I would like my last blog entry for 2012 to end with a literally high note.
So, my last blog would be about our recent visit to the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest man-made structure standing at 160 stories tall (829.8 meter or 2,722 feet high) located in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The Burj skyscraper is so high that you can view sunset in it twice! You can watch the sun setting on the ground and when it is gone, you can climb into the Burj’s hyper-speed elevator to go on top of the building and watch the sun set all over again!
Opened in 2010, it boasts of having nine of the world’s most luxurious hotels – including Armani Hotel – a total of 30,000 homes, 3 hectares (7.4 acres) of parkland, at least 19 residential towers, the Dubai Mall, and the 12-hectare (30-acre) man-made Burj Khalifa Lake. The dancing fountains at The Burj’s Lake can very well give the Las Vegas Bellagio hotel’s dancing fountain a run for the money.
More than the technological wonders and mechanical breakthrough involved in building The Burj in heart of the commercial district of Dubai, I am more impressed by the effort of the Arab world to show that when Islamic countries engage in peaceful economic activities, it can shake the world!
Verily, as pointed out by Wikipedia, The Burj has “returned the location of Earth's tallest freestanding structure to the Middle East, where the Great Pyramid of Giza claimed this achievement for almost four millennia before being surpassed in 1311 by Lincoln Cathedral in England.”
Please also read my reflections on visiting the Great Pyramid of Giza – one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world – at this link (http://www.deanandkingsprfirm.com/3/post/2012/12/fulfilling-bucket-list-in-2012-visiting-pyramid-of-giza-egypt.html).
As I pointed out earlier, the Burj – along with the infrastructure developments – in Dubai and Abu Dhabi shows how progressive an Arab country can become even without being wholly dependent on oil.
Dubai’s growth, described as the “economic miracle of the desert,” is credited partly to the vision and financial genius of UAE President Sheikh Khalifa Al Nahyan to turn UAE into an economic tiger in the Middle East.
It was Sheik Khalifa who provided the financial need to complete The Burj when an the initial bursting of the economic bubble in Dubai forced the non-oil producing UAE state under Prime Minister and UAE Vice President Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktaum to turn to Khalifa for financial help. This was why what was initially called Burj Dubai was renamed Burj Khalifa.
However, Sheikh Mohammed takes greater credit for turning Dubai into an unknown dessert roamed only by camels and lambs into the economic, investment and tourism mecca it is now. The building of The Burj clearly planted Dubai in the world map as an international tourism and business center.
On our recent visit to Dubai and Abu Dhabi following a trip to Israel, Palestine, Egypt and Jordan, we can only gawk and envy the millions of the mostly foreign tourists at the Dubai airport who are entering the country from all over the world! Clearly, the world has made UAE one its favorite spots for rest and recreation.
This then is the challenge to Muslims here and all over the world – to harness, re-focus and re-target the talents of the Islamic people towards economic activities and interests. Enough of war and religious extremism!
This then is our prayer for 2013 – that our Muslim brothers down in Mindanao will turn to peace and economic activities to turn that part of the country into the next-mini Dubai!
Peace and progress of Mindanao and the Philippines in 2013! Peace to all in 2013!
So, my last blog would be about our recent visit to the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest man-made structure standing at 160 stories tall (829.8 meter or 2,722 feet high) located in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The Burj skyscraper is so high that you can view sunset in it twice! You can watch the sun setting on the ground and when it is gone, you can climb into the Burj’s hyper-speed elevator to go on top of the building and watch the sun set all over again!
Opened in 2010, it boasts of having nine of the world’s most luxurious hotels – including Armani Hotel – a total of 30,000 homes, 3 hectares (7.4 acres) of parkland, at least 19 residential towers, the Dubai Mall, and the 12-hectare (30-acre) man-made Burj Khalifa Lake. The dancing fountains at The Burj’s Lake can very well give the Las Vegas Bellagio hotel’s dancing fountain a run for the money.
More than the technological wonders and mechanical breakthrough involved in building The Burj in heart of the commercial district of Dubai, I am more impressed by the effort of the Arab world to show that when Islamic countries engage in peaceful economic activities, it can shake the world!
Verily, as pointed out by Wikipedia, The Burj has “returned the location of Earth's tallest freestanding structure to the Middle East, where the Great Pyramid of Giza claimed this achievement for almost four millennia before being surpassed in 1311 by Lincoln Cathedral in England.”
Please also read my reflections on visiting the Great Pyramid of Giza – one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world – at this link (http://www.deanandkingsprfirm.com/3/post/2012/12/fulfilling-bucket-list-in-2012-visiting-pyramid-of-giza-egypt.html).
As I pointed out earlier, the Burj – along with the infrastructure developments – in Dubai and Abu Dhabi shows how progressive an Arab country can become even without being wholly dependent on oil.
Dubai’s growth, described as the “economic miracle of the desert,” is credited partly to the vision and financial genius of UAE President Sheikh Khalifa Al Nahyan to turn UAE into an economic tiger in the Middle East.
It was Sheik Khalifa who provided the financial need to complete The Burj when an the initial bursting of the economic bubble in Dubai forced the non-oil producing UAE state under Prime Minister and UAE Vice President Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktaum to turn to Khalifa for financial help. This was why what was initially called Burj Dubai was renamed Burj Khalifa.
However, Sheikh Mohammed takes greater credit for turning Dubai into an unknown dessert roamed only by camels and lambs into the economic, investment and tourism mecca it is now. The building of The Burj clearly planted Dubai in the world map as an international tourism and business center.
On our recent visit to Dubai and Abu Dhabi following a trip to Israel, Palestine, Egypt and Jordan, we can only gawk and envy the millions of the mostly foreign tourists at the Dubai airport who are entering the country from all over the world! Clearly, the world has made UAE one its favorite spots for rest and recreation.
This then is the challenge to Muslims here and all over the world – to harness, re-focus and re-target the talents of the Islamic people towards economic activities and interests. Enough of war and religious extremism!
This then is our prayer for 2013 – that our Muslim brothers down in Mindanao will turn to peace and economic activities to turn that part of the country into the next-mini Dubai!
Peace and progress of Mindanao and the Philippines in 2013! Peace to all in 2013!
At the viewing deck of The Burj, you get the feeling you are flying on a plane because the you can see the top of most of the other skyscrapers all around you ...
You can really feel being on top of the world while at the viewing deck of The Burj coz the building makes the other very tall buildings look small.
The man-made lake around The Burj is also a sight to behold from the viewing deck of the world's tallest building.
Although less impressive than the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas, the water fountain in The Burj's lake is also a sight to behold.
RSS Feed
