Dubai Marina No longer a fishing village

almost no stone buildings as late as the 1950s. But along came oil, though Dubai never had much of that, and it now represents only a fraction of the GDP.

The abras, primitive wooden craft, are crammed at peak times with a demographic diversity seen almost nowhere else on earth. Here are Bengalis, Pakistanis, Indians, Nepalis. Filipinos, Egyptians, Yemenis, Omanis, Saudis, Brits, Canadians, the odd American, South Africans, Aussies . . . a floating Babel of languages.

Emirates, one of the biggest airlines in the world by volume and with the newest fleet of Airbus A380s, has been joined by Etihad of Abu Dhabi and Qatar’s flag carrier to exploit the excellent location of the Gulf, halfway between Europe and Asia and a perfect transit point for virtually anywhere in the world. Palm Island The shape of money