out that Dubai would have to rely on more than just on oil and so began about transforming it into a fusion of western and Middle Eastern values.
The evolution of this city has increased a thousand-fold ever since, but so much so that it hardly appears to be a seamless makeover. It is anything but, with the vast monoliths rising from the ground interspersed with barren arid desert plains.
Bur Dubai or Deira?
And what of the remnants of the old Dubai, trying to co-exist with the likes of the Burj Al Arab and the soon to be completed Burj Dubai, hidden away on the other side of Dubai’s Creek.
Much of Dubai’s history is preserved in its collection of forts, mosques, palaces in Bur Dubai, the so-called old district, rich in narrow alleyways, handsome old homes with their beautifully carved doors and unique wind-towers.
To Be or Not To Be?
If a culture of a city is to be defined by its norms and values, the people that co-habit Dubai also play an intrinsic part in that process.
The fusion of Middle Eastern values that Sheikh Mohammad so aspired for is being lost due in no small part of that grand vision, that has enabled a vast influx of workers and tourists of various nationalities within the region – and ultimately contributed to the growth of a more cosmopolitan society.
Indeed, Emiratis now only make up a fifth of the population in the UAE and are staggeringly outnumbered in Dubai by almost 9 to 1. Moreover, they are being pushed further and further in the background in many spheres of Dubai life. Is it any wonder therefore, that the Old Dubai is lost when the expats and holiday makers are more likely to rush to the sanctuary of manufactured snow?
The demographic problem that exists in Dubai is cause for concern amongst local inhabitants, who watch foreign workers and holidaymakers come and go. Many are now beginning to speak of alienation as well as questioning the social and political cost of Dubai’s fast modernisation.
The Future or the Past?
Whilst, we should not lose sight of the enormous progression Dubai has made or fail to recognise that aspirations is an essential part of a city and it’s people, it is equally important not to lose sight that creating a city is more than just reproducing a replica of other cities that are geographically, socially and culturally completely different from your own.
Rather than force an identity on the city, it is important to realise that Dubai has its own identity, which has evolved over many years in its very own imitable way. Doing so is not as easy as it sounds. In a land that is full of jaw dropping schemes and awe-inspiring projects it is perhaps the biggest hurdle that Dubai will have to overcome.
|
|