Is Dubai Las Vegas on steroids Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Is Dubai Las Vegas on steroids - Essay Example This is especially so where the front runners happen to be two great cities, with one resting in the East, that is in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the other on the West, that is the United States. The two words, that is, bug and hook have been used symbolically in the description of the mental picture that one has when the two cosmopolitans are mentioned.The mention of the two cities triggers a feeling that is more of an enticement, rather than just a mere attention. The cities are scenarios that capture one’s interests fully.The term bugging is also being used as a slang to signify bulging or growing larger in all dimensions. Dubai and LasVegas both share these two characteristics. From what could be termed as scratch, the two cities have experienced enormous developments in both structural and technological fields, though at different rates, to an alarming level. The following essay gives an outline and a partial analysis of the past, the present and the expected futur e conditions of the cities, their similarities and their differences in terms of social and cultural aspects, and in relation to the definition of freedom. It starts with a description of the history of the two cities. ... Though mainly known for its speedily expanding city, Dubai is also a home to various landscapes ranging from the sand deserts, the coral reefs to the rugged Rock mountains (Quinn, 2006). In history, the Persian Gulf was one of the most relevant trading locations dating back to 3,000BC in the reign of Sumer kingdom, which was a Muslim empire. The kingdom carried out and influenced trade along the Gulf which harbors Dubai, and began civilization with Dubai as one of the trading centers. The trading spot later became an important link between Europe and India to the Portuguese and to the British. Due to numerous attacks by pirates, Dubai and the other neighboring emirates sought protection from the British and this led to the emirates being termed as the Trucial States. At the beginning of the seventeenth century, Dubai’s ruler, who was known as Sheikh Hasher gave a tax relief to the foreign traders. This offered them an incentive to expand their trade by locating their headquart ers to Dubai leading to a boost in development. Some major ports had also been established forming linkages between the trading blocks in the region. An example is the British port which was important in enabling trade between the British and the Indians. A further boost in trade was enhanced by Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed who authorized the dredging of a creek, giving way to larger cargo ships. The city of Dubai was hence born from the trade of imports and exports. This however received a major boost when oil was discovered in 1966. The huge revenues from oil trade transformed the state into one of the richest in the Middle East. When Britain withdrew its reign from the territory,