Dubai_(Zabolotnikov, Petrova)

- Hey! What’s up? Have you heard anything about Dubai? Arabians are crazy! They managed to turn the desert into a modern futuristic city!

- Really!? I thought Moscow was the most fantastic city in the world!

- Look! Just imagine they have only built the tallest tower in the world, Bursh-Khalifa, within approximately ten years!

- I heard that it had been small center of fishing and searching for pearls. I can’t realize that it is now so big and so technologically improved.

- Yeah! Don’t you know that before the construction of the Dubai airport international visitors arrived first in Bahrein and then they took a ticket on the local flight to Sharjah to get to Dubai or reached this city by sea. Sometime later Sheikh Rashid bin Zayed ordered the construction of Dubai international airport. Nowadays it is two magnificent terminals built with the latest technology which receive about ten million passengers annually.

- I was told that many years ago camels had been the main transport for residents of the UAE. The Arabians were always proud of the number of camels they owned. And now the camel is mainly used for racing, which is held every year during the winter months.

- Oh, it is amazing! But do you know when Dubai started to develop?

- Yes! It started to develop when the UAE had found the source of petroleum. After the war in the Persian Gulf petroleum prices increased. Thus Dubai had to continue pursuing the policy based on free trade and tourism.

- Interesting fact: the number of crimes committed by women in Dubai has increased over the past decade. The Dubai prison also holds women who have been involved in crimes such as human trading and sexual exploitation.

- How do you think Dubai will have changed in ten years’ time?

- I know that Dubai is not completely built. And it will sprawl in next five years. They are building new skyscrapers now and they are not going to stop.

- Why do you think so?

- Because they have a lot of money and they are very ambitious.

- Really, I wish we had as much resources as they have. They are famous for their dancing fountains. If you ever want to watch the show, they start the performance every 30 minutes from 6:30 PM till midnight. And Friday is the Holy day of the week. It is like a mini-holiday. The opening hours of attractions change and some shopping facilities are closed.

- Do you remember if there was any disaster happened to this city?

- No, I do not, but I know that few years ago there was an attempt to kill the son of the founder of the UAE.

- Oh! It such a safe place! Now I will certainly visit Dubai!