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All these recent headlines remind me of my own unexpected trip to Dubai in early , three years before moving from the Washington, D. The surprise offer arrived at on a freezing Thursday afternoon β in the form of an urgent email from a New York public relations firm. Larry Luxner Why not, I thought, browsing the itinerary and suddenly imagining that I was basking in the warm desert sunshine.
Champagne Friday brunch at the Armani Hotel. Walking tour of Old Dubai and the spice market. But perhaps the wealthy emirate had gotten some soul, and besides, I was eager to escape β if for only six days β a brutal Maryland winter that was only just beginning.
With only 30 minutes to decide before the coveted spot would be offered to someone else, I immediately called New York and said yes. Information kiosk at the vast duty-free shopping mall of Dubai International Airport. Larry Luxner DXB, with its plastic palm trees, refreshing mist machines and fabulous duty-free shops, covers Even before entering, visitors walk past nostalgic scenes of Bedouins herding their camels; a donkey loaded with kerosene, and a blue s-era Land Rover parked next to a bustling tent market.
Veiled young women in colorful scarves happily photographed each other among the replicas of wooden fishing boats and ancient cannons. Philippine tourists pose with a brass cannon in the courtyard of the popular Dubai Museum, located in Al Fahidi Fort. Built in , it is the oldest existing building in Dubai. On Dec. Those five others β Ajman, Fujeirah, Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain β were known only to nerdy stamp collectors like myself who eagerly sought their colorful but ultimately worthless issues.
