Urbanization (sic) of Dubai

I found these amazing pictures via NASA (I subscribe to the newsletter).
They chart the rapid development of Dubai via sattelite images from 2002 to 2010.
I'll shut up and let the pictures do the talking.







By the way it's worth checking NASA's page on this as they have twice the number of pictures that I have uploaded.

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/WorldOfChange/dubai.php?src=eoa-ann

Burj Khalifa - Officially Opened - Pictures!

Dear Readers,

Finally, Burj Dubai, or Burj Khalifa has been officially opened by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashed al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai last night 4 Jan 2010. Which also marks his 4th year as Ruler of Dubai.

Here are some pics I took when I went up the Burj, and some pics from the opening night as well. Enjoy!



Pic from the opening night, with the fireworks doing their stuff!



More Fireworks from 4 Jan 2010!



This was taken from the 124th floor, or the observation deck. The highest floor is 158.
You can see how small other skyscrapers below are!



My favorite picture! The shadow of the Burj intersects SZR Junction 1, or the Defence Roundabout (old name).



A good view of the Business Bay



How small is Dubai Mall from this altitude?!



Ok, the engineer in me had to take this shot! The cleaning cradle is seen here from level 124 all the way to the supports much higher up. Cool view :)



This is a pic of the Address hotel (that I hate so much, but that's another story)

Enjoy and copy with referencing to this blog, coz these pictures are all mine.

Burj Al Arab - Happy 10th Brithday!

The implosion of the Chicago Beach Hotel in 1997. (credit: The National)

Burj (برج): A tower. The word is Arabic in origin.

The amazing 7-star hotel, The Burj Al Arab, celebrates 10 years this month! As usual, The National has an excellent article about it. Please have a read here:

http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091201/NATIONAL/711309906/1182/enewsletter

It's really worth reading it! Good work from Leah Oatway.

The architects and engineers for this iconic building that needs no introduction were Atkins. Before Burj Al Arab, I never heard of Atkins, but after seeing their masterpiece being built (I used to drive by the building site everyday), I was very impressed with the company that is one of the world leaders in the engineering field.

Although I've only been inside the Burj Al Arab a few times, I believe that it perfectly manifests Dubai's and the UAE's ambitions to be a world class city and a world class country respectively.

The Burj Al Arab (Hotel) is 321 m high, and the new Burj Dubai (tower) is 818 m high. Even though the newer, taller Burj is much more impressive in terms of numbers, I doubt it will do to Dubai what the Burj Al Arab did and continues to do.

Having said that, I can't wait for the grand opening of Burj Dubai... have they set a date yet? I'm betting on 4 Jan 2010!