By Caitlin
It was hard to get a handle on Dubai in 3 days. It's a very traditional, conservative, Muslim place and yet, it's also cosmopolitan, multicultural and thriving on Western-style consumerism. Geographically-speaking, it was hard to get around because of how massive and spread out the city is. We would look on the map and think it feasible to walk somewhere, but it was usually twice as far as expected. Even though we were in a huge city, we felt like characters slogging through a desert searching for an oasis. Part of that slog was the heat, which felt pretty good after a chilly week in Turkey. Despite temps in the 90's, it was Dubai's coolest season.
 The deserted, restored traditional Dubai Walking around Dubai, there were 3 distinct parts that to me represented the past, present and future of the city. Old Dubai felt like many other Arab countries I've traveled to with spice markets and Dhow boats shuttling people across the Dubai Creek. There is one neighborhood of restored Emirati architecture that was beautiful but also eerily deserted. It was like what the UAE area of EPCOT might look like. Outside of this reconstructed area, buildings were either standard cinder block or extremely modern with not a lot in between. |  A traditional dhow boat takes people across the water  A mosque in Dubai |
The area we stayed in, which is probably representative of most of Dubai, was one of the most diverse places I've ever been. There was every different kind of language and ethnicity present. Most of Dubai's residents are South Asian, Southeast Asian, or from other Arab countries. A very, very small percentage of Dubai is native Emirati. Despite hosting generations of immigrants, the Emratis protect their citizenship very closely making it very hard to become a citizen, even for children born in Dubai. Much of the reason for the diversity has to do with labor needs to build up such an impressive city in such a short time and it cannot go unsaid that Dubai is known to have a terrible human rights and environmental record as a result. To me, this is Dubai's present: A huge international city, with an infamous reputation that doesn't represent the multicultural feel of it at all.
 Then there is the "future-looking" Dubai of the Burg Dubai, the tallest building in the world, the numerous man-made islands, the brand new shiny malls and subway system. In one small area of Dubai, called the marina, we were dwarfed by seemingly as many skyscrapers as in all of Chicago. (It even reminded us a bit of Chitown with a canal running through it.) There were still a ton of high rises being built and it was hard to figure out if all the finished ones were even all sold. Then there were the malls. Yes, the crazy ones with a ski slopes, ice skating rinks, roller coasters and aquariums. We visited several and were shocked by how American they felt and by the sheer amount of shopping taking place. Every fast food restaurant ever, even ones you thought closed, still exist in a Dubai mall. Jed was reunited with a fast food that he hadn't had since it closed in Madison 12 years ago. Clearly, the malls are the places to "see and be seen" both to escape the heat and conform to the strict societal rules. As if almost to remind you that you still in Dubai, the malls have strict codes of conduct (see below), lots of locals are in Emirati attire and the Muslim call to prayer is announced over the intercom system. It certainly is about as interesting of an "east" meets "west" as we have encountered on our trip so far.  Rules of the extremely modern, "western" mall |   Indoor ski slopes...in the mall  Dubai or Chicago? |
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