The World Traveling: United Emirate Arab

Showing posts with label United Emirate Arab. Show all posts

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Dubai and the UAE

Tomorrow will be the grand opening of the latest addition to the skyline of Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Atlantis Palm Resort, with over 1,500 rooms, will be hosting an opening ceremony with celebrities from around the world tomorrow night. The rapid development in Dubai and across the UAE hasn't all been easy lately, as infrastructure problems (handling rising levels of waste to match massive development), and world financial struggles have slowed progress. Wealthy Dubai continues to grow though, in both land area as new islands are built, and in height as new, taller skyscrapers are planned to best the Burj Dubai, already the tallest in the world.

Camels are seen early morning on a beach in the Marina area of Dubai.

An Emirati man holds a falcon during the Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition in Abu Dhabi. The annual exhibition has achieved great success both within the Gulf region and worldwide attracting international specialist exhibitors of guns, hunting vehicles, shooting, fishing, falconry, equipment and accessories.

British motorcyclist James West drives his 690 cc KTM Rally bike during preliminary super stage action in Dubai, one day before the official start of the UAE Desert Challenge Rally. More than 140 drivers took part in the five day rally.

The Queen Elizabeth 2 cruise liner enters the Firth of Clyde past Cumbrea Elbow lighthouse. The ship is making its final journey in November to Dubai to be re-fitted as a luxury floating hotel anchored off Palm Jumeirah, the world's largest man-made island.

A sculpture of an ant is seen in front of the Dubai International Financial Exchange. Gulf Arab stock markets had slumped to multi-year lows as speculation intensified that a five-year property boom had come to an end and heavyweight financing firms would be forced to merge as credit conditions deteriorated.

Heavy fog rolls by high-rise constructions near the Dubai Marina.

With a background of Sheikh Zayed highway's towers, Muslims of different nationalities perform the Eid al-Fitr prayers at Grand Musalla in Dubai, United Arab Emirates,.

Visitors look at a model of a proposed development entitled "City of Arabia" at the opening of the Cityscape 2008 international real estate exhibition in Dubai.

A man walks close to a polluted beach in the popular Jumeirah area in the Gulf Emirate of Dubai. News of a serious sea water pollution is causing worries in Dubai, especially after the municipality closed off one of the most popular beaches in the emirate.

With the world's tallest under construction tower, Burj Dubai, background left, vehicles pass by the under construction towers at the Business Bay in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Arab clients smoke waterpipes after breaking their fast at a Ramadan tent in a five-star hotel in Dubai. Besides charity banquets for the poor during the fasting month of Ramadan, fancy tents that offer sumptuous meals at relevant prices flourish in the oil-rich Gulf emirate, attracting both locals and foreigners, Muslims and non-Muslims, many of whom exchange normal dinner outings with the sunset 'iftar' meal and late night 'suhur' snacks and waterpipes.

Burj Dubai, the tallest tower in the world, is seen in the background as labourers work at a construction site near the Dubai Mall. The Dubai Mall, one of the world's largest, has pushed back its opening on October 30 to five days later.

A handout picture made available on October 26, 2008 from the media office of Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashed al-Maktoum shows Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid al-Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Defence Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai, walking through an aisle of the second Emirates Airline A380 superjumbo at Dubai international airport. The rich Gulf Emirate received the second A380 on October 24, 2008. Emirates, which is owned by the government of Dubai, is the largest customer of the A380. It has 58 on order in a deal worth about 18.8 billion dollars based on list prices.

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Chairman of Dubai World, talks to the audience about the Nakheel Harbour & Tower project, a more than 1 kilometer high tower in Dubai, United Arab Emirates,

A visitor to the man-made island of Palm Jumeirah in Dubai holds her baby at the sea shore.

Bulls push each other during a traditional bullfight in the Gulf emirate of Fujairah.

A couple takes an early morning walk on a beach in the Marina area of Dubai.

A handout picture made available by the Dubai Desert Challenge shows Russian driver Vladimir Chagin and his co-pilots Sergy Savostin and Antoly Tahin driving their Kamaz 4911 truck through the Liwa desert, south of Abu Dhabi, during the UAE Desert challenge Competition.

The scene over Dubai Marina. Dubai property shares plunged, last week, and its biggest private developer slashed jobs as the global financial crisis tightened its grip on the tiny emirate, until now synonymous with the Gulf Arab real estate boom.

Visitors looks up as fish swim in the aquarium tunnel in Dubai Mall, which covers the area of 50 soccer fields. The Dubai Mall, which officially opened on the 4th, includes the aquarium, one of the world's largest, an Olympic-sized ice rink, a gold souq and shops covering 5.9 million sq ft.

With a background of Sheikh Zayed highway's towers, Muslim women arrive at Grand Musalla to perform the Eid al-Fitr prayers in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

An Emirati man walks past helicopter models displayed at the Helishow exhibition in Dubai.

A handout picture made available by EMAAR Malls Group shows an aerial view of Dubai Mall, one of the world�s largest shopping and entertainment destinations in the booming Gulf state.

An Emirati carries a falcon, one of the tourist attractions at the lobby of the Atlantis resort complex on the man-made Palm Jumeirah island in the Gulf emirate of Dubai.

Journalists watch a stingray swimming in the giant aquarium of the Atlantis hotel which is a part of $ 1.5 billion resort in Jumeira Palm Island in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

An early evening view of the Atlantis Hotel on the Palm Jumeirah with residential construction in the foreground.

An early evening hazy view of Dubai's skyline, dominated by the Burj Dubai skyscraper.

The Burj Dubai, the tallest manmade structure in the world, despite being still incomplete. The skyscraper stands at 707 meters (2,320 ft), with 160 floors and growing, and is scheduled to be complete by September of next year.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Dubai Metro network in the United Arab Emirates city

The Dubai Metro (in Arabic: مترو دبي) is a driverless, fully automated metro network in the United Arab Emirates city of Dubai. The Red Line is partly operational, the Green Line is still under construction, and further lines are planned. These first two lines run underground in the city centre and on elevated viaducts elsewhere. All trains and stations are air conditioned with platform edge doors to make this possible.
The first section of the Red Line, covering 10 stations, was ceremonially inaugurated at 9:09:09 PM on September 9, 2009, by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai, with the line opening to the public at 6 AM on September 10. The Dubai Metro is the first urban train network in the Arabian Peninsula.^[5] More than 110,000 people, which is nearly 10 per cent of Dubai’s population, used the Metro in its first two days of operation. The Dubai Metro carried 10 million passengers from launch on 9 September 2009 to 9 February 2010 with 11 stations operational on the Red Line.

Construction

Once the 20 km Green line opens, the Dubai Metro will overtake the title of longest automated metro network from the Vancouver Skytrain, surpassing it by 3 km.
Planning of the Dubai Metro began under the directive of Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum who expected other projects to attract 15 million visitors to Dubai by 2010. The combination of a rapidly-growing population (expected to reach 3 million by 2017) and severe traffic congestion necessitated the building of an urban rail system to provide additional public transportation capacity, relieve motor traffic, and provide infrastructure for additional development.
In May 2005 a AED 12.45 billion/US$ 3.4 billion design and build contract was awarded to the Dubai Rail Link (DURL) consortium made up of Japanese companies including Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi Corporation, Obayashi Corporation, Kajima Corporation and Turkish firm Yapı Merkezi. The first phase (worth AED 15.5 billion/US$ 4.2 billion) covers 35 kilometres (22 mi) of the proposed network, including the Red Line between Al Rashidiya and the Jebel Ali Free Zone set for completion by September 2009 and the Green Line from Al Qusais 2 to Al Jaddaf 1. This is to be completed by June 2010. A second phase contract was subsequently signed in July 2006 and includes extensions to the initial routes. The Red Line partially opened at 9 minutes and 9 seconds past 9 PM on September 9, 2009 (9/9/9 9:9:9), inaugurated by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum. The construction cost of the Dubai Metro project has shot up by about 80 per cent from the original AED 15.5 billion/US$ 4.2 billion to AED 28 billion/US$ 7.6 billion. The authorities said the cost of the project did not overshoot. They attributed the increase in expenditure to the major changes in the scope and design of the project. The authorities also expect to generate AED 18 billion/US$ 4.9 billion in income over the next 10 years. But they speculate that the Metro would not be a profit-making enterprise since the fares would be subsidised.

Construction delays

Work officially commenced on the construction of the metro on March 21, 2006.
In February 2009, a top RTA Rail Agency official said the $ 4.2 billion Dubai Metro project would be completed on schedule despite global crisis.
However only 10 out of 29 metro stations of the red line opened on 9 september 2009.
Construction of the 18 stations on the red line and another 18 on the green line restarted on February 7, 2010, according to contractors, after a settlement was reached with a Japanese-led consortium over disputed payments of about $ 2 billion-$ 3 billion and there is optimism that the whole red line may be able to open in the second quarter of 2010. Construction of all 29 metro stations on the red line was declared complete on April 28, 2010 by the acting chief of the RTA Rail Agency.
Seven more stations on the Dubai Metro Red Line opened on April 30, 2010. Ten new trains were pressed into service, giving a total of 22 trains in service when the stations opened. The seven stations are, Emirates Station, Airport Terminal 1 Station, Dubai Internet City (TECOM) Station, Al Karama Station, Emirates Towers Station, Marina Station and Ibn Battuta Station. In addition to this, a further 3 stations will be opened on May 15, 2010, namely: Al Quoz Station, GGICO Station and World Trade Station, whilst the remaining stations on the Red Line will be opened in phases in the second half of 2010. The RTA announced that work on all 18 stations on the 23-km long Green Line that runs around the Dubai Creek through Deira and Bur Dubai will be completed in August 2011. On March 2010 the Dubai Metro chief resigned due to the construction delays.

Under construction

Green Line: 20 kilometres (12 mi) line with 22 stations from Festival City, through the city centre, Dubai International Airport Terminal 2 and the Airport Free Zone. This line was proposed to open in March 2010, however the Dubai RTA confirmed at the end of August 2009 that the Green Line will not open until June 2010, completing the first phase of the Dubai Metro.

The line was originally slated at 17km was increased by 7km to 23.9km. The line will be further extended by 11km from Al Jaddaf to International City under the Green Line extension project

List of stations

Dubai Metro is composed of at-grade (G) elevated Type 1, Type 2 and Type 3 (T1, T2 and T3, respectively) underground stations (U) and underground transfer station types (UT). Type 1 is the regular at-grade concourse station, Type 2 is a regular elevated concourse station, and Type 3 is an elevated special track station with an extra track to hold a non operational train. Underground transfer stations will be accommodating both the Red and Green lines for easy transfers.
Besides these differences, there are four themes used in the interiors of the stations: earth, water, fire and air. Earth stations have a tan-brown colour effects; water has blue-white colour effects; fire has orange-red colour effects; and the air has green colour effects.

Red Line:
- Rashidiya Station (Depot)
- Emirates Airlines Station
- Airport Terminal 3 Station - For all Emirates Flights
- Airport Terminal 1 Station - For all Non-Emirates Flights
- Al Garhoud Station (GGICO station)
- Deira City Centre Station
- Al Rigga Station
- Union Station (Interchange, connecting with Green Line)
- Khalid bin Al Waleed Station (Interchange, connecting with Green Line)
- Al Karama Station
- Al Jafiliya Station
- World Trade Centre Station
- Emirates Towers Station
- Financial Centre Station
- Burj Khalifa / Dubai Mall Station
- Business Bay Station
- Al Quoz Station
- First Gulf Bank Station
- Mall of the Emirates Station
- Sharaf DG Station
- Dubai Internet City Station — interchange to Palm Jumeirah Monorail
- Nakheel Station
- Dubai Marina Station
- Jumeirah Lake Towers Station
- Nakheel Harbor and Towers Station
- Ibn Battuta Station
- Energy Station
- Jebel Ali Industrial Station
- Jebel Ali / Jafza Station

Main Depot for the trains will be at Rashidiya just before the Rashidiya Station, while an auxiliary depot is located at Jebel Ali Port.

Green Line:
- Al Qusais 2 Station (T3)
- Al Qusais 1 Station (T2)
- Dubai Airport Free Zone Station (T2)
- Al Nahda Station (T2)
- Stadium Station (T2)
- Al Quiadah Station (T2)
- Abu Hail Station (T2)
- Abu Baker Al Siddique Station (T2)
- Salah Al Din Station (U)
- Union Station (UT, connecting to Red Line)
- Baniyas Square Station (U)
- Palm Deira Station (U)
- Al Ras Station (U)
- Al Ghubaiba Station (U)
- Saeediya Station (U)
- Khalid Bin Al Waleed Station (UT, connecting to Red Line)
- Oud Metha Station (T2)
- Health Care City Station (T2)
- Al Jedaf 1 Station (T2)
- Creek Station (T2)

The train depot is located at Al Qusais just before the Al Qusais 2 Station.

Dubai Metro

Dubai Metro map

Dubai Metro

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Ajman United Arab Emirates pictures

Ajmān (or Ujman; Arabic: عجمان‎ ‘ajmān) is one of the seven emirates constituting the United Arab Emirates (UAE). With an area of just 260 square kilometres, Ajman is the smallest emirate by area. Its seat of government is Ajmān, which is bordered on its north, south, and east by Sharjah.^[1]
Located along the Arab Gulf, Ajman also controls Masfut and Manama, two small, inland enclaves that are primarily agricultural. Approximately 95% of the population of the emirate resides in the city of Ajman. The population was only 36,100 in 1980 but grew considerably in recent years, due to an influx of people from the neighbouring emirates of Dubai, Sharjah, and other countries. Ajman is ruled by Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi of the Al Nuaimi tribe. The Crown Prince of the Emirate is Sheikh Ammar bin Humaid Al Nuaimi. Ajmān has experienced massive development and a construction boom in recent years.^[2]

On 8 January 1820, Sheikh Rashid ibn Humayd Al Nuaimi signed the General Maritime Treaty with Britain, accepting a protectorate to keep the Ottoman Turks out. Like four of Ajmān's neighbors, Sharjah, Dubai, Ras al-Khaimah and Umm al-Qaiwain, its position on the route to India made it important enough to be recognized as a salute state (albeit of the lowest class: 3 guns).

History

On 2 December 1971, Sheikh Rashid ibn Humayd Al Nuaimi joined the United Arab Emirates.
Its rulers were:

17.. – 17.. Sheikh Rashid ibn Hamid Al Nuaimi
17.. – 1816 Sheikh Humayd ibn Rashid Al Nuaimi
1816 – 1838 Sheikh Rashid II ibn Humayd Al Nuaimi (d. 1838)
1838 – 1841 Sheikh Humayd II ibn Rashid Al Nuaimi (1st time) (d. 1873)
1841 – 1848 Sheikh `Abd al–`Aziz I ibn Rashid Al Nuaimi (d. 1848)
1848 – 1873 Sheikh Humayd II ibn Rashid Al Nuaimi (2nd time)
1873 – April 1891 Sheikh Rashid III ibn Humaid Al Nuaimi (d. 1891)
April 1891 – 8 July 1900 Sheikh Humaid III ibn Rashid Al Nuaimi (d. 1900)
8 July 1900 – February 1910 Sheikh `Abd al–`Aziz II ibn Humayd Al Nuaimi (b. 18.. – d. 1910)
February 1910 – January 1928 Sheikh Humayd IV ibn `Abd al–`Aziz Al Nuaimi
January 1928 – 6 September 1981 Sheikh Rashid IV ibn Humayd Al Nuaimi (b. 1904 – d. 1981)
6 September 1981 – 20.. Sheikh Humayd ibn Rashid Al Nuaimi (b. 1931)

Higher Education in Ajman

The Gulf Medical University (GMU), previously a college, became a university in July 2008 after an order issued by Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research. This is the only institution with its own teaching hospital. Its Hospital Group is the largest healthcare provider in the UAE.^[3]

Ajman development boom

After the success of freehold property in Dubai, Ajman was the second emirate to offer freehold property.^[4] Ajman is currently the only emirate in the UAE offering investors of any nationality fully transparent true 100% freehold ownership on real estate, which in turn has attracted a huge number of investors (local and international) to this emirate. This in turn has prompted the Ajman government to initiate a number of development projects.
New Ajman is the name given to the area being developed outside of the current Ajman city, located by the Emirates Road. New Ajman will consist of many new developments and projects envisioned by Chief of Municipality Sheikh Rashid Al Nuaimi. One of the first developments of New Ajman is called "The Emirates City", a brand new city located directly on the Emirates Road to be built from scratch and consisting of more than 100 mid- and high-rise buildings. A number of shopping malls, hotels and residential villas are also planned to eventually extend all the way to the 'Al Zoura' area, where beachside developments are planned.^[5]
The construction of Ajman International Airport began in the second half of 2008 in the Al Manama area of the Ajman. Airport operations are scheduled to begin by 2011, and the airport is expected to host about two million passengers per year.^[6] ^[7] ^[8] ^[9] ^[10] ^[11] ^[12] ^[13]

[edit] List of planned developments

Following is a list of planned freehold developments in Ajman, although some real estate projects may be delayed or cancelled, due to the financial crisis of 2007–2010.^[14]^[15]^[16]^[17]^[18]^[19] That has also caused property prices to fall considerably throughout the United Arab Emirates, including in Ajman.^[20]