Changes

[[File:Gulf2.jpg|thumb|340px|tiny Dubai is near the "a" in "Dubai" on the map]]

[[File:Gulf2.jpg|thumb|340px|tiny Dubai is near the "a" in "Dubai" on the map]]

===Wealth===

===Wealth===

In 1966 the discovery of oil brought vast wealth to the Trucial States (UAR).  Dubai is small and has limited oil reserves, so its rulers turned to the merchants. Starting in the 1980s, crown prince Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, refashioned Dubai into a free-trade oasis. It opened a tax-free infotech hub, Dubai Internet City, in 2000, to attract technology companies; media, finance and maritime projects soon followed.  Dubai deliberately followed a path of extensive trade, tourism, and open-society development. This has entailed very rapid growth, great wealth, and liberal policies toward liquor (but with strong criminal penalties for homosexuality).

In 1966 the discovery of oil brought vast wealth to the Trucial States (UAR).  Dubai is small and has limited oil reserves, so its rulers turned to the merchants. Starting in the 1980s, crown prince Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, refashioned Dubai into a free-trade oasis. It opened a tax-free infotech hub, Dubai Internet City, in 2000, to attract technology companies; media, finance and maritime projects soon followed.  Dubai deliberately followed a path of extensive trade, tourism, and open-society development. This has entailed very rapid growth, great wealth, and liberal policies toward liquor (but with strong criminal penalties for homosexuality).

Thanks to massive spending and borrowing by its state-owned development companies, Dubai became a global financial center in the 1990s. It built the sail-shaped Burj al-Arab, the most expensive hotel in the world, and the unfinished 160-story Burj Dubai, the world's tallest building. Its coastline has been lined with man-made islands shaped to represent a date palm and a map of the world.  The government is one of business-oriented paternalistic rule, strong development vision, a lean and efficient state apparatus, active market interference, and a reliance on market mechanisms, there are strong ties between the public and the private sectors.  

Thanks to massive spending and borrowing by its state-owned development companies, Dubai became a global financial center in the 1990s. It built the sail-shaped Burj al-Arab, the most expensive hotel in the world, and the unfinished 160-story Burj Dubai, the world's tallest building. Its coastline has been lined with man-made islands shaped to represent a date palm and a map of the world.  The government is one of business-oriented paternalistic rule, strong development vision, a lean and efficient state apparatus, active market interference, and a reliance on market mechanisms, there are strong ties between the public and the private sectors.

 

==Recent==

==Recent==

The world [[Financial Crisis of 2008]] has left Dubai staggering. Many very expensive luxury investments around the world went sour, often losing 50% to 90% of their value; real estate prices dropped 50% and new construction ended.  Dubai is hard pressed to repay its debts but Sheik Mohammed has downplayed the rising debt, which some estimate to be more than 100% of GDP. Despite a $15 billion bailout from neighboring [[Abu Dhabi]] (which has oil) i late 2009, the crisis continues to mount.

The world [[Financial Crisis of 2008]] has left Dubai staggering. Many very expensive luxury investments around the world went sour, often losing 50% to 90% of their value; real estate prices dropped 50% and new construction ended.  Dubai is hard pressed to repay its debts but Sheik Mohammed has downplayed the rising debt, which some estimate to be more than 100% of GDP. Despite a $15 billion bailout from neighboring [[Abu Dhabi]] (which has oil) i late 2009, the crisis continues to mount.