The History of Dubai
In this post we will go over some of the history of Dubai and how this city went from being a small fishing village to the sprawling multicultural metropolitan city we have today. The city has become a beacon of human ingenuity and creativity, and today it holds many of the most amazing and exciting architectural wonders in the world with places such as the Palm Jumeirah, Burj Al Khalifah (the tallest building in the world) and many others. Dubai went from being just a small village in the Middle East to a major player in the global economy in a few decades, becoming a major hub for businesses, tourism, real estate, amongst others. It is home to people from a plethora of different cultures and backgrounds that together strive to make Dubai one of the most amazing places to live and work in the world.
The city was established in 1833 when some members of the Bani Yas tribe, led by the Maktoum Family, settled by the Dubai Creek. Since then, the Al Maktoum family have ruled Dubai. Later, on 2nd December 1971, Dubai, together with Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Quwain and Fujairah joined the Act of Union to form the United Arab Emirates. The seventh emirate, Ras Al Khaimah, joined the UAE in 1972. The principle of union was first agreed between the ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and Sheikh Rashid of Dubai. Sheikh Zayed is, to this day, considered as the father of the nation.
One of the most important monuments of the city is the Al Fahid Fort, built in 1787 and considered to be the oldest building in Dubai. Just off the southern wall, lie the reconstruction of the old city walls.
Two cannons guard the main gate to the fort, adorned by flags of Dubai and the UAE.
Nowadays it is home of the Dubai Museum.
In 1973, Dubai joined the other emirates to adopt a uniform currency: the UAE Dirham. During the decade the city kept growing and developing, specially due to revenues generated from oil and trade. The Jebel Ali port, a deep water port that allowed larger ships to dock, was built in 1979 and in 1985 was established the JAFZA (Jebel Ali Free Zone). Dubai airport and the aviation industry also continued to grow nonstop and because of this, there was now a need for a new airline based in the city. It was then that Emirates was conceived in March 1985. During the first decade of operations, Emirates recorded strong growth averaging 30%. By the early 1990s, the company was among the world’s fastest-growing airlines and today it is considered one of the largest in the world with an ever growing fleet.
The Gulf War of 1990 had a negative financial effect on the city but it subsequently recovered in a changing political climate and thrived immensely. Later in the 1990s, many foreign trading communities - first from Kuwait and later Bahrain - moved their business to Dubai. The Burj Al Arab opened in December 1999 and became one of the first symbols of Dubai’s fast growing and success, among many other buildings in the 2000s.
There's a lot more to be written about the history of Dubai that definitely can't fit into a single blog post, but the history of this amazing city is still being written today and we are very lucky to experience it first hand.
