1420 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (Dubai) - Got milk?

Dromedary was first domesticated in central or southern Arabia, thought to be around 4000 years ago, and became popular in the Near East in the 9th or 10th century BCE. The Persian invasion of Egypt in 525 BC introduced domesticated camels to the area, but they became common after the Islamic conquest of North Africa. While the invasion was accomplished largely on horseback, the new links to the Middle East allowed camels to be imported en masse.

1168 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - Traditional arabian horse rider

Admired and desired, immortalised by pen and brush, the Arabian horse had, arguably, more influence on civilisation than any other equine breed. The nomadic Bedouin were the first who tame the wild Arabian, but they treated it as a friend and ally rather than a beast of burden. The camel was a means of survival, providing meat, milk, leather and transportation on the long treks across the desert sands.

1151 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (Abu Dhabi) - Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

Built between 1996 and 2007 in Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is the eighth largest mosque in the world (with a capacity for 40,000 worshippers), and is considered to be the key for worship in the country. It was initiated by the first Ra’îs (president) of the UAE, HH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who wanted to establish a structure which unites the cultural diversity of Islamic world, the historical and modern values of architecture and art.

1074 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - Al-Razfa, a traditional performing art (UNESCO ICH)

The United Arab Emirates is a part of the Arab khaleeji tradition (characterized by heavy use of the oud and tabl drum), and is also known for Bedouin folk music. Many of the songs and dances, handed down from generation to generation, have survived, even if today only 16.5% of the country's population are Emiratis, mainly originating from the Bani Yas tribe or with Persian origins (Sunni and Shia). The interpretation of these folk arts varies between the coast, the oases and the desert, but the structure is broadly similar and the common themes are pride, religion, praise, masculinity, strength and chivalry.

0166, 1034 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (Dubai) - Burj Al Arab

Posted on 06.04.2012, 16.03.2014
The first postcard is very representative and suggestive for the current state of the emirates, combining in a appropriate way the past, the present, and even the future. I said here that in Dubai is the world's only Seven-Star hotel (officially rated Five-Star Deluxe). It's about Burj Al Arab (Tower of the Arabs), which, with its 321m, it's now (2014) the fourth tallest hotel in the world. For a decade, since its opening in 1999, until the inauguration of the Rose Rayhaan by Rotana, was the tallest, being exceeded also since then by the JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai (2013) and The Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong (2011).

It was built on an artificial island 280m out from Jumeirah beach, and is connected to the mainland by a private curving bridge. Its shape was designed by architect Tom Wright of WS Atkins PLC to mimic the sail of a dhow, a type of Arabian vessel. Two "wings" spread in a V to form a "mast", while the space between them is enclosed in a massive atrium (182m), also the tallest in the world. The wide open balconies flank two sides of te atrium. At the front of the building, and forming the third wall to the atrium, is a geometric double-skin membrane of PTFE-coated fibreglass, which both helps to insulate the atrium space and acts as a canvas for images projected onto the face of the hotel.

0515 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (Dubai) - Souk Al Bahar & Burj Khalifa

As it is written on the front of the postcard, it depicts Souk Al Bahar and Burj Khalifa in Dubai. A souk (also spelled souq, soq, souk, esouk, suk, sooq, souq, or suq) is an open-air marketplace or commercial quarter in an Arab or Berber city, by extension in any Muslim city. Historically, they were held outside of cities in the location where a caravan loaded with goods would stop, at that time, souqs being more than just a market, but also a place where they were held major festivals and many cultural and social activities. Later, due to the growth of cities, the souqs shifted to urban centers, the main souq becoming one of the central structures of a large city.

0162 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (Dubai) - The Jumeirah Mosque

Jumeirah Mosque is located in coastal residential area with the same name (which literally means burning embers) in Dubai. The area, populated with western expatriates and familiar to the tourists, comprises mainly low rise private dwellings (both expensive properties as well as more modest town houses built in a variety of architectural styles). The beachfront area was previously called Chicago Beach, as the site of the former Chicago Beach Hotel, but the name not persisted too long after the old Hotel was demolished in 1997. Jumeirah Beach has now a number of luxury hotels on its beach front, the most prominent being the world famous Burj Al Arab.

0130 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (Dubai) - Dubai City

On 1962 the first cargo of crude oil has left Abu Dhabi. On 1969 Dubai also began to export oil. Shortly after, on December 2, 1971, these two emirates, together with five other, have formed United Arab Emirates, after former protector, Britain, left the Persian Gulf. Two of so-called Trucial states, Bahrain and Oman, chose not to join the federation. Now, after only 4 decades, Dubai is one of the fastest growing cities in the world (from 95,000 inhabitants in 1963 to 8,264,070 in 2010), because the country's net migration rate is also the world's highest.