Dubai, a Dream in the Desert

Dubai is located on the Eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, in the south west corner of the Arabian Gulf. Dubai is one of the cities in the United Arab Emirates, other cities are Abu Dhabi (the Capital), Fujairah, Ajman, Sharjah, Umm al-Quwain and Ras al-Khaimah. Dubai is extremely well known for its warm hospitality and rich cultural heritage, which the Emarati people are welcoming and generous in their approach to visitors. With year-round sunshine, intriguing deserts, beautiful beaches, luxurious hotels and shopping malls, fascinating heritage attractions and a thriving business community, Dubai receives millions of leisure and business visitors each year around the world, which makes the city a very diverse place. I'll start with talking about the attractions a person could find in Dubai and what makes it look as a dreamland in the desert. One of the most known attractions and why many people come to this city is because of its huge and unique shopping malls, and when it comes to shopping malls, Dubai breaks many boundaries in terms of size and style. 

From Dubai Mall, which is the largest shopping mall in the world that has an ice rink, an aquarium where you can dive with sharks, and an indoor amusement centre, which is also a part of the Burj Khalifa complex, the $20 billion project has around 1,200 shops and hosted over 37 million visitors in its first year of operation, and attracts more than 750,000 visitors every week, to Mall of the Emirates, home to the world's largest indoor ski slope. 

The Ski Dubai in the mall is really fascinating as I went there and it was extraordinary to people who live all their life in a desert country to have something like this. Ski Dubai opened in November 2005, the indoor resort features an 85-meter high indoor mountain with 5 slopes of carrying steepness and difficulty, including a 400 meter long run, the world's first indoor black run, and a 90 meter long quarter pipe for snowboarders. A quad lift and a tow lift carry skiers and snowboarders up the mountain. After shopping, people would want to rest for a bit and some of the most worldwide known hotels and resorts could be found in Dubai.

One of the most famous hotels in Dubai and its also an icon of the city is Burj al Arab hotel. The hotel cost $650,000,000 to build at 321 meters with 60 floors. The Burj Al Arab stands on an artificial island and connected to the mainland through a bridge. The structure itself is designed to symbolize Dubai's urban transformation and to mimic the sail of a boat. Its a luxury hotel with the world's only 7 star hotel that also has a restaurant below the sea called Al Mahara, which is accessed by a stimulated submarine voyage, features a large seawater aquarium, holding roughly 35,000 cubic feet of water.


If anyone went and travelled to Dubai, please share some thoughts of how it was when you were around, and if you didn't, its a place not to be missed... ;D

Český Těšín, Czech Republic

Hi,

Český Těšín is my hometown and I would like to share with you some information about this little town.

It has a really interesting history. Three brothers, who were on a pilgrimage, met after a long time in a empty area with a spring. Because they were very glad to see each other, they decided to find a new settlement and called it Těšín. Těšín means be happy or happiness.

During The WW1 new formed countries Poland and Czechoslovak Republic were demanding the Těšín region to be included in their territory. After a serious dispute, the town was split. The Polish and Czech borders were allocated along the river Olza, which flows right across the town. Since than we have twin town Czech - Český Těšín and Polish - Cieszyn.

Český Těšín is a small town and can sometimes be quite boring. However, we do have several cultural events, which attract a big number of visitors and bring Český Těšín to life. Těšín is also know for its markets (on the Polish side), where you can buy cheap food, clothes, plants and furniture. Also, there are several historical attractions.
Summer is the best time to come as there are many possibilities of cycling, hiking, sports events, cultural events, shopping and it may be just easier to move around when the temperature is around 20-30 degrees.
In winter the region is covered in snow and temperatures can go down to about -20 degrees. The main attraction during this period is skiing.

My hometown is a nice place to live. Unfortunately, it can be little tedious for young people. Controversially, it seems that older people do love this area, its history, nature and culture.

So, welcome to Český Těšín....;o)