The most progressive city in the world with a seaplane

Dubai is the eighth wonder of the world, a city from the distant future and actually my second home. I have been here so many times that I managed to remember every street and road fork, and skyscrapers grew before my eyes. I took a million photos, but I have never seen fantastic buildings, mound islands and wide highways from a bird's eye view. Finally, a dream come true!

I still could not agree with the company that organizes the flights. I wanted to fly at sunrise or sunset - the best time for the photographer. They did not agree, referring to some prohibitions. The last time the stars came together. In the morning, Rolls-Royce came for us - a business jet among cars - and we went to the seaplane.

The route included all the symbols of Dubai: the Marina area, the bulk island of Palm Jumeirah, the World Islands, the luxurious Burj Al Arab Hotel and the Burj Khalifa skyscraper - the highest in the world.

Our team is ready for a 40-minute air travel. SeaWings crew is responsible for safety.

Dubai is a city of air conditioners. In the summer, when the sun is at its zenith, and the thermometer is over 40 degrees, the emirate turns into a hot pan. If you do not equip housing with a cooling system, then life in it will turn into hell. Therefore, air conditioning is everywhere: at bus stops, in shops and banks.

From the air, they look like beehives. It even seems that everyone who lives under these roofs is engaged in airborne flight.

Typical view of Dubai. Green lawns and trees that conquered space from the dead desert, non-banal structures, fountains and stunning interchanges. Adherents of bicycle paths should not be offended at me. I remain a fan of cars and everything connected with them. Road infrastructure is the engine of progress. If it’s cool, everything with the city’s economy will be fine; if not, expect a crisis.

Dubai has always impressed me with the pace of construction. After all, the city has grown over several decades; projects have been implemented rapidly.

I remember how in the Marina area a new road junction appeared, in which gigantic funds were invested. Although the work was large-scale, serious miscalculations were found in it. Because of them, a huge traffic jam formed during rush hour.

When I flew to Dubai the next year, the interchange was dismantled and they began to rebuild. It is clear that the architects received a cap, and the costs probably fell on the shoulders of the builder. But still cool when people know how to admit their mistakes.

Downtown Dubai. About 15 years ago, when most of the skyscrapers existed only on the drawings, it was considered the center of the city:

The Dubai miracle has many denominators. The main one is the never-ending fountain of "black gold", beating right under your feet. Oil dollars could settle on the bank accounts of the political elite (as it happens in Russia), but the sheikhs disposed of them differently. Funds are invested correctly: in the emirates, in business, in education.

Zamoshki certainly create the "biggest, tallest and coolest" smell of boasting, but the model works. The whole world speaks about the architectural masterpieces of the city. They magnetically attract millions of tourists who invest their vacation money in Dubai. As a result, the projects pay off.

Pure economic solutions have also worked, such as the Jafza free trade zone located in the port of Jebel Ali. The companies that are in it are exempted from taxes on goods, from import and export duties. Anyone can open a business; UAE citizen partnership is not required. You just need to have a registered capital of one million dirhams. Jebel Ali Free Zone provides a very significant influx of investment in the country.

Fly over the famous yacht Dubai. It belongs to, you guessed it, the ruler of the emirate, Sheikh Mohammed. Judging by the closed helipad and unfilled pool, the ship is under repair.

There is one funny story connected with it. Dubai was once considered the largest yacht in the world. Until the construction of the yacht Roman Abramovich. And then bad luck: Eclipse was 46 centimeters longer than Dubai.

Sheikh was indignant. So much so that he decided to increase his ship by 61 centimeters by installing an additional black box. If true, it smacks of teenage bravado. From the series: you, of course, have a big one, but I have it anyway longer :-)

The famous "Sail", on the opening of a new platform which we arrived. Not only is the hotel itself an architectural masterpiece, it is also built on an artificial island, which rests on hundreds of piles.

Burj al-Arab reaches 321 meters toward the sky. The view of the Persian Gulf from it opens simply amazing.

Dubai Marina area with artificially dug canal. 15 years ago, when I was resting here as a teenager, skyscrapers have not yet been built. It was an ordinary piece of desert with a highway and several hotels.

Today, Marina is New York, listed in the tropics. To my taste, overdone with skyscrapers. There are so many of them that they already cease to amaze.

And I also sympathize with the inhabitants of the high floors of the towers. You overpay for a view of the bay, and then a new building closes it. A setup from a setup.

We fly to the Palm Jumeirah - the most original bulk island of Dubai. See unfinished work at the very core of photography? This is a grand The Perl project, frozen due to the 2008 crisis. According to the idea, it should consist of 4 towers that will be connected by a sky bridge:

It was planned that everything would look like this.

The giant village of Jumeirah Village. You can get here only by passes. I tried to enter the territory of the village, but the watchful guard at the checkpoint decided not to let the tourist with the camera.

The UAE is a country of sand, and water here is probably associated with well-being. To live by the water in the village Village, people are willing to pay for houses from 700 thousand euros.

We fly on a seaplane and see some kind of endless fence. In the middle there are gorgeous gates, behind which the sheikh estates are hidden. They occupy a huge territory comparable to the Turkish "five-star" on the first line. Here you will find several villas, and your own hippodrome, and even a small bulk island.

Not far from the estate was seen the yacht of the ruler of Dubai. Perhaps the photograph is one of his residences.

We return to the palm island, which consists of a trunk and 16 leaves. It bends around their crescent-shaped axis.

The creation of artificial land is a brilliant and forced solution for the Arabs. The coastline is considered the most valuable in the resorts, and in Dubai, an acute shortage of land on it arose in the 90s.

So Sheikh Mohammed decided on a risky project from which a world landmark grew.

The closer to the end of the island, the more expensive the villas are. The price tag of some breaks the mark of 25-30 million euros. Although the development is dense, the owners do not have large plots, but from a height, the mansions are completely similar to cheap town houses.

For the money you can easily buy a property in France. But the owners of palm villas were driven not by logic, but by prestige.
P.S. A reader who works in Dubai as a real estate agent writes that houses on Palm have begun to get cheaper. Toward the end of the island, the plots allegedly began to leave water. Owners of villas located in the trunk of the island have another problem. There the water stagnates, blooms and smells unpleasant. Unpleasant misfortune.

Shreds of a sandy palm tree are connected by a metro line, under which an automobile underground tunnel passes.

We fly around the "Sail". Due to the lack of its own beach, I used to perceive it as a business hotel.

Yes, guests could always sit on electric buggies and get to the neighboring resort through the bridge. But, you see, these are extra troubles.

The owners of Burj al-Arab solved the problem by opening a terrace. The platform was assembled at a shipyard in Finland. Before growing to the "Sail", she did 8 thousand nautical miles.

On the platform there are two huge salt and fresh water pools, bars, restaurants and cafes. And also sun loungers and closed rooms called boars. In general, it turned out quite a realistic imitation of the beach.

We fly to the Mir archipelago. It is located 4 kilometers from the coast and in shape resembles the continents of the Earth. The project is grand but unsuccessful. Plus, the "World" environmentalists are dissatisfied. According to the greens, the construction of buildings on the islets will harm the flora and fauna of the Persian Gulf.

No, from the point of view of marketing, the idea is brilliant. The powerful of this world from all over the planet offer to buy a piece of the homeland. Let and located at distant lands. The oligarch from the conditional St. Petersburg (in the presence of adventurism and imperial manners) will surely have fun acquiring an island called St. Petersburg. Build palaces with gardens and fountains on it. Ponanutsya in front of friends. And then what? How then to get to the mainland? After all, the islands are completely private. They are not connected to land by roads. You need to use high-speed boats or a helicopter, which is far from always convenient. It turns out that living on them is problematic, but you have to invest in maintenance. Doubtful asset.

The islands have long been bought out by private individuals, but only one is equipped. In short, a complete failure.

They flew up to the famous Burj Khalifa tower with a height of 828 meters at the maximum permissible distance. Closer is impossible. The government of the emirate allows flying at its main symbol only in the case of cool promotions. Well, or if you are Tom Cruise and starring in the movie "Mission Impossible" in Dubai :-)

I really want to fly over Dubai in January-February. At this time, the city is surrounded by mists. The tops of buildings, looking out of the thick haze, will surely look epic.

Dubai and Abu Dhabi look like green cities. But creating oases in the middle of the sands was very expensive. Each tree has special pipes that feed them with useful substances and prevent them from dying in the desert.

Dubai still has a place to move and grow.

Artificial islands have been built since the 17th century to protect against military invasions. But only the Arabs managed to put them on the stream.

The Maidan Racecourse looks cooler from the air than the Formula 1 track. A real superstructure with stands for 60 thousand people, with the longest grass path in the world and its own parking for yachts. The cost of its construction exceeded $ 2.5 billion.

Colossal investment in the racetrack is a vital necessity. The Dubai World Cup is very popular with major oil workers, industrialists and celebrities. While VIPs drink elite whiskey in the boxes_ the most thoroughbred stallions of the planet tear the veins on the track. The entry fee for the competition is 60 thousand dollars, and it is worth it. After all, the winner of the Cup takes 10 million dollars with him.

The horses from the stables of the ruler of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov participated in the competitions. But I do not know whether it is successful or not.

A store called the Wafi Center, styled like an Egyptian pyramid. This is not some kind of hypermarket. Here are drop dead interiors, expensive boutiques and very wealthy shoppers. You can come here just for a tour. Sit in a cafe for coffee and watch how Arabs with retinues of wives empty stores. They don’t even look at price tags, they only manage to sign checks.