Food

The food in Dubai is very tasty. Muslims can not eat any meat or any animals tissues. The food which they eat is called Halal food. Halal is Arabic for permissible. The reason why they eat Halal food is because in the religion of Islam killing an animal is seen as a sin. The Quran states that animals are just a much the same as humans, they form communities just like humans "There is not an animal that lives on the earth, nor a being that flies on its wings, but they form communities like you. Nothing have we omitted from the Book, and they all shall be gathered to their Lord in the end"   
http://islam.about.com/od/islamsays/a/animalwelfare.htm

Dubai is a great place to try different kids of foods that you have never tried before. It is a great country to try all types of gulf and middle eastern cuisine , including Lebanese and Arabic food.
Since their diets are pretty much similar to vegetarians, the most eaten foods here are salads and starters. I will now name a few dishes and foods which the Muslims like to eat: 1) Al Harees , 2) Falafel, 3) Hummus, 4)Ghuzi and 5) Matchbous.

There is a good selection of Halal shops spread all around the city, they are usually in a supermarket itself.

Transport in Dubai

With a population of  2.106 million, Dubai's population continues to grow and grow! There is a downfall to this as people who live in Dubai experience a huge amount of Traffic congestion. Traffic congestion is when vehicles travel at a slower speeds, it increases queuing and makes the travel time for a person a lot longer.

According to some traffic experts, Dubai is suffering because they have a really bad road system.
However new infrastructures are being put into place including the Dubai Metro, the new bridges and complex of flyovers is expected to settle congestion to an extent. I remember hearing talks about the new Metro being built when I was over there.

Taxis
If you visit Dubai you will notice that taxis are a huge part of transportation and they are used very frequently by the public. There are both government-operated and private cab companies. The Dubai Transport Corporation own cream coloured Taxis. The taxi fairs are not too expensive too, they are quite cheap. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transportation_in_Dubai

There are many more ways of transportation in Dubai such as the metro, trams, buses and ports and water travel. 

                                      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transportation_in_Dubai

                                     Cream coloured taxis.
                                     http://lebanonblogsapp.com/2/Article/2566/95564180

Culture

Dubai is an Islamic country. So before I went on my holiday I did some research on Dubai's culture
as I heard that it is very important to them. I learnt that there were some factors that I had to take into consideration, those factors were behaviour and my clothing.

Religion is very important and is taken seriously in the country of Dubai. I remember arriving at Abu Dhabi airport and hearing the Muslims praying. There was speakers around the airport for everyone to hear that it was prayer time. I found it so cool as I had never heard words from the Quran before.
Mosques are spread across the city and at sunset prayer time the calling to prayer can be heard.

People who are visiting the country should dress appropriately especially in public areas. swimwear such as bikinis are acceptable around pool areas and beaches but you must make sure you are covered elsewhere. It is ok to wear t-shirts and shorts , but if you are visiting a mosque or a religious site t-shirts and shorts are not acceptable. Men and women usually wear loose clothes which cover all arms, legs, and shoulders. Women usually wear a head scarf to cover their hair.

Alcohol is permitted in Dubai but once you are in control of yourself. Alcohol Is available to purchase in the duty free section in the airports or in bars and restaurants and hotels. Muslims do not drink so misbehaving or falling over in the streets is not acceptable or being respectful to them. However there is a fine for anyone who is seen doing this.  

http://gulfnews.com/multimedia/framed/general/muslims-in-uae-offer-eid-prayers-1.924921

Tourist Attractions

The Burj Khalifa:
                                                                                                              
                                           
   The Burj Khalifa is the tallest skyscraper in the world standing at 829.8 m.

In the year of 2004 construction started, it was completed in 2009. The Burj Khalifa

opened in 2010 as a part of the new development called Downtown Dubai. the Burj 

Khalifi was named in honour of the ruler of Abu Dhabi and the president of the United

Arab Emirates, Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. This skyscraper broke many height records.

The Burj Khalifa is located at 1 Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard. In total the

skyscraper cost USD $ 1.5 million to build. The Burj Khalifa design was inspired by a Desert
plant called Hymenocallis. If you take a look at the aerial view of the skyscraper you can see that it is very similar in shape to the desert plant, where the long petals extend.
 


Here is a picture of the hymenocallis desert plant:

http://architecturalmoleskine.blogspot.ie/2010/01/burj-dubai-tallest-building-in-world.html

                                                                                                 

Here is a picture from my holidays in Dubai of the Burj Khalifa,

  

 

 

 

       http://architecturalmoleskine.blogspot.ie/2010/01/burj-dubai-tallest-building-in-world.html 

                                                   https://shari66.wordpress.com/2009/11/
Here is a picture of the magical dancing fountains. They are amazing to watch especially at night. 

Dubais Hot Climate!

Sadly I have only visited Dubai once. I went over for a two and a half week holiday. From the culture, food, sites it was truly an amazing experience, one I will never forget. But of course the one thing which I got
a shock with was the weather. I visited Dubai in the month of July 2 years ago. When I walked
out of the airport I was not expecting it to be as hot as it was as I arrived during the night.


Dubai is located in the Middle East , on the Persian Gulf coast of the United Arab Emirates.
Due to its location on the Persian Gulf which is on the Northern belt, as a result Dubai has a tropical climate.

During the months of summer, Dubai's climate is much more hotter and more humid ,with temperatures rising to 45 degrees celcious and above. The three most hottest and humid months in Dubai are June, July and August. The highest recorded temperature in Dubai
is 52.1 degrees celcious. Rain fall in Dubai doesn't occur often, but when it does it isn't for a long period of time. As I was there in one of the hottest months, it reached up to 52 degrees celcious.

Here is a bar chart which shows the average temperatures:

                                             http://locadoca.com/taking-a-vacation-to-dubai/

Introduction

Hi my name is Rachel. This is my blog on Dubai. I chose to do the geography of Dubai
because it is my favourite country that I have visited, and I am really interested in the culture
of Dubai.