A Blog by the Editor of The Middle East Journal

Putting Middle Eastern Events in Cultural and Historical Context

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Two Awkward Anniversaries

According to today's issue of The National, the Burj al-‘Arab hotel, a Dubai landmark (though the world's tallest building, now under construction, the Burj Dubai, literally dwarfs it), is celebrating its 10th anniversary today (and tomorrow is the UAE's National Day). Given Dubai's current financial crisis, the celebrations of both may be muted, at least in Dubai. (Is anything ever actually muted in Dubai, though?)

Why I haven't written more on Dubai: mostly because it hit over the holiday, but also because other people are doing a better job of this. Financial markets aren't my strength, so I again refer you to Suq al-Mal the blog, to the Gulf and international business papers, etc. Anything I say would be little more than repeating what I've read elsewhere. Obviously I hope they and the other Gulf economies can weather the crisis.

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