There once was a sheikh with big dreams, His land was a sleepy village occupied by pearl divers, fishermen, and traders who docked their boats along a small creek. lt was here that Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed al Maktoum imagined creating a gateway to the world. It was a dream he could not afford to realize. So in 1959, he asked a neighbor to lend him many millions of dollars. He made the creek wider,built roads, schools, and homes. With his young son Mohammed by his side, he walked along the empty waterfront and painted his dream with words. And some years later, it was as he had said: he built it, and they come.
Then it was his son's turn to carry on developing his father's vision. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum transformed Dubai into an air-conditioned fantasy world of 1.5 million people. No project seemed to be too ambitious for him. He built the world's tallest skyscraper (the 2,717-foot Khalifa), the the world's biggest shopping mall, and world's largest highway intersection. He helped little Dubai become the shopping capital of the Middle East. In the last 5 years, it has attracted more tourists than India. Its most famous landmark, the Palm Jumeirah, an artificial island built in the shape of palm tree, provides vacation villas for the rich and famous.
But the financial crisis of 2008 made people think again and Dubai failed to sell many of its new luxury apartments. Up then, property in Dubai had been increasing in value and it had been easy to get people to invest. These days, investors risk losing money.