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Dubai

City in United Arab EmiratesDubai grew up around a creek on the south-eastern coast of the Persian Gulf. The emirate of Dubai borders Abu Dhabi to the south, Sharjah to the north-east and Oman to the south-east.

What it's known for

Dubai is the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, one of the emirates that make up the UAE. It was founded in the early 18th century as a pearling and fishing settlement, and oil was found off its coast in 1966. Its economy is built on trade, tourism, aviation, financial services and real estate.

Fun facts

  1. The Burj Khalifa, about 830 m tall, became the world's tallest building when it opened in January 2010; until then it was called Burj Dubai.
  2. Dubai Creek once divided the city into two parts, Deira and Bur Dubai, and traditional boats called abras still carry people across it.
  3. Land reclamation, including the Palm Islands begun in the early 2000s, has added more than 300 km of artificial coastline.

Finding it on the globe

On the southern shore of the Persian Gulf, start at Abu Dhabi and move about 115 km north-east along the coast to reach Dubai.

Easy to mix up

Dubai is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, but the country's capital is Abu Dhabi.

Sources: Wikipedia: Dubai, Wikipedia: Burj Khalifa, Wikipedia: Dubai Creek, Wikipedia: List of national capitals