Dubai Opera

30 September 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Dubai, Opera Houses, Theaters, Libraries Reading Time:  6 minutes

© flickr.com - Greger Ravik/cc-by-sa-3.0

© flickr.com – Greger Ravik/cc-by-sa-3.0

Dubai Opera is a 2,000-seat, multi-format, performing arts centre, which is located within The Opera District in Downtown Dubai. It was developed by Emaar Properties to host a variety of performances and events including theatre, opera, ballet, concerts, conferences and exhibitions. Its plans were announced by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in March 2012 and it was completed in 2016. It opened on 31 August 2016 with a performance by Plácido Domingo. Dubai Opera have flat floor capacity of 1800 square meters. This floor can be hired for weddings, gala dinners, fashion shows and exhibitions.   read more…

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi

1 July 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Architecture, House of the Month Reading Time:  3 minutes

Sheikh Zayed Mosque seen from the courtyard © Wikiemirati/cc-by-sa-4.0

Sheikh Zayed Mosque seen from the courtyard © Wikiemirati/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is located in Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The largest mosque in the country, it is the key place of worship for daily prayers, Friday gathering and Eid prayers. During Eid, it may be visited by more than 41,000 people. The Grand Mosque was constructed between 1996 and 2007. It was designed by Syrian architect Yousef Abdelky. The building complex measures approximately 290 by 420 m (950 by 1,380 ft), covering an area of more than 12 hectares (30 acres), excluding exterior landscaping and vehicle parking. The main axis of the building is rotated about 11° south of true west, aligning it in the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.   read more…

The European Union: Real Estate and Demography

25 May 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Architecture, Editorial, EU blog post series, European Union, Living, Working, Building Reading Time:  467 minutes

(Latest update: 22 August 2022) First, there is not THE real estate market – not national and certainly not international. In fact, the market situation is very fragmented due to the general conditions, in other words, many individual markets, collectively referred to as “the market”. Metropolitan Area A faces different challenges than Metropolitan Area B and Metropolitan Area C can not even understand what A and B are talking about. Where there is comparability, is the housing situation in the “affordable segment” in urban centers in all western EU states, the US and Canada. This is where the call for the state, which should intervene regulatively, quickly becomes louder. In free market economies, however, this is on the one hand not wanted and therefore on the other hand, only limited possible. That’s pretty okay, because the market is inherently profit-oriented and that’s just what it will stay, otherwise investment incentives for new construction would sooner or later be completely absent. The “rental price brake” (Mietpreisbremse) exemplifies the problem. At the same time, more and more social housing is being let out of the rental price brake without replacement investment being made. In the following, single aspects are examined in more detail using the example of Germany, whereby the scenarios also apply to other western countries such as the EU states, the US, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, but also, e.g., to Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul in South Korea, Tel Aviv in Israel and other emerging metropolitan regions around the world.   read more…

Louvre Abu Dhabi

1 May 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Architecture, House of the Month, Museums, Exhibitions Reading Time:  16 minutes

© Phpeter/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Phpeter/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Louvre Abu Dhabi is an art and civilization museum, located in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The museum was inaugurated on 8 November 2017 by French President Emmanuel Macron and United Arab Emirates Vice President Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The museum is part of a thirty-year agreement between the city of Abu Dhabi and the French government. The museum is located on the Saadiyat Island Cultural District.   read more…

Jumeirah Beach Residence in Dubai

8 March 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Dubai Reading Time:  7 minutes

© Imre Solt/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Imre Solt/cc-by-sa-3.0

Jumeirah Beach Residence (also known as JBR) is a 1.7 kilometres (1.1mi) long, 2 square kilometres (0.77 sq mi) gross floor area waterfront community located against the Arabian Gulf in Dubai Marina in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is a residential development and contains 40 towers (35 are residential and 5 are hotels). JBR can accommodate about 15,000 people, living in its apartments and hotel rooms. The Project has 6,917 apartments, from 900sqft (84 m²) studios to 5,500 sq ft (510 m²) penthouses. JBR has a total of six residential blocks, Shams, Amwaj, Rimal, Bahar, Sadaf and Murjan (in order from east to west). The developer, Dubai Properties (a subsidiary of Dubai Holding), launched JBR in August 2002. This 6 billion dirham project was completed in 2010.   read more…

The Gulf States: Bon voyage!

9 February 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Dubai, Editorial, Bon voyage, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  134 minutes

© Hégésippe Cormier/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Hégésippe Cormier/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Arabian Gulf (the Arab states call the west side of the Persian Gulf Arabian Gulf) is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Indian Ocean (Gulf of Oman) through the Strait of Hormuz and lies between Iran to the northeast and the Arabian Peninsula to the southwest. The Shatt al-Arab river delta forms the northwest shoreline. The gulf has many fishing grounds, extensive reefs (mostly rocky, but also coral), and abundant pearl oysters. The body of water is historically and internationally known as the Persian Gulf. Some Arab governments refer to it as the Arabian Gulf. About 200 million people are living in the Gulf States, with Iran being the most populous country with 80 million inhabitants, followed by Iraq (38.7 million), Saudi Arabia (32 million), Yemen (38 million), United Arab Emirates (9.4 million), Oman (4.4 million), Kuwait (4.1 million), Qatar (2.6 million) and Bahrain (1.5 million). Tourism is an increasingly important factor for the smaller countries of the region, but Iran and Saudi Arabia are developing this sector more and more either. While the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Bahrain are suitable for less experienced travelers, traveling to other countries in the region requires quite a few preparations. Relevant links to the U.S. Department of State can be found at the end of each country portrait. With the exception of Yemen and Iraq because of travel warnings for EU citizens (there are additional travel warnings for other Gulf States for US citizens), all Gulf States can be visited without difficulties, as far as the rules, way of living and habits of the respective host country are respected.   read more…

Al Reem Island in Abu Dhabi

27 August 2018 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  3 minutes

© reem-island.ae

© reem-island.ae

Reem Island is a natural island 600 metres off the coast of Abu Dhabi island. Sorouh Real Estate, Reem Investments, and Tamouh are independently developing parts of the island with projects like Shams Abu Dhabi. Reem Developers define the overall dimensions of the project as 6.5 million square metres and investment costs as exceeding $30 billion. The project has gained international interest as one of the first free zones in Abu Dhabi, where foreign nationals can buy property as leasehold.   read more…

Transatlantic relations

2 June 2018 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Editorial, EU blog post series, European Union Reading Time:  633 minutes

Transatlanticism symbol: a hybrid out of the Europa and Stars and Stripes © Patrikpluhar/cc-by-sa-3.0

Transatlantic symbol: A hybrid of the European flag and the Stars and Stripes © Patrikpluhar/cc-by-sa-3.0

(Latest update: 23 August 2022) Transatlantic relations refer to the historic, cultural, political, economic and social relations between countries on both side of the Atlantic Ocean. Sometimes specifically those between the United States, Canada and the countries in Europe, although other meanings are possible. There are a number of issues over which the United States and Europe generally disagree. Some of these are cultural, such as the U.S. use of the death penalty, some are international issues such as the Middle East peace process where the United States is often seen as pro-Israel and where Europe is often seen as pro-Arab (Arab–Israeli conflict), and many others are trade related. The current U.S. policies are often described as being unilateral in nature, whereas the European Union and Canada are often said to take a more multilateral approach, relying more on the United Nations and other international institutions to help solve issues. There are many other issues upon which they agree. This article refers to the relations between the EU (Culture of Europe, Economy of the European Union, History of Europe, and Politics of the European Union) and the USA (Culture of the United States, Economy of the United States, History of the United States, and Politics of the United States).   read more…

Theme Week United Arab Emirates – Emirate of Abu Dhabi

24 February 2018 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  10 minutes

Abu Dhabi view from Marina village © panoramio.com - patano/cc-by-sa-3.0

Abu Dhabi view from Marina village © panoramio.com – patano/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Emirate of Abu Dhabi is one of seven emirates that constitute the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is the largest emirate by area (67,340 km2), accounting for approximately 87 percent of the total land area of the federation. Abu Dhabi also has the largest population of the seven emirates. The population is at 2.8 million, of which less than 20% are Emirati citizens. Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the emirate, after which it is named, as well as the capital of the federation. Main cities and towns are Abu al Abyad, Al Ain, Al Shahama, Al Tawelah, Al Shalelah, Al-Aryam Island, Al Shamkha, Bani Yas City, Ghayathi, Ghantoot, Habshan, Al Wathba, Al Mu’azaz, Al Ad’la, Swehan, Halat Al Bahrani, Khalifa Port, Liwa Oasis, Madinat Zayed, Marabe al Dhafra, Marawah, Port Zayed, Ruwais, Sila, Sir Bani Yas, and Tarif.   read more…

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