Palm Jumeirah, UAE. Description of the artificial Palm Island in Dubai. Artificial islands in dubai Holiday accommodation options
Palm Jumeirah is the largest artificial island on Earth, a real miracle created by man. With its outlines, it repeats a palm tree (trunk and 16 symmetrically arranged leaves), which is surrounded by a crescent-shaped breakwater to protect it from the destructive effects of waves. The island has a huge number of luxurious private villas, hotels, skyscrapers, shopping and entertainment centers, parks, beach clubs.
Palm Jumeirah is located in the United Arab Emirates, on the shores of the Persian Gulf near the coast of Dubai. By the way, this is one of the three islands of the Palm Islands complex, which increases the coastline of the emirate of Dubai by 520 km. And although Palm Jumeirah is smaller than Palm Jebel Ali and Palm Deira, it was the first to be created and thanks to this it has become the "calling card" of the UAE.
You need to visit the United Arab Emirates, in particular Dubai, at least to see the Palm Jumeirah and appreciate what talented people, knowledge and money can create.
History of the Palm Jumeirah
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum The idea to create a unique man-made island in the Persian Gulf belongs to the UAE Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. This idea came to him back in the 1990s, when there was no suitable place for building new buildings on plots of land near the sea coast of the Emirate of Dubai. The construction of a miracle island, designed to increase the coastline of the emirate with a view to the subsequent development of tourism, was launched in 2001.
For the construction, 94,000,000 m³ of sand and 5,500,000 m³ of stone were used - in such a volume of material would be enough to build a wall 2.5 meters high along the equator of the entire globe. The main difficulty was that the sand from the deserts of the UAE turned out to be unsuitable for the construction of an artificial embankment: it is very small, and because of this, water easily washed it away. Incredible efforts were expended to lift tons of sand from the seabed and deliver it to the coast of the emirate. When creating a sand embankment, neither cement nor steel reinforcements were needed - the whole structure is held only by its own weight. However, this unique project has proved its viability as the Palm Jumeirah has been successfully operating since 2006.
“Palm crown” – this is how “Palm Jumeirah” is translated, and the photo from a height clearly shows that the outlines of the man-made embankment completely repeat the silhouette of a palm tree. Interestingly, the choice of this form is explained not only by the fact that the palm tree is a symbol of the emirate of Dubai. Just with a relatively small diameter of 5.5 km, the trunk has 16 branches-leaves with a total coastline of 56 km - if the island had a round shape, this figure would be 9 times less. The artificial island is surrounded by a crescent-shaped breakwater that stretches for 11 km. To strengthen the protection of the island, and at the same time to attract divers to the coast of the emirate, all this splendor was supplemented with a coral reef with two sunken F-100 aircraft.
Attractions of the resort area
Tourists visiting the resorts of Dubai (UAE) are offered a wide variety of leisure options: relaxing on the beaches, diving courses, walking on the sea, helicopter flights, all kinds of entertainment at hotels, classes in fitness clubs, visiting SPA centers, excursions to museums and much more.
Rest by the sea
The most pleasant and comfortable weather conditions for relaxing on the sea coast on the Palm Jumeirah are observed in mid-autumn. This is the time of the "velvet" season in the emirate of Dubai, when the water temperature in the Persian Gulf is kept at +20 - +23 ° C, when it will be nice to sunbathe under the sun and hide in the shade of a beach umbrella.
The coast of Jumeirah is a series of beach areas covered with snow-white soft sand, with clear water, with convenient and comfortable descents into the water. There are different beaches here:
- free, which can be visited by both residents of Dubai and tourists who have arrived in the UAE;
- private, belonging to a certain residential complex or hotel - as a rule, the entrance to them is closed;
- paid public parks-beaches.
Jumeirah Public Beach Of the public beaches, it is worth highlighting Jumeirah Public Beach, which is located near the Dubai Marina Hotel and the Jumeirah Mosque. Although not equipped, it is very spacious and clean.
Among the beaches belonging to hotels, you need to pay attention to the beach of the Atlantis Hotel. After all, not only Atlantis guests can relax on it, but also vacationers who decide to visit the Aquaventure water park. Access to this private beach is included in the price of the entrance ticket to the water park.
There is a Shoreline beach on the island, which belongs to the eponymous residential complex of 20 skyscrapers. It is noteworthy that the entrance to the Shoreline is allowed not only to people from the area, but also to ordinary tourists. The residential complex is guarded, thanks to which the rest there is completely safe.
Vacation accommodation options
The Palm Jumeirah in Dubai has many world-class hotels, some of which rank among. Dubai is a luxury resort designed for wealthy vacationers, respectively, the prices here are high.
Visitors to booking.com. offer more than 100 interesting settlement options.
And now a few words about the most famous hotels in Dubai and the UAE.
Atlantis The Palm 
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How to get to Palma
The famous resort is located in the Persian Gulf off the coast of Dubai, and it is from Dubai that you need to get there.
The most convenient and fastest way to get to Palm Jumeirah is by rented car or taxi. From Dubai International Airport, you can drive there in 30 minutes, but during peak hours there are usually small traffic jams in those places where tour groups stop for photography.
Directly on the territory of the resort, you can move both by taxi and by high-speed train along the monorail. The monorail starts at the Gateway Towers station (this is at the very beginning of the "trunk" of Palma), the total length is almost 5.5 km. The standard interval between flights is 15 minutes, the total travel time from the initial to the final stop (there are 4 in total) is 15 minutes. Monorail operating hours: daily from 8:00 to 22:00.
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Palm Jumeirah Issues
Although the island is very beautiful, environmentalists in the UAE and around the world are excited about the changes taking place in the flora and fauna of the Persian Gulf. In response to multiple demands to make the life of the inhabitants of the sea waters safe, the authorities of the emirate of Dubai have built artificial reefs off the coast and plan to supply energy to all artificial islands from environmentally friendly sources.
The presence of a breakwater also creates certain problems. It is extremely important for protection against waves, but at the same time it leads to stagnation of water in the bays and provokes the appearance of an unpleasant smell from it. The UAE government has made a number of attempts to solve this problem, but the desired result has not yet been obtained.
There is another important question: "How long can such a huge, but too fragile mound, which is affected by climate change, as well as menacing waves washing sand out of it, stand for long?" The authors of the project argue that over the next 800 years there is no need to worry, and persuade investors to buy a “piece” of amazing real estate in the emirate. Moreover, changes have been made to the legislation of the emirate, allowing any person to purchase real estate here with absolute ownership.
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Many have heard on TV about the construction of three islands in the Persian Gulf. In 2008 the architects created the fourth island. Now let's learn more about each of them. All peninsulas (connected to the coast) are shaped like palm trees, which are considered the national trees in the United Arab Emirates. On each of the palms, a crescent moon is visible from above. It has several meanings. Firstly, the crescent is a symbol of all Muslims, and secondly, on the peninsulas they play the role of breakwaters. Barrier reefs have also been created for 100% protection. Surprisingly, the reefs repeat Arabic inscriptions - quotes from works written by the ruler of Dubai.
The ruler of Dubai, Mohammed, personally supervises all stages of construction. How did it all start? Everyone knows that the entire economy of the UAE is based on oil production. But the sheikhs were not satisfied with this alignment. Therefore, Dubai began to turn into the best resort in the world. If you look at the whole situation from the outside, it is clearly seen that finances are not spent in vain. Dubai is considered to be one of the most fashionable tourist destinations in the world today.
Palm islands have conquered the world with their uniqueness. This is the only project of its kind in the world, on which more than $7 million has been spent. An interesting fact is that the Palm Islands, second only to the Wall of China, are visible in space.
Jumeirah Island
The very first was the Palm Jumeirah (2001). It is a trunk with a top of 17 branches. Crescent - breakwater has a length of 11 km. It is planned to build 28 hotels on it. The project has been implemented for five years. The main buildings were built and the infrastructure was formed. To date, the construction of residential buildings and landscaping of the Island is underway. 1,400 mansions and 2,500 apartments have already been commissioned in the first phase. There are plans to build 32 hotels. The most popular place on Jumeirah was the Atlantis complex. It consists of two huge towers, between which a bridge is laid. The length of the beaches is 78 kilometers. The construction of villas and mansions has not yet been completed, but most of them have already been sold out. The island is very popular among residents of the UK. Jumeirah can be called an elite place. Many celebrities consider it a huge success to buy property here. Immediately after the buildings were settled in the first stage, the problem arose of delivering residents to their homes. But today it was successfully solved by moving people on a special airship and along a monorail. Despite its size, this palm tree was the smallest of the four.
Jebel Ali Island
The project began to be implemented a year after Jumeirah Island. Jebel Ali is 50 percent larger than her sister and has an unusual shape. There are no real estate sales yet, as it will take quite a long time to wait. Therefore, they plan to focus on recreation and tourism here. A large number of houses and villas for tourists are planned to be built on Jebel Ali. Also in the project is the creation of houses for individual orders. According to forecasts, 1.7 million people will be able to live simultaneously on the Island in 2020. Now infrastructure is being built first. Residential buildings will be built last. It is planned to build four recreation parks on the crescent. In one of them, a marine aquarium will be erected, where it will be possible to watch whales, dolphins and other inhabitants of the sea. Jebel Ali is located 20 kilometers from Jumeirah. You can get there by boat. The designers want to build a road line between the Islands, which will connect not only the Islands, but also the Dubai shopping center.
Deira Island
In 2004, construction began on the Palm of Deira. This project plans to build the largest man-made Island in the world. He is many times larger than the size of his older sisters. The designers calculated that by the end of construction, a million people could live on the Island. Deira consists of a rather thick trunk and 41 branches. The top is also bordered by a breakwater - a crescent. Due to the large scale, the construction was divided into several stages.
Mir Island
This is the last project for now. It was completed in 2008. Why Mir? The project consists of 300 islands, repeating the outlines of different world countries. Together, they make up a whole world map. You can see it, of course, only from a great height. Mir is located near Palms. Each Island embodies the traditions of the country it depicts. So this complex is a small copy of the world. There is all the infrastructure necessary for a person, villas and houses have been built. Flowers are blooming and trees are growing all around. "Mir" is a corner of paradise on Earth. The ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed, conceived to build such a large-scale project. Officially, the construction is carried out by a Dubai company, but in fact, foreign construction companies run everything. The only way to get to the Islands is by air and water. But that's not such a problem. After all, if a person can afford to buy a house for 20 million, then it is quite possible that he will buy himself either a yacht or a helicopter. Tourists will also be able to visit the Islands on a high-tech airship of the latest design.
Cons of the Palm Islands
Unlike the creators, biologists do not share the enthusiasm for such large buildings in the bay. There are fears that the construction will negatively affect the flora and fauna. The Dubai government listens to the opinions of scientists and tries to create favorable living conditions for aquatic life.
How is the construction on the water going?
Singapore, China and even Holland have stepped forward in capturing part of the reservoirs for construction. But surpassing Dubai in this regard is quite difficult. The impressive sight and completely artificial archipelago of Palm Jumeirah - the birthplace of the fabulously wealthy - is built on 110 million cubic meters of sand taken from the sea.
Palm Jumeirah was conceived as an idea for additional enrichment of the UAE. Jumeirah Island in Dubai, built in the form of a palm tree, has gained fame as a superstructure, the appearance of which in the Persian Gulf is considered a miracle. The possibility of its creation was questioned even by the engineers who worked on this project. But, despite this, everything possible was done to make it a monument of luxury living for the whole world. The construction of Palm Island began after the first conquest of nature by man in Dubai - the construction of the dream hotel Burj Al Arab, which is a tower on an artificial island, located 300 meters from the coast.
The fact is that there was a certain problem for mass tourism, since the coastline suitable for recreation was only 72 km. Sheikh Mohammed decided to build an island off the coast, designed to increase several times the natural coastline of the coast. Thus, the idea was born to create an island in the form of a palm tree as a symbol of a paradise in the world. In addition, a big plus of this form was the increase in the coastline by as much as 56 km compared to the traditional round island.
The epic construction began in 2001 and was scheduled to finish in 2006.
During this period, an island was to be built in the sea, where luxury hotels, villas and shopping centers would be built. Such a task seemed very daring, but not for Sheikh Mohammed. He was not stingy at all and invested a lot of money in the work of the best consultants from around the world, as well as paying for the ever-increasing needs of construction. Mohammed's idea was to build an island from natural materials, using sand and stones, rather than reinforced concrete structures. Such requirements created additional difficulties for builders. Every day they had to fight against natural forces, as the water mercilessly washed away the stones and sand that were poured to build the island. Extensive research has been done on the effects of tides, rogue waves, storms, and even global warming. Concerns for the creators of such a project were also caused by the so-called Shamal storm that occurs in these places.
Interestingly, the rock and sand for the construction of the island could be enough to build a wall 2.5 meters high, which would encircle the globe
Dutch engineers were attracted to build all the necessary structures, since Holland had already managed to recapture 35% of its territory from the sea. Construction work went well until the World Trade Center towers in the United States were attacked by terrorists. As a result, the flow of tourists to the Middle East has abruptly stopped. Beaches, hotels and restaurants were empty, but no one began to suspend work on the creation of the Palm Jumeirah. Moreover, the project specialists were determined to leave at any moment.
To protect against the damaging effects of the waves, Palm Island had to be protected by breakwaters. For their construction, tons of sand and stones were poured onto the bottom of the Persian Gulf, including huge blocks weighing about 6 tons mined from 16 quarries throughout the UAE. They are supported only by their mass and are not held together by either iron or concrete. Each meter of the breakwater is carefully checked by divers to prevent the destruction of this protection. This powerful barrier from waves of length 11.5 kilometers rises to 3 meters in height. During its construction, the builders encountered the Shamal storm, which raged for 3 weeks in 2002. They had no choice but to see if the still unfinished breakwater could withstand the load. This simple led to a creative decision - to continue to build a separate breakwater and the palm island itself. Such work was quite difficult, because without a ready-made breakwater, the island was defenseless against the destructive effects of the sea.
Construction site on the Palm Jumeirah, Dubai The construction was further complicated by the fact that it was important to observe the given outlines of the island, which was not so easy, because the branches of the palm tree are bent into a complex shape and it was very easy to go astray. But this was helped by Dubai's access to the world's only private artificial satellite, which constantly took pictures during the work, so that the drawing of the island and the outlines of the palm tree were correct. Many unexpected problems arose during the work. For example, it turned out that the water near the island stagnates, and this was unacceptable on a paradise island. The solution was found quickly and two breaks were made in the breakwater, allowing the water to be renewed.
The world's first artificial Palm Island grew in the Persian Gulf in 2 years. It took a few more years to build 4,500 hotels, buildings and shopping centers. The process was not even hindered by two strong earthquakes that occurred not far from the construction site with a tremor force of about 6 points.
It was assumed that the island of Jumeirah will be inhabited by 120 thousand people, however, after the presentation of the finished project to the public, all the houses were sold out in 3 days
For the sake of celebrities and the richest people on the planet, it was decided to increase the number of buildings. This did not go unnoticed by nature - an island artificially appeared in the bay affected the coastline of the mainland. The wave movements here have changed and there is a real danger that it will be washed out, so the creators have to monitor the sand constantly.
Jumeirah inspired the sheikh to build two more of the same islands in the form of a palm tree, which, together with other structures, extended the coast of Dubai from 72 km to 1,500 km.
With all the luxury and construction costs, Palm Island and other structures built on the water make environmentalists worry. They argue that such environmental disturbances wreak havoc on marine organisms and their habitats, as well as destroying coral reef food for fish. Building on water also carries risks for residents, as these layers are not as stable as solid ground. Recently, there have been reports that the Dubai Palm Jumeirah is actually sinking. And yet, in the near future, progress may go even further and even more luxurious underwater houses may appear in the UAE. The Water Discus Hotel off the coast of Dubai will consist of a submerged and surface disc, which will be connected by a vertical shaft. But how all this will affect the oceans and underwater ecosystems remains to be seen.
Dubai, a city that 50 years ago was a poor relative in the family of the UAE, today has become the most progressive and fastest growing metropolis in the world. The financial impetus to such lightning-fast development was given by the discovery of its own oil fields in the emirate in 1966. This fateful event helped turn the fishing village into a world investment and tourist center. But today, income from oil production and sales is only 5% of GDP, and the vast budget of the emirate is formed mainly through investment, real estate sales, trade and tourism.
Rebuilding the city, the sheikhs did not waste time on trifles. Intoxicated by their petrodollars, they enthusiastically began to ennoble their native lands. When looking at the modern appearance of Dubai, it is immediately clear that this magnificence is nothing but a mixture of indefatigable imagination and huge money.
In 2000, the Dubai authorities thought that they seemed to have everything, but there was not enough space. So they decided to create islands in the Persian Gulf. The result of these noble plans was a conglomeration of artificial objects, the largest of which was the Palm Jumeirah.
Jumeirah artificial islands - the most ambitious engineering and financial project
The legendary creation is the hero of many sections of the Guinness Book of Records, the largest artificial island in the world. The project added even more global fame to the emirate of Dubai and increased the length of the beach strip by more than 56 km (which is 9 times more than it was before construction). Also, almost 520 km of land went under the construction of the most expensive real estate in the Middle East, which, by the way, was sold out before the end of construction.
The main initiator of the Jumeirah Islands mega-project was Sheikh Mohammed, the ruler and absolute monarch of Dubai. And the Nakhil company, a state government developer, and hundreds of specially hired design specialists were engaged in the calculations themselves and their implementation. The shape of the future island of Palm Jumeirah (United Arab Emirates) was not only a fantasy decision, but also the result of careful calculations, which made it possible to place a maximum of villas on it and extend the beach line. In addition, the choice of the shape of the island contains ideological overtones, because the date palm is a symbol of Dubai, and the object itself has the full name Palm Jumeirah, or "crown of a palm tree."
How was the Palm Jumeirah built?
The construction of the island began in 2001, and already in 2006, the first buildings began to be erected. In 2008, the first huge Atlantis The Palm 5* hotel was opened. To create a solid soil, ordinary sand, which you “at least eat with a spoon” in the desert around Dubai, was not suitable. Sea sand was extracted from the bottom of the Persian Gulf by drying. The material was compacted by special machines with the help of continuous vibrations. The shallow waters off the coast of Palm Jumeirah are not very prone to storms, but nevertheless the island was surrounded by a 3.5-meter protective breakwater built from rock. The location of each pebble in the mound was determined by a computer.
In total, 94 million m 3 of sand, 5.5 million m 3 of rock stones, 10 years of work of 49 thousand workers and 52 billion dollars went into the creation of the island. If we sum up the entire volume of sand that was required to create the Palm Jumeirah (United Arab Emirates), then it would be enough to build a stable wall 2.5 meters high and commensurate with the length of the equator.
Palm Jumeirah - modern oriental fairy tale
Palm Jumeira is very reminiscent of something unreal and impossible. It seems that he is fantastic, descended from the pages of books by Lewis Carroll or Jules Verne. Many, seeing the artificial island of Palm Jumeirah, consider it the embodiment of oriental fantasies from the Thousand and One Nights fairy tales. In principle, this is quite understandable - they could not build up an island worth more than 50 billion dollars in the style of Khrushchev's high-rise buildings. The ostentatious splendor bordering on insanity suits the style of this grandiose island very well. The most famous hotel, Atlantis the Palm, which is located on the breakwater, is decorated in the style of legends about the lost kingdom of Atlantis.
Palm Jumeirah is also a modern investment tale. Back in 2003, the leadership of Dubai revised many legislative dogmas and made fateful decisions to expand the investment and real estate market. Since then, Dubai has become an "investment chrysalis". In addition to the national finances born from "black gold", millions of European and American currencies went to the emirate. And when the well-known September 11 terrorist attack took place in the United States, many decided to hide their finances in the Arab market, which was more reliable and profitable at that time.
Properties on Palm Jumeirah
In Dubai, especially in the prestigious Palm Jumeirah area, the most attractive and status real estate market in the eastern region, if not on the entire continent. Even before the end of the construction of the artificial island, most of the villas had already been sold. However, today some branches of Palma are still overgrown with new villas.
Housing in Dubai became an attractive market unit only after the authorities of the emirate made an unprecedented decision in 2003 - they gave foreign buyers the right to full ownership of the purchased property. Thus, Dubai has become the only city in the Persian Gulf where the purchase of real estate is a completely transparent procedure that is protected by international and national law.
Hotels, entertainment centers and attractions Palm Jumeirah
Only after the construction of infrastructure facilities, roads and hotels on the trunk of a palm tree, the island took on a completed look and the already familiar outlines of the Palm Jumeirah resort. The description of the area as "the city of the future" is by no means an exaggeration. Jumeirah is indeed a very high-tech and extremely prestigious region. It should be noted that Jumeirah is not only the name of an artificial island, but the entire area of the city, including beaches and hotels near Palma. There are 25 prohibitively expensive hotels on the island itself.
Also on the island of Palm Jumeirah there are world-famous shopping centers Jumeirah Town Center and Mercato Mall, which is decorated in the Renaissance style.
Immutable must-haves for visiting tourists with children are the Aquaventure water park (one of the largest in the world) and The Dolphin Bay dolphinarium, located in the Atlantis Hotel.
Palm Jumeirah: how to get to attractions?
Today, the "Palm District" is not only the center of a beautiful, rich life, but also an important sightseeing object. Many tourists go to Jumeirah just to see, visit malls or entertainment centers.
Palma can be reached by the highway that connects the island to the mainland, or by the monorail that rises above the road. This road is a great way to get to the facilities on the island and enjoy the fabulous view.
Some palm branches are connected by underground tunnels. All hotels on the island have helipads.
Followers of Palm Jumeirah, or Future Construction Projects of Dubai
The existing grandiose fame of the city of Dubai is probably not enough, so the fantasies of sheikhs and architects will not soon reach their climax. The government plans even more extravagant projects, including several artificial archipelagos, a bulk prototype of the solar system called The Universe, Lilypad - a floating city of the future, and an environmental planetary center.
To leave lines on the water requires insight.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
We were lucky enough to witness the implementation of a grandiose project of the 21st century, which can rightly be called the eighth wonder of the world. This is a man-made archipelago of artificial islands in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) under the general name "Palm Islands in Dubai" (Palm Islands in Dubai, or in short - The Palms). Surely, most of us have already heard about the construction of three islands in the Persian Gulf - Palm Jumeirah, Palm Jebel Ali and Palm Deira. In addition to this "trilogy", in January 2008 another archipelago was completed off the coast of the Emirates called "The World", imitating the outlines of the continents of the planet Earth, but we will talk about it a little later.
So, the islands, or rather the peninsulas (since they are connected to the coastline) are made in the form of date palms traditional for Arab countries (by the way, very revered in Islam). Each island is crowned with a crescent moon at the top. It performs the function of a breakwater and at the same time is a Muslim symbol. Also, the islands are surrounded by protective barrier reefs. At the Palm Jebel Ali, they are inscriptions in Arabic, namely, quotes from the poems of the ruler of Dubai, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum:
“In order to leave lines on the water, insight is needed; Great people set themselves great goals. Draw wisdom from the one who has it; Not everyone on a horse is a rider."
"Take wisdom from the wise, It takes a man of vision to write on water, Not everyone who rides a horse is a jockey, Great men rise to greater challenges."
It is he, the absolute monarch of the Emirate of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed, who is in charge of all this amazing construction. Actually, it is known that the economy of the UAE is based on oil. And 3% of all oil reserves of the emirates are located in Dubai. But the sheikhs of Maktoum did not want to put up with such a situation, realizing that the entire economy should not be based on oil alone. And so they began to make Dubai the best tourist resort in the world. And even now we can say that they competently disposed of the money received from natural resources. It is expected that when all the currently planned islands of Dubai are built, this will add more than half a thousand additional kilometers of territory.
Palm Islands became the first major projects that conquered the world with their uniqueness - the state company Al Nakheel Properties, their construction cost $ 7 billion.
By the way, the Palm Islands is the second man-made structure on Earth (along with the Great Wall of China) that can be seen from the moon with the naked eye. They have become a symbol not only of the city of Dubai, but of all the Arab Emirates. Especially after their picture was taken by Russian cosmonauts from the ISS station.
The Palm Jumeirah project was launched first in June 2001. Palm Jumeirah consists of a "trunk", from which 17 "branches" extend, forming a crown. The breakwater that protects the island from waves at sea has a length of 11 km. It took 7 million cubic meters to create it. m. sand. There will be 28 hotels on the crescent surrounding the island. The total area of the island is 25 sq. km.
In 2006, the main work on the construction and formation of the infrastructure of Palma was completed. Then the newly appeared islanders were able to see their possessions. Currently, work is in full swing on the construction of residential buildings and landscaping. After the completion of the first stage of construction on the Palm Jumeirah, about 1,400 villas have already been built, 11 in each of the “branches” and about 2,500 apartments located in 20 buildings located in the eastern part of the “trunk”. There are plans to build 32 hotels on Jumeirah. The main attraction and dream for tourists is the Atlantis complex, consisting of two pompous towers connected by a bridge. Palm Jumeirah can be proud of 78 km. magnificent beaches.
Most of the villas are currently sold out. Special demand for "marine" real estate is in the UK. Buying a home on Jumeirah is sought not only by celebrities, but also by wealthy inhabitants. Currently over 500 villas are occupied.
The problem of delivering tourists and islanders to Palma is practically solved. It is planned to carry out movement on ultra-modern airships of the Skyship 600 model, as well as launch a 5.5 km long monorail. The latter will start functioning already in April 2009 and will connect the city with the palm island, and tests of the monorail in real operating conditions will begin in October this year.
Monorail cars from Japan will run on the line. The system is fully automatic, however, the driver will be constantly present in the cab. It is planned to transport up to 2.4 thousand passengers per hour in one direction in 4 separate trains, each of which consists of 3 cars. At the same time, the monorail will be integrated with the Dubai Metro.
Palm Jumeirah is the smallest in comparison with sisters - Jebel Ali and Deira.
Following Jumeirah, in October 2002, the Palm Jebel Ali project was launched. Jebel Ali is larger than Jumeirah by about 40-50% and has a more exotic shape. While the sale of real estate on this island is sluggish - supply exceeds demand. Most likely, this is due to the fact that before the completion of all construction work, you need to wait several years, and rich people do not want to rest at a construction site. It is possible that the main bet in Jebel Ali will have to be made on tourism, and not on private housing.
More than 1,000 bungalows will be erected on the "second palm" of the waterfront, supported by Polynesian-style pilings. It is planned to build more than 2,000 villas of different layouts. To attract wealthy investors, even the creation of houses on individual projects is proposed. It is predicted that the so-called "palm" of Jebel Ali by 2020 will accommodate about 1.7 million inhabitants. The infrastructure is currently under construction. Residential complexes will be built last. At 30.000 sq. m. it is planned to rebuild a complex of buildings made of glass and concrete, which in shape will resemble the sails of yachts. The crescent surrounding Palm Jebel Ali will host 4 theme parks - SeaWorld, Aquatica, Busch Gardens and Discovery Cove.
Here it is planned to build the first marine aquarium in the region, where world-class water attractions will be demonstrated, where you can watch dolphins, killer whales and other inhabitants of the underwater world. The Sea Village will become one of the most visited tourist destinations in the Middle East.
The Palm Jebel Ali is approximately 22 kilometers and 17 minutes by boat from the Palm Jumeirah. It is assumed that a separate road junction will lead to the island, through which it will be possible to get to Palma directly from Shaikh Zayed Road. This is the central street connecting the Dubai Mall and the capital Abu Dhabi - it has 5 lanes in each direction and stretches for 55 km.
The first 27 km were built between 1993 and 1998. Shaikh Zayed Road is the most important highway in Dubai. It connects with such highways as Al Ain Road (Al Ain Highway), Hatta Road (Hata Highway), Emirates Road (Emirates Circuit Highway), and others. To facilitate the flow of cars - and it reaches 200,000 cars daily - 13 junctions have been created on this central street.
The construction of the Palm Deira started in October 2004. Deira is planned to be eight times the size of the Palm Jumeirah and five times the size of the Palm Jebel Ali. This project is the largest and longest-term one. After its completion, the “third palm” will become the largest man-made island in the history of mankind, which will serve as a habitat for 1 million people. The work is planned to be fully completed by 2015, however, due to the large volumes and costs, most likely, the significant date will again be postponed for several years.
Deira is an exotic palm tree with a wide, massive "trunk" and 41 branches. The anthropogenic structure is crowned with a crescent - a breakwater. Due to the size of the object, its construction was divided into several stages. Deira island will be located between Dubai Creek and Al Hamria Port. Palm Deira is designed to revive the old district of the same name in Dubai.
"The World" (The World)
And, finally, the last to date, the island project of the Arab sheikhs called The World. Its construction was completed on January 10, 2008. These are 300 man-made islands, each of which is a mini-copy of one of the countries. Together they form a geographical map of the world, which can be seen from a bird's eye view. The complex is located a few kilometers from the coast, between the Palm Islands. The archipelago does not just repeat the shape and outlines of the continents - each of the islands corresponds to the national color and traditions of the country it symbolizes. Thus, the Mir complex will indeed become a miniature copy of the globe. An improved copy, because the idea of creating the most comfortable living conditions here will be brought to perfection. Comfortable villas, developed infrastructure, serene landscapes around, parks and lakes. All islands are up for sale. The offer is really tempting: to live in personal Cuba or in Africa. Therefore, the excitement around The World does not subside.
The idea to build a "copy of the globe" belongs to the ruler of Dubai, one of the most influential and richest people in the world, already mentioned at the beginning of our story, Sheikh Mohammed. Officially, the construction is carried out by the same Nakheel company, but in reality, foreign contractors hired by the Dubai government are more involved in the construction of the islands. The materials for the islands are local. The sand for the islands was taken from the Persian Gulf, the rock mass was also mined in the UAE.
The World archipelago is located 4 kilometers from the coast of Dubai. Communication between the islands of the "Mir" and the continent is supposed to be only by water and air. Recall that the Palms will be connected to the coastline of the metropolis through bridges. However, this difficulty does not particularly worry the newly-minted owners of the islands, the rich man, who allowed himself to buy a plot of "water paradise" for 20-40 million dollars, is quite capable of buying a yacht, or even a helicopter. Delivery of tourists to the islands is planned to be carried out on the latest models of airships, as well as pleasure ships (ferries).
At present, for the most part, the large islands are sold out, for example, "Australia", "New Zealand", "Ireland". There were also buyers for Finlandia and Brunei, which investors plan to turn into capitals of luxury and fashion. "Greenland" was ranked among his possessions by Sheikh Maktoum, who built a luxurious villa surrounded by tropical gardens on its territory.
Nakheel has retained the right to dispose of 20 islands located in the "North America" of the Mir archipelago. This resort was called "Coral Islands". Here it is planned to build magnificent hotels, parking for yachts, as well as picturesque villages.
The other side of luxury
Unlike the builders and ideological inspirers of the sculpture of the islands, environmentalists are not very happy about such serious changes taking place in the waters of the Persian Gulf. Concerns have been repeatedly expressed about the negative impact of artificial islands on the flora and fauna of the coastal zone. Skeptics say that the islands can upset the natural balance, and increased use of the Persian Gulf bay will lead to its pollution. It should be noted that the government of Dubai listens to the remarks of the “greens”, since it is itself interested in the development of the tourism industry. In particular, artificial reefs are arranged around the islands, on which favorable conditions are created for the living of marine life. Desalination and water purification stations will be installed on the central islands of The World archipelago. It is planned to use environmentally friendly energy sources.
The next snag faced by the authors of The World project is stagnant water in the bays of the archipelago. It is difficult to deal with this, because. the complex of islands is framed by a 26-kilometer breakwater 4 meters high, which, undoubtedly, makes it safe, but interferes with the renewal of water.
There are a number of other concerns that torment potential buyers - in particular, the reliability and durability of artificial islands. A number of experts believe that as a result of climate change on Earth and an increase in the water level in the World Ocean, in half a century, anthropogenic land areas will be plunged into the abyss. Supporters of the project refute these statements, "reassuring" investors that their holdings will remain afloat for at least 800 years.
The construction of The World archipelago, however, as well as its sisters Palms: Jumeirah, Deira and Jebel Ali caused a flurry of emotions in the world community. A number of critics call Dubai's projects pompous and overly ambitious, especially against the backdrop of a looming food crisis and the catastrophic plight of developing countries. However, the Emirates, whose standard of living is one of the highest in the world, do not stop these statements at all, but rather, on the contrary, encourage them to implement more and more extravagant projects.