The Incredible "World Islands" Of Dubai

Another example of man-made 'nations' or islands. Here in Dubai we have the incredible "World Islands" complex.

The World Islands is a man-made archipelago of 300 islands in the shape of a world map.

The World is being built primarily using sand dredged from the sea.

Each island ranges from 23,000 m2 to 84,000 m2 (250,000–900,000 square feet or 5.7–21 acres) in size, with 50–100 m of water between each island.

The development will cover an area of 9 km in length and 6 km in width, surrounded by an oval breakwater. The only means of transport between the islands will be by boat and helicopter.

Prices for the islands will range from $15-45 million (USD). The average price for an island will be around $25 million (USD). Dredging started in 2004 and according to the National Geographic Channel (The Best of Megastructures) the overall price for the World is $14 Billion US Dollars.

Dubai: Short Skirts And Sexual Debauchery

Dubai prides itself on it's multicultural and mixed communities and the fact that so far they have not been a victim of a terrorist attack. But don't hold your breath.....

On the cultural front in Dubai, locals are confronted by a very foreign culture at every turn. Expats flaunt short skirts and skimpy tops and get drunk on the beach, yet local female students require a pass-card to leave the university campus in fully covered black garb. Fashionable restaurants only permit Western clothing and turn away men in Arab costume. Friday is the holy day in Islam, but it’s the day of drunk partying and sexual debauchery for Westerners. And there is almost no cultural integration between the locals and the foreigners.

What would happen if just one act of terrorist violence targeted expat tourists or resident professionals?

International investment would dry up; the million tourists who flock there to shop and sun themselves each year would melt away; the footballers and pop stars who have bought exclusive villas on the new Palm Islands development, such as Michael Owen and Rod Stewart, would doubtless move to safer shores.

Moreover, since Dubai is the Middle East’s cosmopolitan melting pot, and its experiment with Islamic capitalism could become the blueprint for surrounding Arab states, its failure would have dire consequences for the entire region.

But it could happen.......