Like any big city, Dubai divided into districts and area, each of which is famous for something and has its own zest. Strictly speaking, there are more than 200 districts in Dubai, united in nine regions. But tourists not interested in the official division, but historically (if this term is applicable to a young city) the established areas of attraction for guests of the emirate. Here we will talk about the most famous areas of Dubai – these are Bur Dubai, Downtown, Deirah, Jumeirah and Dubai Marina.
Bur Dubai
Bur Dubai, or the historic center of Dubai , begins from the place where the natural channel from the Persian Gulf protrudes into the mainland – Khor Dubai (or otherwise Dubai Creek from creek – stream), and stretches along the west bank. In 2016, the extension of the canal to the bay completed, so that it forms a horseshoe. Accordingly, the Bur Dubai area has been an island since 2016.
In this area there is an equipped embankment of Khor Dubai with a gorgeous view of Deira (an area on the eastern bank of the canal), several mosques, including the Grand Mosque with the highest minaret in the city. Another interesting mosque in the area is the Abi Talib Mosque, decorated in the Persian style. The only Hindu temple in the country, by the way, is also located here.
But since the area is historic, attractions such as the Heritage Village, the Pearl Fishermen’s Village and the house of Sheikh Said ibn Maktoum Al Maktoum will be interesting – all these places are located close to each other. A little further, deep into the canal, there is also the historic district of Bastakiya and the cultural and ethnographic village of Al-Boom.
There are also quite remarkable markets. Not as famous as in Deira, but quite capable of finding their buyer, for example, the fabric market at the pier, where abras moor – traditional wooden boats for the area. By the way, you can cross them to Deira, located on the other bank. Now let’s talk about this area.
Deira
The Deira district in dubai is famous all over the world as a shopping center with huge shopping centers and famous markets for gold, perfume, spices, fish and much more. But some tourists have other associations, for the Deira district primarily associated with cheap hotels and tours in the UAE.
Indeed, there are many hotels in Deira – from chic fives Hyatt, Sheraton, Hilton and Carlton to twos and even singles. If tourists want to go to Dubai cheaply, then in 95% of cases they get to Deira. For this reason, we are devoting a separate article to this area.
Downtown Dubai
Downtown the business center of the city, it here that the offices of the largest companies located in the tallest skyscrapers concentrated. And the tallest is not only in the city or country – the Burj Khalifa is currently the tallest building in the world! Of course, it has an observation deck, which very popular with tourists – the ticket must purchase in advance via the Internet. Read more about this dominant of the city on a separate page. If you are not going to climb, then still come to the skyscraper. After all, there is the famous Dubai Mall, with a magnificent aquarium. And on the street in the evening, you can watch a colorful fountain show. Also nearby is the Dubai Opera.
Downtown is closely adjacent to the historical center of Dubai and partially shares with it one island, formed by the extension of the Khor-Dubai canal. But unlike ethnographic museums, here is the realm of skyscrapers. In addition to the well-known Burj Khalifa, the Rose Tower deserves attention – this 72-storey hotel registered in the Guinness Book of Records as the tallest in the world.
Jumeirah
Officially, the Jumeirah district in the city of Dubai does not exist. This word commonly used to refer to the area of Dubai between the coast and the Sheikh Zayed road, bounded by the port of Rashid on the east and the Dubai Marina area on the west.
In the jumeirah region, it is customary to include the following areas: Al Badaa (Al Bada’a), Al Manara, Al Safa 1, Al Safa 2, Al Wasl, Jumeirah 1, Jumeirah 2, Jumeirah 3, Satwa (Al Satwa), Trade Center 1, Umm Suqeim 1, Umm Suqeim 2, Umm Suqeim 3.
It is an area 21 kilometers long and 1 to 2.5 kilometers deep. The total area is about 40 square kilometers.
The area turns out to be very large, and most importantly, long. Do not think that staying in a hotel in Jumeirah, all the sights and best beaches of Jumeirah will be within walking distance. From the hotel to the beach of interest may well be 20 kilometers.
Beaches of Jumeirah
Jumeirah is also famous for its beaches, thanks to which this area is very popular with tourists. Jumeirah’s four beaches are Jumeirah Beach, Jumeirach Beach Park, Palm Beach Jumeirah and Jumeirah Beach Residents. The first two are located along one of the main streets of the district – Jumeirah Beach Road. There are also some disadvantages, for example, only women with children can come to Juneirah Beach Park on Mondays, Saturdays and Sundays. As for Jumeirah Beach Residents, it not equipped with cabins, since mostly residents of the surrounding houses go here, and Palm Beach Jumeirah is generally located on the famous artificial islands of Jumeirah.
On the territory of Jumeirah there is also a well-known yacht club Dubai International Marine Club, which twice a year arranges a world championship among high-speed small vessels (Class One World Championship Power Boat). This spectacular event always gathers a lot of guests from all over the world. In addition, spectators do not miss the dhow boat regattas held here every weekend from September to May and the annual March sailing regatta “Dubai – Muscat” for the UAE President’s Cup.
Among the iconic sights of Jumeirah, the most famous is the Jumeirah Mosque, built in 1979 in the Fatimid style, and incredibly beautiful at sunset or in the rays of night illumination. In this mosque, contrary to the ban on visiting mosques by non-Believers, excursions held for non-Muslims, however, by agreement with the public organization “Sheikh Mohammed Center for the Development of Mutual Understanding in the Field of Culture” (The Sheikh Mohammed Center for Cultural Understanding). Excursions arranged every week on Sundays and Thursdays.
Dubai Marina
Dubai Marina is one of the most prestigious areas of the city, located in its southwestern part. The resort quarter formed on the territory of an artificially created harbor along the three-kilometer coastline of the Persian Gulf.
Dubai Marina is the second smallest district of the city of Dubai – only 4 square kilometers, less only Downtown (2 sq.km.).
The area built around a man-made harbor 3 kilometers long, the word “marina” translated as “harbor for yachts”.
Construction of the district began in 2003 and now almost finished. At the end of construction, Dubai Marina should become the largest man-made marina in the world, overtaking Marina del Rey in California, USA. All residential complexes will accommodate up to 120,000 inhabitants, for whom there will be all the necessary infrastructure – shopping centers, restaurants, shops, daily services.
The exact cost of the project is still unknown, it has simply not yet calculated, but the first phase of construction – the development of the first 10 hectares with the first six towers cost 1.2 billion US dollars. It difficult to make calculations, since the construction carried out both with the money of the city and private companies, but there are expert estimates of about 15 billion US dollars.
The customer of the project Emaar Properties (controlled by the government of the Emirate of Dubai), which is famous for many projects, including the famous ones: Burj Khalifa, Dubai Mall, Dubai Fountains, Dubai Opera. Now Emaar is starting the construction of the next tallest building in the world – the Dubai Creek Tower.
