United Arab Emirates
Dubai 3D
Welcome to the United Arab Emirates! Not long ago, Dubai was a quiet town of fishermen, pearl divers, and traders by a saltwater creek. Today it is packed with towering glass skyscrapers, a palm-tree-shaped island you can see from space, and a golden desert that starts right where the city ends.
Why is it famous?
Dubai is home to the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building any human has ever made — so tall that people at the top can watch the sun set twice in one evening!
Just offshore sits Palm Jumeirah, a man-made island shaped like a giant palm tree, built by piling millions of tons of sand and rock into the sea.
A city that grew up fast
A hundred years ago, Dubai was a small trading port where people dove for pearls and sailed wooden boats called dhows along Dubai Creek to trade spices and cloth.
When oil was discovered nearby, the city's leaders used the money to build roads, airports, and skyscrapers at an incredible pace, turning a small town into a global city in just a few decades.
Quick facts
- The Burj Khalifa is over 828 meters (2,717 feet) tall — more than twice as tall as the Eiffel Tower!
- Dubai has almost no rivers or lakes, so nearly all of its drinking water comes from turning seawater into fresh water.
- Wild camels still live in the desert just outside the city, calmly wandering the dunes not far from the skyscrapers.