The Rise of New Babylon
Man it’s hot in the desert in September…
I wake from a six hour slumber to see the map, and the city below is Tehran, Iran. There is nothing but desert for miles.
The 777 is moving quickly over the waters of the Arabian Gulf (Persian Gulf – the locals hate it being called this) towards Dubai. I (and my entire family) are quite nervous about the timing of this trip to the middle east as both September 11th and Ramadan are near. Both of these events typically are a cause for more terrorist chatter and activity.
I land in Dubai, and my team has arranged for a car service to pick me up. It is 109 when I land, and I cannot believe the heat. The sand is thick in the air, there is a strong wind blowing and all I can think is “where is the desert oasis that they are advertising?” The car is a BMW 750 and I am given cold water and a fresh towel to wipe my sweaty brow. I am told that the UAE is planning to expand the Dubai airport to accommodate six 777 aircraft landing at the same time. The driver shows me the new tower being built that dwarfs every building in the world by 40 stories. The tower is the new, world’s tallest building, and it stands at 162 stories tall. AMAZING!!!
I scan the horizon of the city and all I see are cranes. I come to learn that there are 5000 concurrent construction projects ongoing in the city at this moment. But what is dumbfounding is that there are 200 towers being built simultaneously at this moment. My father was amazed at Beijing and Shanghai as they had ton of the world’s cranes there, but that was nothing. 23% of the world’s cranes are in this new city, here, in Dubai.
As my driver game me the tour of the town, as we passed the world’s only 7 star hotel – the Burj Al Arab, the land reclamation projects that are building islands in the middle of the gulf, I could not help but think that I am seeing the rise of New Babylon. The city is nothing to see now, only a few shopping malls and some VERY high dollar automobiles, but in 5-10 years – there will be no city on the planet like it. It will have the largest airport, tallest building, and largest hospital complex, have the largest shopping mall – what city can compare? This will be the seat of the coming one-world government. Mark my words.
Again, the city was a complete construction zone, the air filled with sand, obscuring even the massive Al Arab.
I awoke on the 10th of September and packed an overnight bag. I was boarding a plane that morning to Qatar. Qatar was the site of a major military base and home to the Arab media mogul Al Jazeera. It was bizarre. Again, the heat was oppressive, there was a Mosque almost every mile, and the call to prayer seemed constant, every morning and every afternoon – sunrise, noon, afternoon, sunset. The hotel was filled with security; it was like being in a movie. I would not say it was a fearful experience, but we were looking over our shoulder at every turn. We needed a break from the hotel room, so that night we ventured out into our hotel’s “hopping” night club. It was comedic. The place was filled with Malaysian workers enjoying the sounds of the Big Night Out Band. If it were not already bad enough, we were forced to rebrand the band – BNOB! The surreal part about the whole experience was that BNOB was covering the Lynyrd Skynyrd song – Southern Man and back in Leesburg VA, Lynyrd Skynyrd was playing live. WEIRD!!!
Anyway, we made it out of Qatar unharmed and 9-11 came and went without issue. Thank you God!!! The prayers were much appreciated.
Between meetings and calls back to the U.S., my team and I were able to enjoy some well deserved R & R. We made our way to the Emirates Mall to strap on a helmet and some skis to hit the late night slopes. 9 pm and we were in the mall, ripping it up. You heard me right; we were on the ski slopes IN THE MALL. For me, it was like being home. West Edmonton Mall is a spectacle, but this too is no slouch. A full blown ski hill, complete with a quad chair lift, ski chalets, and “on the mountain” accommodation for a great après ski was here in Dubai. There is an absolute KILLER picture of me getting some major air off one of the large jumps – check it out in the photo section.
I won’t be back here anytime soon. Kuwait may be the next Middle East trip and possibly the northern horn of Africa, but not here. Just keep a close watch on this city my brothers and sisters; you know who you are…
“In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye…”