grapeshisha

Dubai 2020 Olympics

2009-07-01T23:48:00.003+04:00

This week Dubai announced that it was considering putting in a bid to host the Olympics in 2020. But has Dubai got what it takes to hold the Olympics? Could it deliver? Would it be true to what the Olympics represent? I belive that to all these questions - it is possible - and by 2020, more than 10 years time, Dubai will have learned many of the lessons required of hosting such an event. The

Goodbye Mikaeel

2009-06-27T19:12:00.003+04:00

Goodbye Michael Jackson. I will remember you for many things. For the beat in Billy Jean, for the dance move in Smooth Criminal, for your good friend Bubbles, for the oxygen tank, for the irony in the song Black or White, for the crotch grabs, for the high pitched screams, for sleeping with children, for the fun, for the controversy, for showmanship, for music.I will also remember you for

"Sand swimming" in Dubai

2009-06-16T19:06:00.004+04:00

A disturbing story yesterday of a man caught on the Saudi border:ABU DHABI – One of the truck drivers stranded in Al Ghuwaifat on the UAE-Saudi border was on Friday admitted to Al Sila Hospital following hallucination. A physician at the hospital told Khaleej Times that a driver of Syrian origin was transferred by Abu Dhabi Police ambulance after .........he was found swimming on the sands.......

Abu Dhabi, the sandal

2009-06-11T00:34:00.003+04:00

You know you are high on the popularity index when your name is used as a brand. We’ve had it in the past with the Jennifer Anniston haircut, Ceylon tea, Frankfurter sausages and, dare I say it, the the J-Lo butt.Now the popular trendy shoe store OFFICE is naming a range of their gladiator style sandals for the new spring/summer collection after the capital of the UAE. Yes, we are serious -

The Leaning Tower of Abu Dhabi

2009-06-08T15:01:00.002+04:00

When the leaning tower of Abu Dhabi - aka Capital Gate aka Hyatt Abu Dhabi - is completed, it will be, according to the blurb - the most inclined building in the world. Yes, they've applied officially to the Guinness Book of Records. To be strict about the specifics - it will have an 18 degree westward incline. Nice.That's 14 degrees more than the leaning tower of Pisa. But there again, Pisa

The Dubai Dead, the Living Dead and the Non Dead

2009-06-02T23:19:00.005+04:00

Much has been spoken about the demise of Dubai. Whichever camp you are in, you must surely see that there is a blip of some sort. At least, in property terms, there has been a slow down in the wowness that we have seen in recent years. What exectly is the reality? Unless you are in Dubai, you can not know the reality. And on occasion you are painted a picture - which shows the reality is being

Adultery in Dubai

2009-05-26T18:24:00.003+04:00

First there was sex on the beach, then there was case of Marnie Pearce who was imprisoned and then released for her extra marital mischief. If those werent warnings enough, anyone who is stuck in a marriage in a Muslim country governed by Sharia Law and is having a bit on the side must be quaking in their boots just now.Islam frowns in a big way against adultery (zina) - Islam not only prohibits

No Asians

2009-05-18T11:57:00.003+04:00

Thoses of you who remember when the job adverts were blatantly targeting certain types will remember the UK/US/AU educated meant a certain type was required - or a certain type was not required. Exactly 3 years ago, I covered the subject of Nationality and Jobs in a little more detail. This video about property is worth a watch, even though it has nothing to do with the UAE:You have to laugh! No

Cancelled Projects in Dubai

2009-05-13T12:51:00.004+04:00

This could be a new approach to online registering of projects that have been canned recently ;>Of course, two years ago, this wouldn't have existed!For those of you that don't know:A 404 Error "Page not found" is the error page displayed whenever someone tries to access a page that’s simply not available on your site. The reason for this is that there may be a link on your site that was wrong or

Giant Statue in Dubai (The mother of all libraries?)

2009-05-09T19:00:00.004+04:00

If it had been April the first, this would have been a perfect April fool, but this has won a competition and there is every chance that al hakawati (the storyteller) will stand in Zabeel Park, telling stories and moving his hands and head. Although the storyteller actually sounds he came from one of the many tales (sinbad, arabian nights etc) of the Middle East, seeing something like this in

The Hermes Helicopter has Landed....

2009-05-06T14:44:00.002+04:00

....in Abu Dhabi!The world's first $6 million Hermès helicopter, designed by the famed French fashion house in conjunction with Eurocopter, has been delivered to Falcon Aviation Services in Abu Dhabi.One word - why?First $6 Million Hermes Helicopter Goes to Abu DhabiEurocopter EC 135 L’Hélicoptère Par Hermès

Property Prices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi

2009-05-05T14:33:00.005+04:00

Yesterday, Landmark released its much awaited q2 2009 report focusing on Dubai and Abu Dhabi, both on the rental and sales side. As was predicted, everything is down, but looking further into the data, Landmark have established some interesting trends. Firstly, rental in Dubai is not as clear cut as perhaps the official rera data has stated. From the trends below, you can quite clearly see the

Dubai Rental Price Index - 2009

2009-04-30T18:25:00.005+04:00

Rera have updated their data again, and everything seems to be going downwards. Is that good or bad? Well, it's good for residents - if you actually belive the data to be real, and so renewals are now moving downwards as people start to shop around. According to bi-me, "But, crucially, the landlord would not be able to automatically bring a very low rent into the range published in the guideline.

The video will be investigated

2009-04-30T00:13:00.004+04:00

After the brutality that has been viewed by thousands, if not millions, of a man abusing another human being, this was only going to go one way. The fact that this video has been in existence for some time, the fact that the case had been closed and the fact that you can supposedly get away with something if it is "not part of a pattern of behavior" is worrying. Even more worrying that had ABC

Ziggurat Dubai - the pyramid of the future

2009-04-27T02:37:00.003+04:00

Ziggurat Dubai has been touted as many things, from a new age pyramid in desert, to a monstrosity that will fail. Since it was launched at last year's Cityscape, not much has been heard about this audacious project which falls under the same umbrella as Masdar. It is an enormous project planned at 2.3km square, so it's not one that will form at the side of the Sheikh Zayed road over night.Indeed

Dubai, street style

2009-04-27T02:35:00.003+04:00

A view on why people wear what they wear in Dubai. (old but current) - from Current TV.

Mubadala and its 3 billion dollar loss

2009-04-25T16:29:00.002+04:00

With all the weight that it carries in investment circles, the numbers speaks for themselves. Mubadala was not immune from the global economic meltdown. Indeed, it got hit pretty badly. Whatever ratio you look at, $3.23 billion is a chunky amount. The majority of that 3 billion is associated with writedowns - not surprisingly given the investments that they have bundled into globally over the

Pirates & Laundry

2009-04-21T21:02:00.003+04:00

The independant muddies Dubai's name in the somailian pirates extravanza. How? Organised piracy syndicates operating in Dubai and other Gulf states are laundering vast sums of money taken in ransom from vessels hijacked off the Horn of Africa.Investigators hired by the shipping industry have told The Independent that around $80m (£56m) has been paid out in the past year alone – far more than has

Dubai Architecture in Recession

2009-04-21T20:59:00.002+04:00

Real estate may be in recession, or property to the Brits, but so is architecture, and not just in Dubai. As of early February, more than half of Dubai's real estate projects were on hold or canceled, from the 3,281-foot-tall Nakheel Tower designed by Woods Bagot to the Hydropolis, a 220-suite underwater hotel envisioned by designer Joachim Hauser. Analysts predict that Dubai property values, in

GCC property at the bottom of the barrel?

2009-04-19T23:21:00.004+04:00

Depending on how you read it, the Colliers report paint a grim picture, with an opportunity over the next few years. If indeed, you read it that it has reached the bottom of the bottom, and belive what Sheikh Mo, himself, has said, we have passed the worst. You could read it that there is more to go, depending on what you see in the yields. Here's what Zawya found:Dubai* 39% decrease in average

IMF data on the UAE

2009-04-15T02:35:00.002+04:00

It's that time again when we get data from the IMF. Worryingly it's my favourite time of the year - the reason being that this is as independant a view as you are going to get on the UAE economy, and while the government's data is pretty sound, you're always worried that it's the marketing machine that is painting a warped picture. And while it's OK to skim the news articles on that key

Dubai's largest investment bank to close?

2009-04-15T02:19:00.004+04:00

There is worry in the air. Can you smell it? Can you actually believe it? Well Wednesday is D-Day:Dubai-based investment bank Shuaa Capital SHUA.DU said shareholders will meet on Wednesday to decide whether it would continue operations or be dissolved, adding that it has enough equity to carry on.Can you actually believe that Shuaa has to go through this? Fine it has made a loss, but due process

No breathing allowed in Dubai

2009-04-14T00:50:00.003+04:00

Yes, the latest advice is not to breathe if you are on the beach. The warning came from the head of Dubai’s Marine Environment and Wildlife Section. He was responding to concern from local media about a “red tide” of potentially harmful algae that has hit the coast of Dubai, leading to the closure of two beaches, including an area near the ultra-luxurious Burj Al Arab hotel. “People are advised

Johann Hari

2009-04-12T14:22:00.002+04:00

What a week for Dubai. First the Panorama programme, slumdogs and millionaires, then the article about how to not build Dubai, and then the article in the Independant by Johann Hari. It gained significant exposure:The article, itself had numerous comments, as did the syndicated version in the Huffington Post. No doubt, if it had been syndicated further, all hell would have let loose. But then

Dubai - how not to build a city

2009-04-06T17:18:00.003+04:00

The dubaibashing continues. It's happening so much that Dubaibashing or dubashing should become part of the Collins English Dictionary (any lexicogrophers out there - do lexicographers exist any more - maybe urbandictionary have picked it up?) Anyway, this time it's Canada's The Star that deals the blows. Canada, the country of liberty - yes that same country. But, funnily enough, the article is