Chapter 13: Beaches & Islands
They ARE making more of it
13.09.2022 - 13.09.2022 103 °F
Chapter 13: Beaches and Man-Made Islands
September 13, 2022
Mark Twain wrote, “buy land, they’re not making it anymore.” Clearly Samuel Clemens could never have imagined what Dubai has become. Twain also said, “The man with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds.” That brings the discussion to Nakheel Properties, a subsidiary of Dubai World—a private state-owned enterprise. Nakheel conceived three artificial islands, Palm Jumeirah, Deira Island and Palm Jebel.
Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah Island—essentially a man-made palm tree shaped archipelago—was created using billions of cubic feet of sand dredged from the Persian Gulf. Desert sand was unsuitable because it dispersed rather than settled in the way ocean sand did.
Using Global Positioning System technology to get the shape right, sand was dredged, sprayed and “vibro-compacted” within millions of tons of rock to create buildable “land.” A central “trunk” connects to 17 “fronds” within a 7-mile-long crescent island which is home to even larger structures including the iconic Atlantis Hotel. All in, 40 miles of “new beach” were created. Commenced in 2001, the project first greeted new residents in 2007. Some call it an environmental disaster which created different and sometimes hostile environments for fish and reefs. What was clear water is now clouded with silt. Oyster beds are gone along with sea grass and more. In their place are an estimated 80,000 people. And the island, it is reported, may be slowly sinking, reclaimed by the sea. NASA says, “Palm Jumeirah is sinking at the rate of five millimeters per year.” For the mathematically challenged, that means that at this rate, the island will sink by one meter in the next 200 years.
The word Jumeirah translates into “burning embers” and was the name of the neighborhood that preceded the creation of Palm Island. Long ago populated by pearl divers, fishermen and traders, the beach became a residential area for expatriates coming to Dubai to work. The Chicago Beach Hotel was created ostensibly to house employees of the Chicago Bridge & Iron Company which welded giant floating oil storage tankers on the site. Now, under the perpetually sunny skies, the rich have moved in. During our entire time here, these are the only clouds that have appeared above us in a sometimes blue and sometimes hazy sky. Only this one formation in all this time. And, for close readers of this blog who may wonder whether or not the cloud seeking aircraft or drones made a rendezvous, the answer is that we don't know. We can attest that it did not rain.
Two weeks ago, The Business Standard reported this: "Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd. is the mystery buyer of an $80 million beach-side villa in Dubai, the city’s biggest ever residential property deal, two people familiar with the deal said. The property on Palm Jumeirah was purchased earlier this year for Ambani’s youngest son, Anant, one of the people said, asking not to be named as the transaction is private. The beach-side mansion sits in the northern part of the palm-shaped artificial archipelago and has 10 bedrooms, a private spa, and indoor and outdoor pools, local media reported without saying who the buyer is."
Anant Ambani, an Indian, is the son of the richest man in Asia, Mukesh Ambani. This is us at his older brother Akash's 2019 Mumbai wedding to Shloka Mehta, daughter of friends of ours. We saw Anant many times during our multi-day wedding experience; he was always surrounded by a “posse” of body guards and other hangers-on.
We are not surprised that the family made the reported $80 million dollar investment. Mukesh Ambani and his wife live in Mumbai's "Antilla," reportedly the most expensive home in the world--which allegedly cost $1 billion to build. According to The Economic Times, Reliance last year bought a Georgian-era mansion in the UK for $79 million. That property was for the bride and groom at the wedding just mentioned: Akash Ambani and Shloka Mehta. The 49-bedroom property reportedly has 14 acres of garden, a 27-hole golf course and 13 tennis courts. Should you wonder about the monied people in or around these environs, stop wondering.
On another man-made island sits the iconic Burj Al Arab which is, they tell us, 5th largest hotel in the world. We wrote about it back in Chapter 5. There is another Palm Island and still another concept known as the World Islands but they are falling into disrepair after their construction was disrupted during the 2008 financial crisis.
Our impression of the actual beaches themselves is that they are not great. The sand and the water is better than are the views and ambience. There are construction cranes everywhere and man-made breakwaters spoil many of the views. On the other hand, beaches are served by a huge number of cafes and restaurant and some are adorned with spectacular "Las Vegas-style" water fountain shows.
