Riyadh (“The Gardens”) is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of Riyadh Province, and belongs to the historical regions of Najd and Al-Yamama. It is situated in the center of the Arabian Peninsula on a large plateau, and is home to 5.3 million people, and the urban center of a region with a population of close to 7 million people. The city is divided into 15 municipal districts, managed by Riyadh Municipality headed by the mayor of Riyadh, and the Riyadh Development Authority, chaired by the governor of Riyadh Province, Khalid bin Bandar Al Saud. The current mayor of Riyadh is Abdullah bin Abdul Rahman Al Mogbel, appointed in 2012. Riyadh has the largest all female university in the world, the Princess Nora bint Abdulrahman University. It has been designated as a Beta World City. read more…
Manama is the capital and largest city of Bahrain, with an approximate population of 155,000 people. Long an important trading center in the Persian Gulf, Manama is home to a very diverse population. In the 20th century, Bahrain’s oil wealth helped spur fast growth and in the 1990s a concerted diversification effort led to expansion in other industries and helped transform Manama into an important financial hub in the Middle East. Manama was designated as the capital of Arab culture for the year 2012 by the Arab League. read more…
Dubai is a city in the United Arab Emirates, located within the emirate. The emirate of Dubai is located on the southeast coast of the Arabian Gulf and is one of the seven emirates that make up the country. It has the largest population in the UAE (2,100,000) and the second-largest land territory by area (4,114 km2) after Abu Dhabi, the national capital. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are the only two emirates to have veto power over critical matters of national importance in the country’s legislature. The city of Dubai is located on the emirate’s northern coastline and heads up the Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area. Dubai is nowadays often misperceived as a country or city-state and, in some cases, the UAE as a whole has been described as ‘Dubai’. read more…
Doha (englisch: The Bay)is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the coast of the Persian Gulf, it has a population of 800,0000, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar. Doha is Qatar’s largest city, with over 60% of the nation’s population residing in Doha or its surrounding suburbs, and is also the economic centre of the country. Doha was included in Fortune’s 15 best new cities for business for the year 2011. read more…
The Dubai Mall is the world’s largest shopping mall based on total area and sixth largest by gross leasable area. Located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, it is part of the 20-billion-dollar Burj Khalifa complex, and includes 1,200 shops. Access to the mall is provided via Doha Street, rebuilt as a double-decker road in April 2009. read more…
Dubailand is an entertainment complex being built in Dubai, which is owned by Tatweer (which belongs to Dubai Holding). When announced in 2003 it was one of the most ambitious leisure developments ever proposed anywhere in the world costing 64.3 billion, but development has been severely impacted by global recession and Dubai’s financial crisis. The development was put on hold in 2008 and in mid 2013 resumed. read more…
Yas Marina Island is an artificial island in Abu Dhabi near natural Sir Bani Yas island. The island is the site of a US$36 billion development project by Aldar Properties. It occupies a total land area of 2,500 hectares, of which 1,700 hectares will be claimed for development. The island holds the Yas Island Circuit, which hosts the Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix since 2009. read more…
The building was designed by renowned architect, John Elliott RIBA, who was Senior Vice President at Wimberly, Allison, Tong and Goo, an international firm specialising in Luxury Hotels. It opened in November 2005 but certain restaurants and spas did not open until 2006. The hotel was built by and is owned by the Abu Dhabi government, and is currently managed by the Kempinski Group. read more…