Maqamat of New Babylon

From among all the impressions a traveller gets upon arriving in Dubai, by far the strongest is that everything in this city is larger and more luxurious than one expects, yet smaller and more modest than the hosts would like.

Text & Photo by Miloš Rajković

Already at the Dubai airport, the first-time visitor to this city is aware of having arrived at a crossroads where continents, civilizations and worlds meet. The initial impressions hint at the same kind of exhilaration as carried by the maqamat (stories) Scheherazade had woven in the A Thousand and One Nights bringing to life the beauty and specific features of life, the sounds, colors and spirit of the Orient.

Following a fifteen-minute drive in a reasonably priced taxi, the impression only deepens. People of all races and nations are engaged in the most diverse jobs everywhere in the city, and the demand for such people is increasing at an incredible rate. The completion of a facility that sets a new standard in luxury only sparks a new project that will raise the standard even higher. The end to this standard setting is nowhere in sight.

This fact was the departure point for the visionary Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, who died last year, but not before turning a small fishing village into one of the world’s major metropolises. In the process, the sheikh took into consideration facts such as the sea and the inhospitable desert. The heart of his vision was unfettered capitalism; he proved his point by scrapping both the corporate and personal tax. His message was simple and straightforward: "Bring your know-how or capital and do business in Dubai." Clear rules were set, their implementation was not questioned, and the race began. The finish line is open-ended, and no restrictions are in sight.

All great ideas appear simple once they have been realized. Over forty-odd years, the wise sheikh realized his vision of creating a megalopolis that ranks among the best of international capitals, and which is one of the favoured destinations of international jet-setters, business leaders and well-off tourists.

A slow drive around the city is like driving in an exhibition of the world’s greatest architectural works, including landscape architecture. Lines of glimmering skyscrapers, miles of superbly arranged grass lawns with palm trees and blooming flower beds are treats to the tourist’s eye. Among the first impressions in Dubai, the strongest is that everything is larger and more luxurious than one expects, yet smaller and more modest than the hosts would like. The whole world is present in Dubai, as is seen in outdoor billboards and advertising panels – ranging from the smallest to those that stretch across the facades of several of the tallest skyscrapers. Everyone is here, including Bentley and Ferrari, Burburry and Lacoste, Nokia and Sony. They have all joined in the merciless race for a share of this opulent market, a race that anyone can win in Dubai.

The hotel offers are perhaps the best in the world. One can find accommodations from 100 to 150 dollars per night at smaller hotels on the city’s outskirts, but to spend the night in the presidential suite at the Burj al Arab Hotel costs several thousand dollars.

All the world’s leading hotel chains, from the Hyatt and Intercontinental Hotel to Kempinski, have up to several hotel facilities and are continually building new ones. A newly-built hotel is trendy for several months, and then another chain completes a new facility that leads the pack for a number of months, and so on and so forth. There is, thankfully, one exception to this – the already mentioned Burj al Arab Hotel – Dubai’s landmark. This building, shaped like the sail of an Arab fishing boat, goes well beyond the boundaries of the existing hotel accommodation standard. Architect Tom Watkins succeeded in creating a facility that immediately became a symbol of Dubai. The hotel and city now seem inseparable, as if they have always co-existed. Its very construction pushed the boundaries of technology. Created on a man-made island some 280 meters from the shoreline, Burj al Arab ranks among the most complicated architectural and construction undertakings from the late 20th century. "Raising this sail" cost some $650 million from 1994-1999. The opening of the Burj al Arab marked a new standard in hotel luxury. Although it is a five-star hotel, it is informally categorized as a seven-star facility. Two features are rather telling in this respect: eight thousand square meters of the hotel’s interior is plated with 22-karat gold, and the entrance fee to tour the hotel costs $50, while the permit takes a week to obtain. The hotel has earned $80 million from entrance fees, or nearly one-eighth of its original investment.

While the Burj al Arab Hotel is rightly the symbol of Dubai, the city’s landmark could also have been the construction crane, which is omnipresent. Whichever way one looks around the city, cranes are everywhere, tirelessly lifting, lowering, moving things from one place to another, 24 hour a day. They say that manufacturers of construction cranes cannot meet the insatiable demand of these machines in Dubai and still maintain a steady supply on world markets. Mlađa Mihajlović, Jat’s representative in Dubai, says: "Anyone who has a profession or a craft and knows English is bound to find a job seven days after arriving in Dubai, even without knowing anyone in the city." I tell him I will quote him on that. "Quote me, quote me, I’m saying this for that very reason. Write it down." Apart from being the Jat Airways representative, Mihajlović is a sort of unofficial consul or diplomatic representative, if you will. Where else would Serbian citizens go if not to the Jat office to get information, assistance and advice? "According to official data, there are 5,000 Serbian citizens in Dubai; and according to unofficial data, this figure is probably closer to 15,000, making it the city with the ninth largest Serb population in the world. I have informed the Foreign Ministry about this, but at this time the conditions do not exist to open a consulate here, so our embassy in Egypt is in charge of our affairs here. I suppose there is a shortage of funds", laments Mihajlović, without bitterness.

"Things are coming along the way they are, but there should be an economic office. There is plenty of work, plenty. I suppose, at this point, work comes first," he states and asks at the same time.

"VodaVoda has been here for quite some time, and Zlatibor Voda entered the market after the recent food fair. But that is but a drop in the ocean. Do you know all the things that could be sold here, from know-how to goods? This includes anything and everything that boasts top quality and that can be supplied in a steady, uninterrupted flow."

"Do you have simpler question?", I say, trying to move away from a subject I don’t feel exactly at home discussing.

"I do. Can you imagine a Serb who doesn’t grumble, who doesn’t know the name of a single leader from Serbia’s political scene, who doesn’t think he’s the cleverest man in the world, and with whom you can have light conversation or just keep silent while drinking a beer?"

"Mlađo" I said, "A simpler, easier question…"

"Well, there is such a one, and you’re going to meet him."

And indeed, in the Palma Hotel lounge, where a solid British band played loudly on a Friday afternoon, we met Zoran Kisačanin, who left Novi Sad for Sydney in 1979. At the age of 21, he simply felt an irrepressible attraction for that city and embarked on an adventure that has yet to end. He is in applied art, and paints walling at airport buildings, hotel lobbies, the interiors of religious edifices, houses … He arrived in Dubai five years ago and has more work than he can handle. He has painted the local mansion of a Dubai sheikh, and then his other homes in London and France. He recently arrived from Europe.

Mlađa Mihajlović used to be a rocker and played in bands at the same time when Zoran Miščević put together the band Silhouette. They clearly enjoyed the band, now well past the warm-up phase, that was cranking them out classics. "Sweet Home Alabama" drew strong applause from these two vintage Serbian rockers. Afterwards, we talked about the rock scene in Serbia while sampled a variety of shell fish from the hotel buffet. And then more about the labour market in Dubai.

"There is work, for instance, for those who know how to work with drywall, as millions of square meters need to be applied, with quality and within a set deadline", says Kisačanin. He should know. He paints on drywall. I came to appreciate why Mladja enjoys the company of this jovial and smiling man. He is easygoing and cheerful. Always. And indeed, he does not think himself the cleverest man in the world, but he’s an optimist and, truly, he doesn’t have a clue about the goings-on in Serbian politics. A rare bird among Serbians.

Later, we went to a shopping mall that is especially popular – and forgive me for saying so but it’s true – among the female population. The Mall of the Emirates shopping center is the world’s third largest and is the only mall boasting an artificial 400-meter ski run. And that, my friends, in the middle of the desert. This makes things easier for husbands. They take their kids skiing while wives tour endless miles of mall. A plethora of shops offer all the expected brands, while prices are comparable to those found in Europe.

"The period of discounts is over", they tell me. "From January 15 to February 15, prices are up to 70 percent lower, and the whole world comes here to do their shopping.

No figures have been announced for this year, but merchants in Dubai earned about $17 billion during the same period last year." This number made me a bit dizzy. "How large is our country’s foreign debt?", I wondered.

Afterwards, we went for coffee to a marina where a new housing complex was about ready to go on the market. Every apartment enjoys a view of the sea, and each one is fitted in remarkable luxuriously. Did you expect otherwise? A 120-square meter apartment costs about 300,000 euros, similar to what it would cost in Belgrade’s Vračar section. Which also says something about the Belgrade real estate market. Then came time to visit the city’s gold market, where there is such an abundance of gold that one quickly forgets that gold is a precious metal.

They might as well have been selling hotcakes. Haggling is customary, and prices of mostly 22-karat gold, in all hues, are very favourable.

In the late afternoon, we drove around the residential district where Dubai’s richest residents live. Driving along miles of fenced walls that hide mansions, we occasionally caught a glimpse, for a teasing second or two, of splendours that left me speechless. The size of these yards is measured in hectares, while greenery and flowers from all corners of the globe have turned desert sand into dream-like marvels. The houses could just barely be discerned, just enough to get an impression. In all likelihood, no such thing can be found anywhere else in the world.

On the way home, the peaceful flight provided led by Captain Zoran Igrutinović as well-nigh somnolent.

Upon returning to Belgrade, I thought about our country’s favourable geographic location and the natural beauty of the landscape. Has a visionary considered this? Where is our wise sheikh?

As I drove towards the city, I listened to the news on the radio. "Negotiations on forming a new government are soon to be resumed…" Goodbye, Dubai...

Jat Airways flies for Dubai from Belgrade four times a week the year round – on Sundays, Mondays Tuesdays and Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. Return flights from the United Arab Emirates capital are scheduled at 7:30 a.m. Central European time, i.e. at 9:30 a.m. Dubai time. The Serbian national air carrier introduces a fifth weekly flight if necessary. The level of cooperation with Emirates Airlines is such that it affords Jat passengers to travel to any destination on the other side of the globe via Dubai.