The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has several modern ports, including Dubai’s Port Rashid and Jebel Ali. Port Rashid contains a large shipyard, and Jebel Ali is located on of the world’s biggest man-made harbors. Port Rashid (known as Mina Rashid in Arabic) is a man-made commercial port named after Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum.
Dubai Skyline
Photo by Imre Solt
Port Rashid opened in 1972 with two gantry cranes and capacity for less than 100 thousand TEUs of containerized cargo. It was expanded in 1978 to include 35 berths, five for large container ships. Today, the Port Rashid has nine gantry cranes and capacity for 1.5 million TEUs. Dubai is the capital and largest city in the UAE, with waterfront of about 45 miles along the Persian Gulf. It contains almost all of the UAE’s population. In 2007, Dubai’s population exceeded 1.2 million people.
Jumeirah Islands
Dubai
Jumeirah Islands as seen from Almas Tower (in Jumeirah Lake Towers)on 28 February 2007.
Photo by Imre Solt
The early settlement of Dubai was first noted in 1799. The town was dependent on Abu Dhabi until 1833, when a group of Bani Yas tribesmen left Abu Dhabi and took over Dubai. After that, Dubai grew more powerful. Dubai signed a maritime truce with Britain in 1835, and its foreign relations were controlled by Britain under the 1892 Exclusive Agreement.
When the British left the Persian Gulf in 1971, Dubai became an important founding member of the United Arab Emirates. Unlike their neighbors, Dubai’s sheiks traditionally encouraged commerce and trade, and Dubai was an important port in the early 1900s. In the early years, it was known primarily for pearl exports. Foreign merchants settled there, and it was an international trade center.
Atlantis, The Palm
Dubai
Atlantis The Palm, located on the Crescent of the Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, nearing completion on 28 November 2007. The buildings seen in the foreground are the villas on the Crown of the Palm Jumeirah. This photo was taken from the roof of Marina Heights Tower.
Photo by Imre Solt
From 1966 until 1973, Dubai joined Qatar in establishing the riyal as a monetary unit. In 1973, the UAE adopted the current national currency, the dirham. With free trade in gold, Dubai supports a busy smuggling trade with gold ingots to India. An offshore oil field was discovered about 75 miles east of Dubai in 1966 and, by the 1970s, several huge submarine tanks holding 1.5 million barrels of oil (called the “Three Pyramids of Dubai”) had been installed on the sea floor.
Dubai Marina
Photo by Jagermesh
Combined oil income and trade have made Dubai wealthy. Today, it contains several industrial plants, and aluminum production has become an important part of the city’s economy.
Port Rashid was opened in 1972, and its supertanker dry dock was finished in 1979. In the early 1980s, Port Jebel Ali was declared a free-trade one to encourage industrial development. Many international companies soon opened facilities there. The Dubai Ports Authority took over port operations in the early 1990s.
Dubai Maritime City
Aerial view taken on 8 May 2008.
Photo by Imre Solt
In the first years of the 21st Century, Dubai was working on several major transportation and construction projects. These include light-rail systems, a modern sports complex, island developments, and luxury hotels. Although interrupted by some labor strikes, the famous Dubai Tower became the world’s tallest building in 2007 even though it was not yet complete.
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