Even if you prefer cities with a soul, a past, a real heritage, Dubai is dazzling. The light, the sparkling towers, the pure, slender design form a futuristic painting is realy successful. Architecture made of glass and steel is omnipresent in neighbouring countries, but it is not the same: in Riyadh it is ugly, in Dubai it is beautiful.

 

In Dubai there is a cleaner every 20 meters. Every paper that falls to the floor has a chance of survival of a few minutes. Everything is permanently cleaned, it is shiny, smooth, oiled, free from any waste. Nothing catches the eye. Dubai is the wealth of Mr. Clean and Vizir.

 

A visit to Dubai cannot be made on foot. There are some areas where you can wear your sneakers for a few miles, such as the marina, but not much more. It is impossible to walk to Palm Jumeira, the artificial island in the shape of a palm tree. You have to take the monorail and possibly a taxi to get to the left side. I wanted to go there on foot, but the officials there made it clear to me: it is forbidden to walk. Here everything is done by taxi, subway or car. Point.

 

Jumeira, to name but one, is a world of its own, planted with palm trees, luxurious buildings where guards solemnly welcome visitors. You can only get there by car, but in the back of this temple of glass and concrete is a large tree-lined driveway where Starbucks style cafes alternate with fabulous soft rubber tracks reserved for tanned Nike runners.

Here is sports like going out to eat, riding the subway or shopping. On every street corner, a futuristic gym makes young girls and playboys sweat together.

 

It is unexpected enough to say it: Dubai is teeming with life. It is the place to be, and the whole world wants to work there. The quality of life, as they say, is exceptional, everything is beautiful, new, organized and the nightlife is incomparable. Every evening the partygoers are spoilt for choice.

Like all modern cities, Dubai is hyper-connected and it is very easy to find a party to join with just a few clicks. The people are strangely cheerful, ready to go out and happy to have a meal. One does not feel, as in my sad homeland, this exhaustion, this breathlessness, to arrive at the untouchable weekend to finally rest or to enjoy the presence of family and friends. The predominant impression here is that of positive energy. It seems that the inhabitants are happy to live here and that everything is going well.

 

What would be most surprising in this interstellar city is that there is no such thing as a shabby, run-down and ugly district. Of course there are more beautiful districts than others, but in general the houses are of good quality.

It should be noted that Dubai’s modernization and construction began only recently, in the 1950s and especially in the 1990s, when the emirs considered the city a luxury destination.

I stayed a few days on the outskirts of town in a very pleasant suburb. Clean buildings, of good standing, not too high, with gardens everywhere. This part was inhabited by guest workers, with whom I could talk about what they saw of this El Dorado from a film by George Lukas.