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Testament to Dubai’s Can-Do Spirit
Dubai has another date with history. With the opening of Burj Dubai today, the emirate has earned itself another feather in its dazzling cap.
- PUBLISHED: Mon 4 Jan 2010, 10:55 PM UPDATED: Mon 6 Apr 2015, 1:42 PM
And it’s just as well that the world’s tallest tower and architectural marvel opens its doors to the world when the emirate is celebrating another milestone in its brief but eventful history: The accession of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum as the Ruler of Dubai and his subsequent assumption of responsibilities as Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE.
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Enough has already been said about the extraordinary nature of Burj Dubai: The world’s tallest skyscraper, tallest freestanding structure, highest number of storeys and highest occupied floor and tallest service elevator in the world.
Standing over 800-metre tall, the Burj blends the magnificent Islamic architectural influences and Western design sophistication. You have to really see it to believe it. It takes your breath away.
What makes this feat truly extraordinary is the fact that Dubai has met the Burj’s completion deadline even in these troubled times (just as it did with Metro), completing it in a record time of six years.
Thus Burj Dubai is not just the tallest or grandest structure on the planet but a monument to Dubai’s never-say-die spirit and its ceaseless quest for excellence in all spheres. It’s a testament to the original vision of Shaikh Mohammad — and his equally enterprising late father — that fashioned this miracle of a city in a hostile, desolate landscape.
If Dubai, a little fishing village not long ago, is today recognised the world over as the byword for excellence and the courage to dream big, the credit doubtless goes to its farsighted leadership.
There’s decades of hard and tireless work, courage of conviction and bold vision behind Dubai’s success in turning itself into a world-class tourism market, global financial centre and regional hub of shipping, trade and commerce. In addition to all this and much more, Dubai is also a great place to live and work, a welcoming oasis of peace and stability in a volatile region.
The Burj is thus a monument to this incorrigible emirate and the country. It’s a celebration of all that Dubai and the UAE have achieved and have come to represent. This is why it’s a rare moment of pride and triumph not just for the people of the UAE but of the entire Middle East.
The 800-metre long Burj, its spire piercing the sky, sends out the message to the world that Dubai stands tall. The Burj, however, is not the peak of Dubai’s — or the UAE’s — progress and excellence. It only promises the shape of things to come.