TND West

Dubai has a diverse population and its cultural institutions reflect this. The legal system is focused on respecting diversity of religion and various social groups. The area itself receives tourists from around the world, and also has citizens that come from various cultural and regional backgrounds. Some of the major entertainment and activity centers of Dubai reflect this. The five star hotels Dubai are also focused on making guests from around the world feel comfortable, relaxed and even pampered.

The Aviation Club of Dubai is often considered to be its premiere leisure facility and has many different services, entertainment aspects and various other features. There is even a state of the art fitness center available for the health conscious crowd that wishes to remain in shape while having a great time. There is a also a spa available for comfort and healing practices. The Sports Zone is a shop that is located near the gym and offers a variety of brand name sporting and fitness gear. There are many specific ethnic food options and cultural events that integrate various themes and traditions. The Century Village is the area in the center that houses most of the restaurants and eateries. Everything from sushi to a sandwich can be found there.

Sushi Sushi is one of the restaurants located in Century Village and offers what its name implies. It also features other options from a Japanese specialty menu. The restaurant is extremely user friendly and was one of the first in the UAE to feature a conveyor belt of offerings. The food is served on color coded plates, which reflect the cost of a particular item or entree. They are collected after the meal and the diner is then charged for the food based on the discarded plates. Sushi has become an extremely popular food in Dubai and is generally a hit for guests from all over the world.

Dubai is one of the major United Arab Emirate cities and is also one of the most internationally known and recognized. This is in part due to its diverse cultural aspects, as well as its progressive nature, and historical significance. The four star Dubai hotels provide not only fabulous accommodations, but also include live music in the lounge, great social gathering opportunities and resources on region events and landmarks.

Light Middle East is one of the more spectacular and unique festivals that occur in Dubai. It is the major festival in the Middle East for displays on state of the art architectural, theatrical and commercial lighting designs and technology. It offers conferences and seminars in lighting instruments and design as well as fabulous displays on the art. It provides the premier platform for contractors, consulting agencies design specialists and architects. This and many other technologically centered festivals contributes to Dubai’s status on the cutting edge of innovative design. It brings together many working professionals and offers great networking opportunities as well as the great displays it provides for attendees.

The festival is organized by Messe Frankfurt, which is the second largest exhibition organizer in the world. It has a global network that consists of 29 subsidiaries. It also organizes the Middle East Toy Fair, which is another major convention in Dubai. For 8 years it took place at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Center. Companies from over 30 countries attend the event to display their latest in educational and recreational toys. International trade agencies, markers toy designers are present to showcase, provide seminars and network. While this is a business oriented convention, it is also, and for obvious reason, popular with children. It’s also an excellent opportunity for parents to find out what will be hitting the markets in the near future, and get an early perspective on birthday and holiday gift lists.

Dubai is a vibrant city with a progressing and continually growing arts scene. Some aspects of entertainment have been incorporated into the culture, as is standard for most areas in the world. Some of these events are locally based and a not known by many people from outside the region. Others are larger and more diversely celebrated. Some of the festivals in Dubai are extremely attractive to tourists and since tourism has become one of its primary economic resources, they are more publicized for tourist participation. Guests staying in a 5 star Dubai hotel are often eager to experience as much of the local culture as is possible, and participating in one of the festivals is a great opportunity to do so. The Dubai Shopping Festival and Eid ul-Fitr are two popular events for locals and tourists.

The Dubai Shopping Festival began in February of 1996 and was originally intended to stimulate the retail trade. It was a huge success and has since become a main attraction for tourists. It is now an annual event that lasts all month and draws nearly 3 million people to Dubai for its offers. Fireworks light the night sky as retailers offer great deals, discounts and raffles to eager shoppers during the day. There are also many entertainment venues and performances that take place during this festival.

While the Dubai Shopping Festival is geared toward purchasing and attracting tourists, Eid ul-Fitr is an extremely important religious celebration in the United Arab Emirates. It is often refered to by the simple abbreviation of Eid and is a Muslim holiday. It marks the end of fasting and the holy month of Ramadan. The holiday’s name can be translated as Eid, meaning festivity and Fitr, meaning to break the fast.It is a three-day celebration that begins on the first day of the Muslim month Shawwal. Muslims finish their fasting at the end of Ramadan and recite the Ta kbir throughout the Eid ul-Fitr.

The Northern Bank of the Dubai Creek has a lot to offer to world travelers. There are many different districts and neighborhoods that are packed densely into this region, Deira being the oldest of the city. This is the center of history for the city-state, and is well known to be a local trading hub for gold, spices and rice. Many five star Dubai hotels are located in this section as well, giving travels the convenience to experience most of what the North Bank has to offer. The city of Dubai has many modern and glamorous shopping malls, as shopping is one of the favorite past-times for locals as well as tourists, but the souks located here, are more traditional, have more of the local flavor of this historical area. Many bargains are found here as customers haggle with shops owners and many a merchant, without a shop, pushes a wheelbarrow throughout the streets, selling their wares. Some of the oldest buildings in the country are found here, and although they may not have the glitter and the glamour, they have the rich heritage of the culture of this city.

This area has expanded exponentially over the current years, giving way to some of the first high rises buildings, to the first governmental offices and banks, and has a bit of the modernism of the downtown Dubai, however there are still the old ships floating up and down the Creek, carrying everything from cooking oil, used cars and refrigerators intended for Somalia, Iran, and countries all throughout the UAE. This area has retained much of its local charm as these docks are not the fancied tourist attractions that many docks become with shopping malls and amphitheaters, these are working docks. There are various projects in development for tourism however, such as Dubai Festival City, which opened in 2007 and a new plan for a city park. The Festival City is a self sustaining project, with sports arenas, entertainment facilities, shopping malls, and residential quarters. This ‘city’ within a city will also is filled restaurants and cafes. This small sector of Dubai has everything offer, from old world charm to modern decadence.