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Dubai Photo Gallery - 2. Sheikh Zayed Road and Jumeirah Mosque

In July and August 2006, we traveled to Dubai, Mount Kailash and Guge Kingdom in Tibet, Muscat, Iceland and a brief stop in London.

Dubai 05 Sheikh Zayed Road 01 World Trade Centre The first high-rise office building in Dubai was the Dubai World Trade Centre (149m, 39 floors, 1979). This tower used to dominate the skyline, but now surrounding skyscrapers dwarf it.

Dubai 05 Sheikh Zayed Road 01 World Trade Centre

Dubai 05 Sheikh Zayed Road 02 Emirates Towers The Emirates Towers are Dubai’s tallest buildings and are currently the highest in the Middle East and Europe, and some of the tallest worldwide, although they’ll soon be outgrown by the new Burj Dubai. Designed in an ultramodern internationalist style, the twin, triangular, gunmetal-grey towers on Sheikh Zayed Rd soar from an oval base.

Dubai 05 Sheikh Zayed Road 02 Emirates Towers

Dubai 05 Sheikh Zayed Road 03 Emirates Towers The taller of the two Emirates Towers on the right (355m, 54 floors, 2000) houses offices. The second Emirates Tower on the left (309m, 56 floors, 2000) is the second-tallest completed all-hotel building in the world, surpassed only by the Burj Al Arab, also in Dubai. This is balanced by the curvilinear base structure.

Dubai 05 Sheikh Zayed Road 03 Emirates Towers

Dubai 05 Sheikh Zayed Road 04 Emirates Towers Close Up The curved motif of the Emirates Towers is repeated in the upper stories of the buildings.

Dubai 05 Sheikh Zayed Road 04 Emirates Towers Close Up

Dubai 05 Sheikh Zayed Road 05 Emirates Towers Starbucks We enjoyed a Starbucks coffee at the Emirates Towers.

Dubai 05 Sheikh Zayed Road 05 Emirates Towers Starbucks

Dubai 05 Sheikh Zayed Road 06 Capricorn Tower and The Tower Across from the Emirates Towers is The Tower (243m, 54 floors, 2002). To the left is Capricorn Tower (185m, 46 floors, 2003), topped with what looks like a sun visor.

Dubai 05 Sheikh Zayed Road 06 Capricorn Tower and The Tower

Dubai 05 Sheikh Zayed Road 07 Long View Sheikh Zayed Road is a highway running parallel to the coastline from Trade Centre Roundabout to the border with the emirate of Abu Dhabi. Here is a view of the first stretch of the highway, home to many of Dubai’s skyscrapers.

Dubai 05 Sheikh Zayed Road 07 Long View

Dubai 05 Sheikh Zayed Road 08 Chelsea Tower The most striking feature of the Chelsea Tower (250m, 49 floors, 2005) building design is the white diagonal spine that stretches from the ground to its apex at a height of 230m.

Dubai 05 Sheikh Zayed Road 08 Chelsea Tower

Dubai 05 Sheikh Zayed Road 09 Chelsea Tower Top Close Up At the top of the Chelsea Tower, the two sides of the spine join to form a perfect square opening, at the centre of which suspends the 40m high needle, pushing the overall height of the tower to 250m.

Dubai 05 Sheikh Zayed Road 09 Chelsea Tower Top Close Up

Dubai 05 Sheikh Zayed Road 10 Dusit Dubai The Dusit Dubai (153m, 40 floors, 2001) is a 5-star hotel that has an inverted Y shape two pillars that join to form a tapering tower. It’s supposed to evoke the hands-joined Thai gesture of greeting, appropriate for this Thai hotel chain – although it also resembles a tuning fork stuck into the ground.

Dubai 05 Sheikh Zayed Road 10 Dusit Dubai

Dubai 05 Sheikh Zayed Road 11 New Building Under Construction Construction continues unabated in Dubai. Here is another new building nearing completion on Sheikh Zayed Road.

Dubai 05 Sheikh Zayed Road 11 New Building Under Construction

Dubai 05 Sheikh Zayed Road 12 Burg Dubai Under Construction July 2006 The Burg Dubai will be the world’s tallest building when it is completed. Here is what it looked like in July 2006.

Dubai 05 Sheikh Zayed Road 12 Burg Dubai Under Construction July 2006

Dubai 06 Jumeirah Mosque 01 Outside The Jumeirah Mosque has a massive central dome where non-Muslims can visit as part of the ‘Open Doors, Open Minds’ cultural understanding program. It is an exact copy of a mosque in Cairo that is eight times its size. This stone structure is built in the medieval Fatimid tradition with two minarets that display the subtle details in the stonework. The minaret is the tower from which the call to prayer is broadcast five times a day.

Dubai 06 Jumeirah Mosque 01 Outside

Dubai 06 Jumeirah Mosque 02 Tour Leaders The Arabic word for mosque is `masjid' (place of prostration). The holy day of the Islamic week is Friday when all Muslim men are commanded to go to the mosque for prayer (women can perform their prayers at home). The five pillars of Islam were explained by the woman, the man and the child from the ‘Open Doors, Open Minds’ cultural understanding program: Shahada (Faith), Salat (Prayers), Zakat (Alms Giving), Saum (fasting), Haj (Pilgrimage).

Dubai 06 Jumeirah Mosque 02 Tour Leaders

Dubai 06 Jumeirah Mosque 03 Ceiling In Islam it is forbidden to create any pictures of living beings (except plants), which could be worshipped. Accordingly, it is very rare to find pictures in mosques at all. Instead, the interior is usually decorated with rich ornamental patterns and Arabic calligraphy. The inside of the Jumeirah Mosque was very plain. Here is a view of the ceiling and chandelier.

Dubai 06 Jumeirah Mosque 03 Ceiling

Dubai 06 Jumeirah Mosque 04 Miihrab and Minbar The mihrab is a niche in the wall facing Mecca, indicating the qibla, the direction believers should face while praying. To the right of the mihrab is the minbar, a pulpit chair to the right of the mihrab traditionally reached by three steps, dating from the Prophet Mohammed’s time. The `imam', the one who leads the prayer, delivers the `khutba', the Friday sermon, which can deal with religious, social and political subjects.

Dubai 06 Jumeirah Mosque 04 Miihrab and Minbar


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