What to do in Al Awir

Burj Khalifa rises up from the sands of the desert to a total height of 2,723 feet (829.8 meters). The world’s tallest building is an incredible feat of engineering that took six years and 22 million man-hours to build.

Dubai Mall is a colossal shopping center, home to more than 1,200 stores, over 200 restaurants and cafés, and the world’s largest indoor gold souk. The leisure attractions include an aquarium, an Olympic-sized ice rink, an indoor theme park and a 22-screen cinema. These attractions are spread over 5.9 million square feet (550,000 square meters) of space on four floors.

Dubai Creek is the natural seawater inlet from the Arabian Gulf that divides the city in two. On the northeast side is Deira Dubai and on the southwest, Bur Dubai. The creek has played a major role in Dubai’s history, originally facilitating trade with India and Africa and providing safe haven for trading ships.

Go for a walk down the narrow streets and alleyways of the Gold Souk, where row upon row of shop windows are filled with gold, platinum and diamonds. Hundreds of stores sell everything from tiny precious stones and pearls, to heavy golden bracelets and necklaces. Most of the jewelry is between 21 and 24 carat, and nothing is less than 18 carat.

The Dubai Fountain is the world’s largest dancing fountain. It sends powerful jets of water more than 500 feet (150 meters) into the air, accompanied by music and illuminated by laser projections and thousands of lights. It was designed by the creators of another world-famous fountain show, at the Bellagio hotel and casino in Las Vegas.