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Thousand and One Nights: a dream in the desert

By Franca Colozzo

Writing about Dubai and the Emirates is generally like writing about a dream made possible in the desert by the tenacity and will of men. The United Arab Emirates is a federation of seven emirates along the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula.

The largest of these emirates, Abu Dhabi, is the center of its oil industry and borders Saudi Arabia. The port city of Dubai is one of the federation's liveliest commercial and financial centers.

Primitive villages, once dedicated to sheep farming, fishing and pearl gathering, have now rediscovered themselves as the fabulous country of the "Thousand and One Nights".

A glossy image that the discovery of oil fields has made possible.

Looking out the window of my residence on the Corniche, I observe the sequence of fountains and jets, interspersed with flower beds on the promenade that runs along the sea for kilometers. An enchanting walk especially at night, among the sparkles of the lights and the barges-restaurants that slowly glide

over the sea.

But the marvel at hand is the islet of Al Lulu Island with its palm groves and shells scattered on the shore, an unfinished project of a tourist residence, an ode of peace away from the hustle and bustle of the Emirati capital that never sleeps.

The magnificent mosque of Abu Dhabi is the rare pearl of the desert, with its precious white marbles like the desire that drives a man to pause to pray under its vaults where sparkling chandeliers hang. The water that gushes outside in long pools around the entrance makes it an even more mystical place and invites to prayer.

But a visit to Dubai could not be missed, the capital of glitz and world luxury. Among its soaring skyscrapers among the highest in the world (Burj Khalifa, 828 m) and the daring sail of Burj Al Arab that stands out against the sky of Jumeirah beach, of a breathtaking elegance in its white dress that contrasts with the dazzling turquoise sea and the sand torn from the desert, here is the chic meter that crosses it longitudinally.

I arrive at the most sumptuous mall in the world: “Dubai Mall” and the charm of Italian fashion immediately fascinates me together with "Eataly", a chain of shops that flaunt Italian delicacies.

Burj Khalifa, at the Mall, watches me from its towering height. Never ever would I have thought of visiting the Emirates so many times, even the small one of Ras Al Khaimah, with the surprising tourist boom that is increasingly taking hold among the western tourists who winter there. But for sure one thing is certain: I left a piece of my heart in the United Arab Emirates and I will often return there to gaze at the desert dunes where my second child fulfilled her dream: to open a business in that once barren land, today the cradle of a civilization that makes technology, greenery, and sustainability its flag: the city of Masdar in Abu Dhabi represents an oasis of sustainability beyond our imaginations.

Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi (UAE).
Dr. Arch. FRANCA COLOZZO.

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