Sharks Get Violent at Dubai Mall Aquarium

by Josh Lew on

Come shop in the mall recently built in the shadow of the Dubai Burj, the world’s tallest building. You will enjoy over 1,200 of the world’s finest shops and a huge, glittery gold market…and see a 10-million liter aquarium in which divers and small fish are ravaged by gigantic sharks.

The aggressive sharks are part of a 33,000 specimen tank at the 12-million-square-foot Dubai Burj Mall. The tank includes an acrylic tunnel that people can walk through and gaze up at the aquatic life. The mall’s grand opening was marred when the large sand sharks attacked and killed nearly 40 smaller sharks. I doubt that the mall’s goal was to remind people of the casual brutality of nature before they began browsing through the world’s largest gold market. I’m sure the goal was spectacle, but naturally aggressive sand sharks do not mix well with other sharks in a closed environment. Divers performing maintenance on the interior of the tank have also been attacked, though no fatalities have been reported.

Dubai Metro to feature the worlds first corporate branded station names

by Scott Carmichael on

Nowhere in the world is anyone working harder on their infrastructure than in Dubai. Mall after mall is being erected, new office buildings are breaking world records, and when they run out of land, they simply build out into the ocean.

One thing missing so far, was a large public transit system. That is set to change in 2009 when the first portion of the new Dubai Metro opens.

Of course, nothing in Dubai is done partially, so they are working on not one, but two separate lines. The Metro Red line is 50 kilometers with 35 stations and the Metro Green line is 20 kilometers with 22 stations.

The Metro will run using driverless automated trains and links most major locations in Dubai, including the airport, the American university and the city center.

Dubai would not be Dubai if they missed another opportunity to be first with something, so the Metro has sold the naming rights of 23 stations to anyone willing to pay enough.

A 10 year contract for naming your own station will cost about $35 Million. Of course, this includes a full corporate branding of the station itself. One of the first contenders said to have struck a deal is Emirates, the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates.

In a nation where status means everything, I have no doubt that the Dubai Metro will find enough companies willing to have their own station. The program is planned to generate $200 Million a year for the Metro operators.

Something tells me US public transit operators will be watching this development closely, and before you know it you’ll be taking the Coca-Cola line to Gadling Central station.

Yet another gallery of the craziness that is Dubai

by Jerry Guo on

We should have a permanent feature that just consists of jaw-dropping, gushy posts praising the delights of Dubai, with a footnote about their rather over-the-top penal code. Anyways, this is the shot of the marina from a few years in the future. Other monuments to come include Dubailand, to be the largest amusement park in the world; Dubai Sports City (a complex within Dubailand); Ski Dubai, which already opened and is the largest indoor skiing rink in the world; and perhaps most ambitiously, the Dubai spaceport–self explanatory.

Here are more shots of various facets of the city.

Dubai Sex-on-the-Beach Couple Sentenced to Three Months in Jail

by Josh Lew on

It has not been a good summer for Michelle Palmer and Vince Acors. The couple’s seaside tryst has turned into a courtroom drama complete with medical evidence and appeals. The two British citizens, despite the best efforts of their lawyers, and despite the black-eye it will give to Dubai’s tourist industry, have been sentenced to three months in prison. Their lawyer claims that an appeal is possible. The three month sentence (followed by immediate deportation) is much lighter than the six years possible under the emirate’s laws.

If this was an isolated incident, perhaps caused by an over-zealous prosecutor, it wouldn’t be more than tabloid fodder. However, as Jerry pointed out here at Gadling a couple of weeks ago, this is not an isolated case. Even carrying the natural, over the counter sleep aid Melatonin is reason enough to get you in trouble with the authorities in Dubai.

Palmer and Acors will be in jail for three months. Then, they’ll be deported, and most likely get their 15 minutes of fame. Perhaps Palmer can even turn the whole experience into a book deal or sell the rights to a movie studio. Dubai, on the other hand, will have to overcome the negative press it received from this case, and all the other cases that this one has brought attention too.

Ocean liner QE2 on its last voyage, this time to Dubai

by Jamie Rhein on

For anyone who would like the experience of a luxury ocean liner vacation without actually leaving land, here are two options.

The Queen Elizabeth 2 has hit forty and is being retired. Instead of ending up in some boat graveyard somewhere like Jeremy has written about in a previous post, the QE2 is on its way from New York City [via Great Britain] to Dubai where it will become a hotel.

The Queen Mary, another retired Cunard ocean liner is already a hotel in Long Beach, California.

If you do stay on the QE2, you’ll be on a ship that has seen some history and mighty fine company. According to this msnbc.com article, Paul Newman, Elizabeth Taylor, Bob Hope and Britain’s royal family including Princess Diana have sailed on this vessel.

It was also used to transport wounded soldiers during the Falkland’s War in 1982.

For its last voyage, some of the passengers are folks from the first voyage. Just imagine what a great time they must be having right about now.

In 2010 Cunard is rolling out another luxury liner. The Queen Elizabeth will be even grander than its sea worthy sisters.