One and a riddle

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Photo: official website, Dean Ariel

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Dubai is a city with unimaginable wealth, with everything carefully planned to be the most beautiful, the greatest. Israelis may not be allowed to go to the UAE, but Dean Ariel's foreign passport has taken him to the Las Vegas "Persian Gulf"

Dean Ariel, Dubai

When I was a kid I grew up in Europe. To buy my heart, all my parents had to tell me was "Eurodisney travelers." Nothing could beat the marvelous feel of the theme park: the buildings, the lights, the music, and of course the facilities. Everything is sparkling, bright, inviting and most of all imaginary.

Dubai, one of the seven cities in the UAE, is such a park: the buildings, the lights, the facilities, everything sparkling, glowing, inviting only that there is no fence around, it is not imaginary and everything is huge. That's how they live here. If there's a tower here, it's the world's tallest, the world's largest mall, the world's largest fountain, and so on. So in fact maybe the comparison to Disneyland is inaccurate and the correct comparison is to Las Vegas.

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The main extension of the Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi. One of the world's largest mosques (Photo: Dean Ariel)

Sheikh Zayed Abu Dhabi Mosque (Photo: Dean Ariel, official website)

Most beautiful, impressive and grandiose

Post Mortem

For Israelis, and perhaps not just for them, there is something magical about the UAE in general and Dubai in particular. An Arab state, with unimaginable wealth, like the one in Ali Baba's cave or that of Aladdin and Jasmine. But here it is real. Although there is no entry into the UAE with an Israeli passport, the Expo 2020 Exhibition in the country in October this year will feature the delegations and a booth representing Israel - which signals an important development in informal relations between the countries.

When I landed in Dubai with my foreign passport, I immediately saw that everything I heard about the place was true - a huge and very luxurious, vibrant, bright, and expensive beach town, all with a touch of upscale Arab chic. Everything here is huge - the cars, the towers and even the six-lane roads in every direction. Everything is carefully designed to be the most beautiful, impressive and grandiose, to the point that sometimes you get the feeling that the city is not a real place, but a theme park - a glittering facade behind which there are no buildings - just sands.

I received the New Year's Eve in Dubai. That's what I saw and learned there.

The most beautiful city when the sun goes down and the city lights go on. Dubai Central Park Towers (Photo: Dean Ariel)

Dubai Central Park Towers (Photo: Dean Ariel, official website)

1. Go big or go home - Whether it is the world's tallest Burge suit, 830 feet high, 160 stories high and a few weeks ago, it celebrated its 10th birthday, or it's the spectacular New Year's Eve fireworks show , Literally the whole city as an image - everything is big here. Sorry, not big time - Giant.

It was just spectacular. Beach fireworks show in honor of 2020 (Photo: Dean Ariel)

New Year's Eve New Year 2020 in Dubai (Photo: Dean Ariel, official website)

The Burge Shell, the world's tallest structure, starred in films, such as "An Impossible Mission" (Photo: Dean Ariel)

Dubai Babylon Tower (Photo: Dean Ariel, official website)

2. Burj al Arab. One of Dubai's most iconic buildings is Burj Al Arab - a hotel considered the best and most prestigious in the world. So when you come to stay, the hotel staff will be happy to send you the Rolls-Royce car to the field to pick you up or the hotel's helicopter - whichever you prefer. The hotel is built on an artificial island, right on the water in the shape of a sailboat and it has become the symbol of Dubai as the Eiffel Tower is the symbol of Paris.

Became a symbol of Dubai. Burj Al Arab Hotel (Photo: Dean Ariel)

Burj Al Arab Hotel (Photo: Dean Ariel, official website)

Sunset over Burj Al Arab Hotel (Photo: Dean Ariel)

Burj Al Arab Hotel (Photo: Dean Ariel, official website)

3. Pave Palm Jumeira. In Dubai, palm tree water was built in the shape of a palm tree called Five Palm Jumeirah. You can see the full palm shape from an aerial view. The islands are made of sand from the Persian Gulf. On the islands were built houses accompanied by residential and commercial neighborhoods.

The palm shape can be seen from an aerial view. Pave Palm Jumeira - A helicopter view (Photo: Dean Ariel)

Pave Palm Jumeirah Dubai Resort (Photo: Dean Ariel, official website)

4. Between night and morning. Dubai is known for its winter morning fog. Most of the year is very hot there, up to close to 50 degrees in July, except for two months where it is relatively cool. The temperature differences between night and morning result in the creation of spectacular morning fogs which give the urban landscape another charm.

Except for the two months that are cool, most of the year is very hot. Morning fog in Dubai (Photo: Dean Ariel)

Morning fog in Dubai (Photo: Dean Ariel, official website)

5. Dubai pit. the old City. Surprisingly, alongside all the prelude and extravagance, Dubai also has an ancient city. It is hard to see any connection between the ancient village and the futuristic power that grew out of it. Bur Dubai, Old Town, was a surprising and interesting "oasis" at the heart of the introduction. There you can get a little glimpse of the life of locals, who roam its alleys and the large market (Souk Al Kabir), and get a sense that there are several parallel dimensions in the same city.

Dubai's Old City (Photo: Dean Ariel)

Dubai's Old City (Photo: Dean Ariel, official website)

A sign marking the centenary of the birth of the UAE founder - Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al Nahyan (Photo: Dean Ariel)

Sign marking the centenary of the birth of UAE founder Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al Nahyan (Photo: Dean Ariel, official website)

Souk Al Kabir - Dubai's Big Market (Photo: Dean Ariel)

Souk Al Kabir - Dubai's Big Market (Photo: Dean Ariel, official website)

5. Old-New. The Dubai Old Town tour mentions that the city is quite new, and before so much effort was put into the modern city's accelerated construction, the place was just a very underdeveloped desert area - Dubai is part of the UAE, known for being Dubai and Abu Dhabi - but there are five more : Ajman, Ras Al Khaima, Sharjah, Fujira, and Om Al Kiwin. And they have no oil - what Dubai shifts, roughly, from its desert past is the present of its sisters.

Dubai used to be a very underdeveloped desert area. Camels in Dubai (Photo: Dean Ariel)

Camels in Dubai (Photo: Dean Ariel, official website)

Desert view of Dubai city (Photo: Dean Ariel)

Dubai in the fog (Photo: Dean Ariel, official website)

6. As the evening goes down. In my opinion, the city looks the most beautiful at dusk and at night when all the lights are on and the city looks glowing in the dark.

Sunset on the background of the Burge Shell tower (Photo: Dean Ariel)

Sunset against Burj Klipe Tower in Dubai (Photo: Dean Ariel, official website)

Lights on Dubai roads (Photo: Dean Ariel)

Dubai Roads (Photo: Dean Ariel, official website)

7. The "Jerusalem" of the UAE. It is recommended to complete the visit to the UAE in the Abu Dhabi capital. From this point of view it is very convenient that it is about an hour and a half drive from Dubai. You could say that Dubai is the "Tel Aviv" of the UAE and Abu Dhabi is the "Jerusalem". Despite its geographical proximity, Abu Dhabi is quite different from Dubai. In Abu Dhabi too, everything is huge and big, but the atmosphere is completely different, everything is less touristy, and everything feels more real, more connected to reality as I at least know it. It was not built as a playground and is not shown to tourists.

The most well-known building in Abu Dhabi is the great Sheikh Zayed mosque, which is also the site of its burial. Its construction took about 10 years, and it was inaugurated in 2007. It is difficult to describe in words the strength of the mosque. It is, of course, one of the largest mosques in the world, the white pavers. Its brightness and interesting reflections, the thoughtfulness of the small details carved on each page and of course the sound of the muezzin is certainly one of the most impressive structures I have ever seen.

The best known building in Abu Dhabi. Sheikh Zayed Mosque, Abu Dhabi (Photo: Dean Ariel)

Sheikh Zayed Abu Dhabi Mosque (Photo: Dean Ariel, official website)

The shiny tiles create interesting reflections. Inside Sheikh Zayed Mosque, Abu Dhabi (Photo: Dean Ariel)

Sheikh Zayed Abu Dhabi Mosque (Photo: Dean Ariel, official website)

Crafting the small details. Sheikh Zayed Mosque (Photo: Dean Ariel)

Sheikh Zayed Abu Dhabi Mosque (Photo: Dean Ariel, official website)

8. The Mona Lisa of the Middle East. Another interesting site in Abu Dhabi is the Louvre Museum. Yes yes a relative of the same Louvre from Paris (and the subject of cultural relations between countries and Western museums and the countries from which these treasures came, and the cultural branding beneficial to both parties - Louvre and Abu Dhabi It is the subject of a separate article).

The museum building is a museum in itself. In a very impressive building, with a special emphasis on the ceiling made of layers of metal arms placed on top of each other that allow the sun's rays to penetrate the museum, creating light and shadow games that change throughout the day at the angle of the sun.

The metal ceiling allows natural light to enter the museum. The Louvre in Abu Dhabi (Photo: Dean Ariel)

Abu Dhabi Louvre Museum (Photo: Dean Ariel, official website)

A museum piece in itself. The Louvre in Abu Dhabi (Photo: Dean Ariel)

Abu Dhabi Louvre Museum (Photo: Dean Ariel, official website)

9. East as west. The Dubai skyline overlooking the promenade is reminiscent of Manhattan overlooking Brooklyn. But even though everything here is "Disneyland" and the influence of the West - and perhaps not only the West, but also the entire globalization is evident here in every corner, it is quite clear to you that you are not in the West. It's part of the magic of meeting cultures and different cultural interpretations that everyone gives where they live.

Dean Ariel is a medical student, travel and photographer. For more photos, visit his website and Instagram

Dean Ariel on Dubai Promenade (Photo: Courtesy of Dean Ariel)

Dean Ariel on Dubai Promenade (Photo: Dean Ariel, official website)