Photography Destinations: Dubai

Flights to Abu Dhabi or a flight to Dubai, especially from Europe, are relatively reasonable - however, once you arrive, Dubai holidays are anything by inexpensive. The cities of the UAE are incredible: the fastest, biggest, tallest, largest and highest. Whether you visit just to gawk at lavishness of the Emirates, or you’re an avid architecture photographer, when you leave Dubai, you will not leave disappointed.

While Dubai is a relatively new tourist destination, it has sky-rocked to one of most sought-after holiday spots on the planet. It is essentially a desert city with amazing tourist amenities. Wikipedia describes the climate of the city as the following:

The city of Dubai is situated on a coastal strip bordered by desert and gets very hot and humid in the summer. Cooler, more pleasant weather lasts from the end of September to the beginning of May. In May, June, July, August and September the sun is intense and temperatures can touch 50 degree Celsius in the city and even higher in the desert! The heat coupled with humidity of 80-90% near the coast effectively precludes most activity outdoors for the daylight hours during summer.

Obviously, if you’re adverse to warm temperatures, Dubai may not be high on your photographic travel list, but the amazing architecture is unparalleled.

Photography Destinations: Dubai - Emirates Tower

I could probably write 100 blog posts about the various buildings and places on interest in Dubai alone, but instead, here’s a list of “must-photograph/visit” places when you get there:

Burj al-Arab hotel - self-proclaimed as the only 7 star hotel in the world with a unique shape of a boat’s sail
Dubai Museum - a must-see for anyone interested in the social history of the UAE
Dubai Zoo - if you can stand the heat, the zoo is always a great place to capture great photographs
Ibn Battuta Mall - this mall is more than shopping. You’ll never look at another mall the same way once you’ve seen the Ibn Battuta Mall
The Burj Dubai - while still under contruction, it should be completed in 2008. It will be the world’s tallest building with more floors than the Sears Tower in Chicago, and a height that will surpass the CN Tower in Canada (currently the world’s tallest free-standing structure).
Mall of the Emirates - what? Two malls on the list? Well, you can’t leave this one out. It houses the world’s largest indoor ski resort - that alone makes it worth taking a photograph or two
Beaches - Dubai has some of the whitest and sandiest beaches in the world with ocean temperatures ranging from 22 in winter up to 35 degrees Celsius in summer