Why a Booktrail?
2000s – Dubai fascinates for the ‘mall in the desert’ image it has,. But what lies beneath the facade of the glistening shop fronts?
Hello Dubai
What you need to know before your trail
“Hello Dubai” is the story of Joe Bennett and his travels around the United Arab Emirates. He’s there to see the people, the places, the history and of course the desert. For this Dubai intrigues him – both a boom town and an enigma, he set out to see what Dubai really was and how it’s grown so much. The good and the bad, the strange and the exciting, he wants it all and when he’s done with Dubai then there’s the rest of the UAE to be discovered!
Locations
Reset- United Arab Emirates
- A: Dubai - Sheikh Zayed Road
- B: Umm Al Qwain
- C: Ras-al-Khaimah - "the maverick sheikdom"
- D: Sharjah
Travel Guide
Skiing, sand and shopping in the world’s weirdest city?
Joe starts the book with an admission that he hadn’t heard of Dubai forty years go as there wasn’t much of it. It was just a port he said on the Arabian Gulf which was not so well known in the grand scheme of things. But back in time it has been the centre of the world, the Arabian Empire was once bigger than the Roman one and we have the Arab world to thank for much of the scientific knowledge and philosophy sweeping the world today. Dubai’s role came when oil was discovered in the 20th century and it became the city it is today with its towering buildings, golden structures and shopping malls in the desert.
So, now a hub of global trade and finance, Joe Bennett wants to explore it. With a mix of history and wry observation, he takes you around Dubai and other cities such as Fujairah, Ras-al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm al-Quwain.
“Dusk in the desert. The sand’s warm. We’ll eat and drink amid the limitless sands”
As well as the visits, the parties – the Islamic new Year compared to the Christian one, the endless sand, descriptions of Geography, marvels at history and modernity in one place. The boats moored in the harbour –
“Down by the creek at ten in the morning, in this most futuristic of cities I meet a scene that’s ancient, – ‘chunky ramshackle boats as old as Christ”
Dubai is the land of the sheiks, where expats are ‘guests on visas’ and rights which can be revoked at any time. it is a city of of gold, of coffee and of contrasts
Perfect for a bit of exploring, via a book.
Where Next?
