Dubai – You won’t believe this place!
It’s the destination that’s made headlines – time and again – for pushing the boundaries of possibility. A ski slope in a desert where summer temperatures can top 50°C (120°F)? A man-made island shaped to look like the world? All of these things are proudly displayed in Dubai UAE! And here are my top 7 favorite facts:
● It goes to figure that the world’s tallest building is in Dubai: the Burj Khalifa. And not just that; it dwarfs the competition!
At 828m (2717ft) tall, it’s 196m (644ft) above the world’s second-tallest building, the Shanghai Tower in China at 632m (2073ft). The USA’s tallest building – the One World Trade Center – comes in at 541m (1776ft) and the famous Empire State Building, once the world’s tallest, clocks in at less than half that height: a mere 381m (1250ft).
● Yes, there’s an indoor ski slope. Located in the grand Mall of the Emirates, Ski Dubai has 22,500 square meters (5.5 acres) of ski slopes. While temperatures outside can hit 50°C (120°F), the park maintains a temperature of -1 to 2°C (30-36°F) throughout the year.
● Dubai is also home to an indoor rainforest. Located at City Walk, Green Planet Dubai allows you to spend a night in a tropical jungle – while you’re in the midst of a searing, dry desert!
● The famous palm-tree-shaped artificial island, the Palm Jumeirah, is actually only one of three. Dubai has two more palm islands, as well as an artificial archipelago designed to resemble the world. With 5.6 square kilometers (1380 acres), the Palm Jumeirah is the largest man-made island in the world.
● 25% of the world’s supply of gold passes through Dubai. The WORLD’S supply. Meaning all of the gold in the world that’s ever found, including everything in Fort Knox. A quarter of it has passed – at one point – through Dubai.
● The Burj Al-Arab hotel – Dubai’s most luxurious hotel – uses 1790 square meters (19,267 ft or 0.44 acres) of 24-carat gold leaf in its interior decorating. That’s one-third of a football field covered in solid gold or enough gold to cover the Mona Lisa 46,265 times!
● Dubai’s $7 billion Expo 2020, the world’s fair in the desert and twice the size of Monaco, ended on March 31, 2022. It was purpose-built to attract high-tech and digital companies to become a center for innovation and will now be called District 2020.
Absurd? Yes. Impossible? Seemingly. But always pushing the limits of what humanity can accomplish. That’s Dubai. Nowhere else in the world can you find a place quite like this! Enjoy.
Check out my Dubai Travel Guide for more historical places and spaces. And when you’re ready to visit Dubai, let SelfishMe Travel help you design your next best vacation by booking a complimentary discovery call with me.
CREDITS: This blog post was partially created by the Travel Agent Society and sold to SelfishMe Travel in 2021.
