Dubai Unarguably is today the world’s most talked about business and leisure destination attracting millions of visitors to the city and the nation in general annually. What many may not know is that Dubai was formerly a fishing village. A lot of massive economic transformations took place and brought it to where it’s today. If you are looking to visit Dubai, you can easily read Canadian review sites to know which companies you can patronize for the things you will need for your trip including flights and accommodation. You can start by reading about Rayna Tours and related companies to see the first to patronize.
How it started.
Minoan period (3000BCE to 5th century CE)
During the Minoan period, present-day Dubai used to be a vast mangrove swamp. By 3000BCE that swamp had dried up and become inhabitable. This gave way for Bronze Age nomadic cattle herders to be the first to settle in the area. By 2500BCE, they had established a thriving palm plantation which was the first successful agricultural activity in the area. During the fifth century CE, the present area known as Jumeirah, which is home to beautiful beachside restaurants; was a caravan station along the trade route linking Oman to present-day Iraq.
The Bani Yas tribe (1000 to 1700s)
Around 1095, the livelihood in Dubai at the time relied heavily on fishing, pearl diving, boat building, as well as providing accommodation and sustenance for traders passing through to sell gold, spices and textiles. Another milestone was in 1793 when the Bani Yas tribe settled politically with Abu Dhabi, and Dubai became a dependency.
The period is known as the walled city (1800-1832)
According to records, Dubai was a walled city in the early 1800s. However, in 1820, Britain negotiated a maritime truce with local rulers, giving rise to the opening of trade routes for business to thrive and consequently making Dubai a centre for crucial activity.
Al Maktoum dynasty (1833 to 1893)
Maktoum bin Butti of the Bani Yas tribe is said to have led his people to the Shindagha Peninsula in 1833. He settled there and declared the town’s independence from Abu Dhabi. Since then, Dubai was regarded as a fishing village and his dynasty is still ruling to date.
Expatriates invasion (1894 to 1966)
Under the Al Maktoum leadership, Dubai began to thrive remarkably. In 1894, trading in the area was given yet another boost when he granted tax exemption for expatriates. This led to a massive influx of foreign workers entering the city. Indian and Pakistani traders descended to Dubai, to take advantage of the excellent business conditions. Even when this was a reasonably successful period in Dubai, it was still wholly reliant on fishing and other old trades. And when artificial pearls were invented in Japan in the 1950s, the city suffered an economic setback. However, that didn’t last long because Dubai discovered oil in 1966.
The evolution of the present-day Dubai (1966 to present)
With the discovery of oil, the late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum began the development of Dubai. He started transforming the city from what it was known for to a modern port city and commercial hub namely: Rashid Port, Jebel Ali Port, Dubai Drydocks and as well as widening the Dubai Creek, and the Dubai World Trade Centre were a few of the major projects completed at the time. Leadership and vision led the UAE to push ahead with ambitious building and social projects. Adding all these together, in the space of half a century, Dubai exploded in growth, building modern wonders such as the Burj Al Arab and Burj Khalifa opening the economy for business and tourism.