It may not be shocking that a city with an ATM that dispenses gold contains the largest gold market in the world. Everywhere you look, you’ll see objects encased in gold. From telephones to wallpaper, gold is an abundant and present commodity in Dubai.
Due to its popularity, more than a few locals in Dubai have become extremely skilled metalworkers, specifically with gold. You can bring any everyday object to a gold craftsman and have it plated in the precious metal. However, just because gold is abundant doesn’t mean it comes at a cheap price. You’ll have to pay quite a chunk of change if you want your cellphone plated in gold. At this point, I’m sure it’s no surprise to read that Dubai is one of the most expensive cities in the Middle East.
Luxury Jams
With so many people come more vehicles and with a lot of vehicles come a lot of traffic jams. Though not every resident of Dubai has a fancy automobile, many people do have quite luxurious rides. These amazing cars pile up every day as they honk and yell in an effort to get the jam to move forward. The picture below is worth a thousand words. You probably have seen traffic jams before, but have you ever seen one that looked quite so luxurious?
With the rapid growth and constant construction of Dubai as well as the ever-rising population size in the city, traffic is predictable and will probably only continue to get worse. While the city is making efforts to lessen the traffic issues they currently are experiencing, it seems the billions of dollars they’re spending to improve transportation infrastructure aren’t doing that much. However, in 2009 the Dubai Metro opened and helped to increase public transportation usage in lieu of vehicle usage. These solutions come at a cost, though. Dubai spends about $790 million every year on transportation infrastructure.
Growing Growing Growing
Dubai is on a rapid growth spree with no signs of letting up any time soon. Construction seems to be in a permanent state of work as the city enlarges its infrastructure every day. With all that construction occurring comes the need for a lot of tools. Dubai is home to more construction cranes than any place on Earth. In fact, Dubai holds 25% of the world’s construction cranes. Now that’s a lot of cranes!
Next on the list of cities with the most construction cranes is Sydney, Australia. You might be wondering what American city has the most construction cranes. Believe it or not, it’s Seattle, Washington! That’s right, Seattle is the U.S. city with the highest number of construction cranes—not New York City or Los Angeles, which is what you might’ve been thinking. With construction continuing to be on an upward trend in Dubai, it looks like they’ll stay number one on the construction crane front for quite some time.
Major Fashion Hub
Though you may think of New York, Paris, London, or Milan when you imagine the world’s most prominent centers for fashion, Dubai is actually an up-and-coming fashion hub in the world. The epicenter of fashion in the Middle East, Dubai is quickly making a name for itself as a go-to spot for innovative fashion.
Every year there is a major fashion show in Dubai. The city even has an area specifically dedicated to fashion. Local designers are making worldwide names for themselves in Dubai and have been featured in fashion shows in Paris and New York City. Though the fashions in Dubai are sometimes more conservative than the fashions of the West, they are still lauded for their creativity and craft. Get yourself familiar with designers in Dubai, because you’ll most likely be seeing more and more of them in the future.
Once a Major Source of Pearls
During the 19th and early 20th centuries, Dubai was major in pearl farming. Later petroleum became a major source of income and now, the main source of industry in Dubai is tourism.
During the First World War, the pearl industry collapsed in Dubai. The Great Depression, as well as the invention of the cultured pearl in Japan, played a large role in the collapse of the pearl industry in Dubai. However, they soon moved on to other sources of income and continue to grow in amazing ways each year.