Dubai is an example of modernity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Dubai is an example of modernity - Essay Example With the discovery of oil in 1966, coupled with the vision on leadership of His Highness Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Dubai quickly expanded in the latter half of the 20th and early part of the 21st centuries to become one of the world’s foremost tourist destinations with world class hotels, entertainment, shopping, and sporting events. Dubai stands out today as a model in the Middle East for a modern, sophisticated Muslim society, steeped in tradition, but always striding forward with an eye to the future and leading the Middle East and the world in attracting businesses with a world-class cultural and economic base. It has thus become in international city with economic and cultural impact far beyond its borders. Beginnings of Business. Prior to 1833, there was little that existed on the Saudi Arabian peninsula but a finger of desert separating the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf. All that existed in this small peninsular area was a creek, which was settled by some 800 members of the Bani Yas tribe, led by the Maktoum Family (Government of Dubai). As a natural harbor, the creek allowed the Maktoum Family to utilize its resources for fishing, pearling, and trade. In 1835, Dubai and the rest of the small states in the region signed a â€Å"Perpetual Maritime Truce† with Great Britain, allowing it to come under the protection of the UK. (Dubai City Guide). Unlike its neighbors, Dubai stood out with its welcoming attitude and fostering of trade and commerce, led by the rulers from the founding Maktoum Family. With the vision and leadership of Shaikh Saeed Maktoum, Daubai was encouraged to expand and look forward, toward the future, in an area which had traditionally looked toward the past. In 1892 he signed an exclusive business deal with the British and in 1894 permitted a full tax exemption for foreign traders (SkiDubai). Traders from all over the world descended on Dubai to take advantage of the tarriff-free goods being sold at that port . In 1903, the Sheikh convinced a major British steamship line to make Dubai a port of call. (SkiDubai). Dubai was beginning to realize its potential for huge economic growth and expansion.. By 1900, with the aid of the vision of Sheikh Saeed and agreements with Great Britain, Dubai had been developed into a thriving and successful port with a growing international market. Within 30 years, Dubai’s population had exploded to over 20,000 people who came to take advantage of its location as a center for fishing and trade, as ships from around the world came to and from the Middle East to India, Europe, and the Far East. Dubai’s reputation as a trading hub was further augmented in the 1950s when Sheikh Rahid bin Saeed Al Maktoum increased the profitability of the trading center with widened water ways and greater accessibility to the creek. Although expensive and time-consuming, Sheikh Rahid’s vision strengthened Dubai’s position as a major trading center and export center in the lower Peninsula region. In the 1930s. With a great depression looming over much of the world, and a decrease in the pearling industry, Sheikh Saeed created a legendary â€Å"re-export† business in trade-free Dubai. (Some called it smuggling, but those are semantics.) What Dubai did was import tarriff-free goods