This is interesting! The most interesting facts about the UAE. Interesting facts about Arabs

I have collected 35 interesting facts about Dubai and the Emirates for you.

Dubai is not the capital of the UAE, the capital is Abu Dhabi!

Dubai leans like the month of May, so if in doubt about the end, feel free to "Dubai in May"!

Jumeirah is one of three artificial islands who were able to increase coastline cities for 520 kilometers. This island is the smallest, and is considered the most densely populated. Here is the most popular hotel in Dubai -.

The most cosmopolitan area of ​​Dubai -. On the streets you can meet Americans, Europeans, Asians, as well as Russians. Each of them brings a piece of their culture, creating an amazing interweaving of traditions and religions.

Dubai has its own Venice. The resort is just a city within a city, connected by a network of water channels through which small abra boats periodically scurry. Madinat is Arab houses, a sea of ​​picturesque vegetation and many cafes and souvenir shops.

The seven-star Burj Al Arab (321 m) is not the most high hotel in the world. So it was until recently, until a new Dubai hotel was built - the Rose Tower, 333 meters high.

Burj Al Arab is not free to enter. The hotel is located on a small guarded island, and you can get there only by booking a room in advance or as part of an excursion, where a dinner reservation is a prerequisite.

Dubai is the best. There is even the most big park colors - . He really is a miracle!

Miracle Garden got into the Guinness Book of Records thanks to the largest flower wall, which is 10 meters high and 800 meters long. There is also the world's largest flower clock.

The Dubai metro and buses are designed in such a way that separate zones are reserved for women. They can be recognized by their pink color.

Most high building in the world - Burj Khalifa, 163 floors high. The building is occupied by offices, residential apartments, the Armani Hotel, restaurants and observation decks.

The sail is the main feature of Dubai, its heart. The hotel in the form of a sailboat rises 321 meters above the ground, and is located on a small artificial island off the coast of Jumeirah Beach.

All metro trains are fully automated, there are no drivers, you can ride in the first car and look out the window.

To keep the beaches clean, sweepers sift the sand every morning.

Dubai is not a city for pedestrians. This is a city of sand, concrete, asphalt, cars, but not pedestrians. Freeways everywhere, cars roaring at breakneck speed.

Subway cars pass not only past buildings, but through and through.

The Arabic word "diba" is translated as "locust", Dubai is a diminutive of "diba" and means "locust".

It costs $50 a day to water just one tree. Each palm tree has a faucet through which watering is carried out!

First bulk island Sail became, then Jumeirah appeared, the Mir Islands complex and a couple more Jabel Ali and Deira palms became the next.

Sheikh Mohammed has a one-digit car number - one.

Only native Emiratis are allowed to tint windows.

When a new citizen is born, he receives $40,000 as a gift. While he grows up, the interest will increase the amount to 100 thousand, although under the terms of the gift he can spend on real estate or open his own business.

The population of Abu Dhabi, like the Emirates, consists of about 20% of the indigenous population, which does not bother to work, as the state provides them with everything: a gift for a wedding - a villa for free; treatment in any clinic in the world; free education, housing and money. That is why the remaining 80% of the inhabitants, mostly visitors from Asia and Europe, do all the work for them.

In Dubai, there is the Minestery of Happiness, which monitors the level of happiness of the population, makes surveys, you can even write a letter to them and report a problem.

Despite the fact that everything in Dubai is saturated with luxury and millions of dollars, Dubai is a city of contrasts. Everything here is either very rich or very poor. Walk around the corner of a 5-star hotel and you can see a construction site where grubby guest workers will eat shawarma.

You can become a citizen of the Emirates only by inheritance.

Only 3 of the 7 Emirates have oil, and most of it is in the capital.

Previously, instead of first-class asphalt, there were dirty sands, it stank of donkey urine and intestines. Instead of villas, there were shabby tents. When they found oil, the city began to grow rich rapidly, but the nomads did not seek to move to the city. Then Sheikh Zayed distributed free identical houses to everyone in the city, the entire communal apartment at the expense of the state. The Bedouins packed up and moved quickly. Although there are still people who refuse to move to the city.

The Emirates is a country of prohibitions: it is forbidden to take pictures here, flags, Arab men and Muslim women, government agencies, sheikhs' houses; alcohol is prohibited (it is not even in cafes, not to mention supermarkets).

Women don't have to wear all black. They wear a black veil only because they love. It seems to be some kind of fashion statement. Their clothes can be any color - brown, pink, beige. They are the same fashionista as all the women of our world.

Camel in the Emirates is a cult. The Arabs even measure what kind of camel someone has. The prices for these animals are higher than space - $ 3 million, and the value is simply aesthetic.

I will dispel the misconception about the color of oil - it is brown, green and colorless.

In Dubai, there is a dry law, alcohol is sold only in hotels.

There are no streets in Dubai and everyone is guided by the names of buildings. In fact, there are streets, but no one knows them.

At Christmas, the Arabs lay hundreds of charges and arrange a grandiose salute. Burj Khalifa becomes a fire tree.

Sheikhs, oil, skyscrapers - we are sure that for most of us it is these three words that come to mind when mentioned.

The Emirates is also on the list of countries where it is warm in winter. But we decided to expand your understanding of this country a little and prepared 25 interesting facts about the UAE.

1. United Arab Emirates – unique country, for some 40 years there was only a desert in this territory.

2. The UAE is indeed a rich country. There are 59 thousand dollar millionaires for 5 million people here.

3. The UAE has excellent social security. So, for the birth of a boy, the state makes a gift to the family in the amount of $50,000.

4. Every young family in the UAE receives a comfortable villa from the government and 70,000 dirhams (about $19,000) for a wedding.

5. The average monthly salary of a civil servant is about $10,000

6. All these benefits apply only to local residents. 70% of the UAE population are workers from South and South-East Asia who receive $200-300 per month.

7. The UAE is a Muslim country, and there are a lot of prohibitions, especially those related to alcohol. So, in the emirate of Sharzha, a complete ban on alcohol, the use and transportation of which is considered a criminal offense.

8. It is forbidden to photograph buildings in the UAE public institutions, military installations, mansions, palaces, flags, local women; men can only be with their permission.

9 . The Emirates is hell for a hitchhiker, this is an administrative violation.

10. The government restricts freedom of speech. There is no yellow press in the UAE; they do not write about the personal life of sheikhs here.

11. The UAE has blocked Facebook and many other sites. According to the Committee for Supervision of Telecommunications, which controls access to the Internet, it may contain malicious information, from the point of view of the Koran.

12. Non-Muslim tourists in the UAE are not allowed to visit mosques. By the way, for tourists, the Sharjah region is an excellent option for a trip, and you can find out about the cost of a tour there on the websites of specialized travel agencies.

13. By the way, when entering mosques and houses, you should take off your shoes. Prayers cannot be bypassed in front.

14. Littering is strictly prohibited on the streets. The fine for trash thrown on the street is 500 dirhams, even if you just missed the bin.

15. Fines for traffic violations are huge. Passing a red light will cost $800

16. There is no traffic police in the United Arab Emirates. All violations are recorded by cameras, and at the end of the year, when passing a technical inspection, the driver is billed.

17. All bus stops in the same Dubai are air-conditioned.

18. The coldest months in the UAE are December and January. At this time, the air temperature during the day averages +28, at night +18. The question of where it is warm in winter disappears by itself.

19. One of the favorite sports in the UAE is camel racing. Moreover, now camels are controlled by miniature robots.

20. The UAE loves gold very much. According to statistics, each inhabitant of the United Arab Emirates buys 38 grams of gold per year.

21. 5 kilograms of gold jewelry should be presented by an Arab man in case of matchmaking with an Arab woman.

22. Arab men are increasingly marrying foreign women: there is no need to pay relatives for a bride.

23. In the UAE, people often marry not for love, but for the will of their parents - conservatism and religious customs leave no chance for young people to choose a life partner on their own.

24. The UAE has big problems with water. 30% comes from natural sources, the rest is so-called desalinated water.

25. Most of the emirates will run out of oil very soon. The only exception is the state of Abu Dhabi.

So he came - the day of departure home. And no matter how interesting and good it would be for us in the Emirates, we left without regret, but with the hope that someday we will return and finish watching what we did not have time, we will visit places where we have not been yet. The departure coincided with the Day of March 8, and it was very pleasant when in the morning in the hotel elevator we were congratulated on the Women's Day by completely unknown Slavic men. And it became clear that we missed home, our circle of friends, our friends.

Having handed over our room at 12 o'clock and placing our luggage in the luggage room, my friends and I went to say goodbye to our favorite places that we liked during our vacation. There was still a whole eight hours left before the transfer to the airport.airport. We were already at home in our thoughts, and now we looked at everything around us with different eyes, as if from the side.

Walking along the embankment, we met several Arab families. In this one, I somehow felt sorry for the Arab women, wrapped in such heat in black abayas and a black scarf - a shell. It is said that until 1996, Arab women wore all the jewelry they had. Because at any moment an angry husband could utter the word “talaq” three times in the presence of witnesses and the divorce from his wife was completed. From that moment on, the woman had to leave her husband's house in what she stood in. So the jewels were needed to ensure their continued existence.

But, in the remarkable year 96, a law was passed protecting the rights of a married woman. Now the husband who left his wife must leave his home and support his ex-wife and children for the rest of his life, as before. Therefore, the Arabs practically do not have divorces, although it is allowed at the legislative level - it is allowed to have 4 wives. But the majority (86%) of men live with one wife.

More interesting facts from the life of Arab women: in schools and in higher educational institutions, girls study separately from boys; they can not be photographed in the face (they can call the police). Before the wedding, it is not allowed not only to kiss with the future husband, but even to hold hands! Now that's rigor! Our youth at least a piece of this morality.

Suddenly we noticed that for all the time we did not see the old Arabs at all. Maybe they don't live in resort areas Or do they just look so young that they are indistinguishable? Once a guide told us that the minimum basic pension for local residents of the Emirates is 2.74 thousand US dollars per month, and many are not happy with this. We would like such a pension! After all, judge for yourself: medical service for them free of charge, as well as for all citizens of the UAE. A loaf of bread costs less than $1, milk costs $1.37 per liter, and meat (beef) costs $6.3 per kilogram. Only 10% is paid for electricity and water. Villas and land plots are free, you don’t have to save up for all this all your life. Not life, but pleasure. Joking with my friends - they probably do not have enough money from their pensions for another expensive car.

There are a lot of cars in the Emirates. Gasoline prices do not gallop, but are always stable. A liter of 95th gasoline costs 47 cents, and 92nd only 42 cents. It turns out that refueling the tank costs only $19-20. It is clear that at such prices you can drive a car everywhere and not use public transport at all, especially not to walk. Although walking is good for health, and trips to public transport somehow unite people and a person does not feel cut off from society (this is my subjective opinion).

• United Arab Emirates- a unique country, for some 40 years there was only a desert in this territory;
• The UAE is indeed a rich country. There are 59 thousand dollar millionaires for 5 million people here;
• The UAE has excellent social security. So, for the birth of a boy, the state makes a gift to the family in the amount of $50,000;
• Every young family UAE receives from the government a comfortable villa and 70,000 dirhams (about $19,000) for a wedding;
• The average monthly salary of a civil servant is about $10,000;
• All these benefits apply only to local residents. 70% of the population of the UAE are workers from South and Southeast Asia who receive $200-300 per month;
• The UAE is a Muslim country, and there are a lot of prohibitions, especially those related to alcohol. So, in the emirate of Sharzha, a complete ban on alcohol, the use and transportation of which is considered a criminal offense;
• In the UAE, it is forbidden to photograph government buildings, military installations, mansions, palaces, flags, local women. Men are allowed only with their permission;
• Emirates is hell for hitchhiker, this is an administrative violation;
• The government restricts freedom of speech. There is no yellow press in the UAE, they do not write about the personal life of sheikhs;
• Many sites are blocked in the UAE. According to the Committee for the Supervision of Telecommunications, which controls access to the Internet, there may be harmful information, from the point of view of the Koran, information;

• Non-Muslim tourists in the UAE are not allowed to visit mosques;
• Shoes should be removed when entering mosques and houses. Prayers cannot be bypassed in front;
• Littering is strictly prohibited on the streets. The fine for trash thrown on the street is 500 dirhams, even if you just missed the bin;
• Fines for traffic violations are huge. Passing a red light will cost $800;
• There is no traffic police in the United Arab Emirates. All violations are recorded by cameras, and at the end of the year, when passing a technical inspection, the driver is billed;
• All bus stops in the same Dubai equipped with air conditioning;
• The coldest months in the UAE are December and January. At this time, the average air temperature during the day is +28, at night +18. The question of where it is warm in winter disappears by itself.
• One of the favorite sports in the UAE is camel racing. Moreover, now camels are controlled by miniature robots;
• The UAE loves gold very much. According to statistics, each inhabitant of the Arab Emirates buys 38 grams of gold per year;
• 5 kilograms of gold jewelry should be presented by an Arab man in case of matchmaking with an Arab woman;
• Arab men are increasingly marrying foreign women - no need to pay relatives for a bride;
• In the UAE, people often marry not for love, but at the will of their parents - conservatism and religious customs leave no chance for young people to choose a life partner on their own;
• The UAE has big problems with water. 30% comes from natural sources, the rest is so-called desalinated water;
• Most of the emirates will run out of oil very soon. The only exception is the state of Abu Dhabi;
• In the UAE, only 30 percent fresh water comes from natural sources or artesian wells. 70 percent of water is desalinated water. Desalination is a very energy-intensive and expensive process; 1 liter of such water costs four times more than natural water. Tap water in the UAE is quite clean, but it is still not recommended to use it without boiling;
• Many UAE states will run out of oil by 2010. The only exception is the state of Abu Dhabi, which contains 95 percent of the country's total oil reserves. The states of Dubai and Sharjah are preparing in advance for the fact that the petrodollar supply of their economy will soon stop. Trade is successfully developing here (free economic zones are operating), tourism, industry, and even agriculture. Thus, in 2000, revenues from oil production amounted to only 12 percent of the GDP of the Emirate of Dubai;
• In the mid-1980s, the UAE ruler, Sheikh Zayed, set the goal of reducing the country's dependence on foreign agricultural products. Large investments were attracted to agriculture: agro-farms and poultry farms were built. In air-conditioned greenhouses, 2-3 crops of tomatoes, cucumbers and potatoes are harvested here per year. Mangoes, apples, strawberries are grown from fruits. The UAE is famous for its dates. The most fertile areas of the UAE are the Al Ain oasis;
• The Internet in the UAE has become widespread. Some hotels in the UAE provide access to the World Wide Web directly from the room. For example, hotels JUMEHARAH BEACH HOTEL, HILTON DUBAI JUMEIRAH, LE MERIDIEN MINA SEYAHI in Dubai. However, a department specially created by the UAE authorities blocks access to sites with reprehensible content or photos from the point of view of the Koran;

• Capital UAE — Abu Dhabi- rightly called the "city-park". The imperative “Walk on the lawns!” operates here, exotic trees brought from all over the world grow, luxurious shady gardens turn green. As scientists have established, it is precisely because of the abundance of green spaces in the city average temperature air is usually 1-1.5 degrees lower than in the surrounding desert;
• The coldest months in the UAE are December and January. At this time, the air temperature during the day averages +28, at night +18;
• Religious customs leave Arab youth almost no opportunity to choose a life partner on their own - everything is decided by parents. This is probably why the percentage of divorces is very high here - (30 percent of marriages);
• IN last years Emirates faced great problems in the family matter: more and more Arab women remain single. Arab men increasingly prefer to marry foreign women: no need to pay relatives for a bride;
• In the mosque UAE Gentiles are usually not allowed. The only mosque in the confederation that deviates from this rule is the mosque in the city of Dubai, in the Jumeirah region. The mosque operates the Center for Cultural and Religious Understanding, which was established by Sheikh Maktoum in 1998. Organized visits to the mosque by tourists are held once a week, on Thursdays, from 10:00 am. The same center during Ramadan organizes for those who wish to visit the houses of local residents with participation in a festive meal (by appointment).

The United Arab Emirates is a very unusual state. Luxurious oases and flourishing cities. The UAE includes 7 separate emirates at once, which are separate state entities. The capital city is Dubai. It is also one of the seven emirates.

How to plan an independent trip to Dubai read in our guide.

Our short review contains the most interesting and unusual facts about this eastern country, which was able to reach considerable heights in its development and technology thanks to only one natural wealth- Huge deposits of oil.

History and geography

Everyone who comes to these parts for the first time will hardly believe that a few decades ago the UAE was an endless desert, in which it was incredibly difficult to survive. Today, the country is included in the list of the richest states. Just imagine, out of 5 million people, 59 thousand millionaires live here!

Local punishments have long been famous for their severity. For individual crimes, you can even expect the death penalty. As before, this type of punishment is enforced by beheading or stoning to death. That is why the UAE is included in the list of countries with the least number of crimes.

Public life

Every native UAE resident receives impressive support from the state. Almost every solemn event in the country attracts financial assistance. For example, when a son is born in a family of citizens, they receive 50 thousand dollars. Each marriage brings the young 19 thousand dollars and a private villa. The salaries of government officials are also impressive. They receive up to $10,000 monthly.

Since the country belongs to the Muslim world, there are a lot of prohibitions here. For example, the consumption of alcohol is strictly prohibited, as is its transportation. There is also a taboo against photographing government institutions and even women.

On the streets of the UAE you will never meet people who hitchhike. It is also strictly prohibited.

In addition, the ban on the “yellow press” should be attributed to local quirks, since the personal life of citizens, especially sheikhs, is taboo. And still prohibited exits in social media, since it is generally accepted in the UAE that such Internet resources contain a lot of negative information.

Fines in the country are also amazing. Just imagine, for breaking the rules on the road you will be fined up to 800 US dollars.

Entertainment and Features

Since the UAE is a desert country, camel racing is a very popular pastime here. But riders are not people at all, but real robots. And the locals are very fond of organizing desert safaris and use "fancy" jeeps for this.

Each bus stop equipped with air conditioning. And this is not surprising, because in summer the average air temperature during the day does not fall below 50 degrees. And the winter here is perhaps the warmest. The air temperature ranges from 18 to 28 degrees in different time days.

Gold in the UAE is one of the most popular commodities. According to statistics, every citizen annually buys at least 38 grams of this metal. By local tradition, during the marriage proposal, the groom is obliged to give the bride immediately 5 kg of gold.

By the way, the future of the newlyweds is determined by the parents. From early childhood, every boy and girl pairs, and with the onset of a certain age, they marry. But for relationships outside of marriage, you can even get a real prison term.

There is also the right to polygamy. But this is an expensive whim, even for the citizens of such a wealthy country. Therefore, in Lately The vast majority of marriages are monogamous.

The UAE is considered one of the most expensive countries in terms of payment for utilities and the purchase of fresh water.

There is a clear division of the roles of men and women in the country. Representatives of different sexes even move separately on public transport in separate wagons. Even the taxi salon is fenced with a special partition.

It will take a lot of time to tell about such a country in colors. What is worth knowing is that it is in the UAE that the most luxurious hotels are built, for example, the world-famous