Monthly Archives: September 2009

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  Glimpses of Heaven and Hell in Dubai

  Posted on September 9, 2009 by hilary in Blog Posts

  The 8th Wonder of the World had already been proclaimed well before the grand opening in Dubai of Atlantis – The Palm in November 2008. The thirteen acres of artificial palm-shaped archipelago jutting out into the shallow waters of the Arabian Gulf featured a 42 acre water park of 65,000 fish, the soon-to-be controversial Dolphin Education Centre, the whole thing anchored by the vast pink luxury hotel, its 1539 rooms full for the occasion with the world’s celebrities and tycoons. This was to be an Event like nothing on earth and the $20 million fireworks display would be clearly seen from outer space. But the timing and scale of the opening of Atlantis –The Palm could not have been worse. International derision was guaranteed. ‘Dubai’s Last Hurrah,’ trumpeted the cover of Newsweek. The Guardian cited Ozymandius: ‘The dunes will reclaim the soaring folly of Dubai.’ And the Independent kept putting the boots in: ‘The Shangri-la of the Middle East bites the dust … a city built on credit and ecocide, suppression and slavery.’ The news that Dubai, like everywhere else in the over-developed world, was feeling the force of the global recession was endlessly repeated. The real estate bonanza had …

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