Matt and Ashley

I capped off a week in Los Angeles by celebrating the wedding of my best friend from college Matt to his stunning wife Ashley. From Paradise Cove Beach Cafe to El Matador Beach, the wedding party settled at Saddlerock Ranch in Malibu where Matt and Ashley exchanged touching vows under an old willow tree. Nothing quite compares to being able to share such milestones with an old friend, especially when it involves his union to such a special woman as Ashley.

Bringing the topic of matrimony back to Dubai, BBC News published in 1999 an article examining the state of Emirati weddings. Click here for details on government involvement in mass weddings and the declining level of spending among some couples.

Twinning Cities

The announcement that Dubai will become a sister city to Barcelona, Spain. UAE Interact reports that the agreement makes Barcelona one of 13 other cities with similar relationships to Dubai. The thinking behind such "twinning" is to share technical and operational expertise, in addition to exchanging cultural traditions.

City within a City

Along the lines of Dubai Internet City and Dubai Media City, Gulf News reports the impending construction of Dubaitech. This biotech free trade zone will house international biotechnology firms and could create up to 20,000 jobs. It is scheduled for completion by July 2007.

Dubainaire

In Los Angeles, we went to a screening of The Quiet, the much anticipated sexual thriller opening Friday and written by my good friends Abdi Nazemian and Micah Schraft. Among other things, the screening was an opportunity to ask the Hollywood crowd about their perceptions of Dubai. When asked of the first word that came to mind to describe the city, answers included "Extravangant" "Traffic" and after a few drinks, "Shoes." When asked the same question, a charming and slightly bewildered James Franco at first responded with "Nothing" but in a true testament to the power of the brand Dubai, quickly changed his response to "My Future Home."

A Tale of Two Cities

From Dubai Life's July 2006 issue, an article examining the rapid real estate boom in Dubai and perspectives on its sustainability and overshadowing of the original urban culture and architecture. Click here to view the PDF of the issue.

Access to the Internet

UAE Internet provider Etisalat blocks access to popular web sites like You Tube, MySpace and the photo-sharing site Flickr. From 7Days, an interesting perspective on how limiting access to these sites has an adverse effect on culture production in the UAE, most notably for bands who are unable to promote themselves on the popular MySpace Music site.

Ayesha Depala

Dubai-based fashion designer Ayesha Depala recently staged her debut show at Indian Fashion Week, Gulf News reports. With the growing prominence of Dubai and the success of groups like Al Tayer, which manage and market international luxury brands in the UAE, a Dubai Fashion Week must be on the horizon.

Tarab Fashion

The first movie ever filmed in the UAE was released last month. Tarab Fashion depicts a social dilemma between an aspiring singer and her family as she pursues "fame, money and beauty" amidst a more traditional cultural backdrop. Directed by Mohamed Daham from Kuwait.

Rotating City

Last week the news that High Rise Real Estate owner Faisal Ali Moosa is pursuing development of a spinning city in Dubai. He recalls to ITP news that "I looked into rotating buildings, floating villas that would rotate and fly to a height of 6m, water themed parks a shopping mall that would have rotating shops, a cinema that would rotate, restaurants and bars." The blog Grapeshisha humors readers in speculating on other proposed developments.

Gas Price Comparison

Driving around the USA on a roadtrip right now is showing me just how expensive gas really is. The local station at the Grand Canyon, while certainly higher than the national average, charged us $3.49 a gallon this morning. On the brighter side, a quick look at Time Out Dubai quotes the typical per gallon cost of gas in the UAE at Dhs 4.75 (under $1.50).

Al Maha Desert Resort

From Tripadvisor.com mention of Al Maha Desert Resort in Dubai as one of the 10 quirkiest hotels in the world. Described as an "exclusive hotel designed to resemble a traditional Bedouin encampment."

Meeting Expectations, Leaving Impressions

Meaning "welcome" in Arabic, Marhaba is an "exclusive meet and greet service for passengers travelling through terminals 1 and 2 at Dubai International Airport." After a visit to the Marhaba web site one already feels welcome in Dubai and recognizes the positive impression services like this must leave on first-time visitors to the Emirate.

Together for Lebanon

Emirates Post and the Supreme Council for Family Affairs - Lebanon Aid Fund join together to create a special postmark for all UAE mail in circulation between August 8th and August 14th 2006.

Dubai Media Finds

I didn't know that there is a Time Out Dubai edition. The web site is a great resource for young visitors to Dubai. Even less expected was the discovery of the online Dubai Enquirer, a spoof of Dubai life which reminds me a lot of one of my favorite New York newspapers, The Onion.

Dubai Film Festival

The third annual Dubai film festival will take place from December 10-17, 2006. The 2005 festival featured 98 films from 46 different countries, and attracted nearly double the audience from the year prior. Click here for the synopses from the films submitted last year.

Government Consulting Work

The government of Dubai is considering offering their expertise in government management, tourism and real estate to foreign governments at a fee. Given Dubai's success in these areas, it would make sense that the government would capitalize upon this expertise to make money and extend their influence around the world. The concept that knowledge is something one can leverage in foreign relations is very compelling to me, especially as one would imagine that the transfer of knowledge is less politically charged than something more tangible like port management, another recent attempt of the Dubai government to extend itself in other countries.

Khalid Al Kassim, deputy director general for planning and development at the Department for Economic Development referenced Singapore's success in this area in stating that "Singapore has so many companies owned partially by the government and partially by the private sector which sell government expertise in other parts of the world, like the Science Park or the Singapore School of Government." It will be interesting to observe how this develops and whether other Arab countries are considered potential clients of Dubai or not.

The full article is at Gulf News.

Dubai Monopoly

From UAE Community Blog the news that a Dubai edition of Monopoly will be released soon.

Fly Emirates

For every time someone references Dubai, another person mentions Emirates, the largest airline in the UAE. One friend even suggested that flying Emirates to Dubai is one of the best parts of the actual visit to the emirate. So what is all the fuss about? Visit the Emirates web site and judge for yourself how this successful airline is affecting Dubai's image around the world.

Are you on the list?

Dubai real estate development company Nakheel just released around 50 VIP invitations to view The World, their new development off the coast of Dubai. The World features 303 man-made islands meant to roughly mimic most of the countries in the actual world. A Nakheel representative describes the nuances of the guest list in stating that "owning an island on The World is not for everyone, even if they have the money. We are building the most prestigious address on the planet here and we have to carefully pick and chose those who want to live here."

Unique Hotel Option

In researching hotels for my first few days in Dubai, I came across the guest rooms at the XVA Gallery. Located in one of Bastakia's historic buildings, XVA might offer a more authentic lodging option compared to the more modern and commercial hotels Dubai is known for.

Latest UAE Census

Gulf News reports the release of the latest UAE census, showing that the UAE population has grown by 75% over the past ten years. Over 50% of the population is between 20 and 39 years old, highlighting the relative youth of the UAE. Government officials do not view this statistic as an imbalance, pointing out that "the UAE has been smart in attracting human capital in terms of intelligence and creativity."