by Sarah Dowdey
An odd oasis of fantastical skyscrapers sits firmly planted in the desert. The city sprawls over the sand and even creeps out to sea -- man-made islands coated in luxury villas dot its coastline. Tourism, business and construction (confirmed by countless cranes) keep the city bustling through the night. Dubai, once an unassuming Bedouin outpost, has become an international curiosity for its unusual mixture of Middle Eastern conservatism and Western excess, its imagination and -- perhaps more than anything else -- its rapid growth.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/yww5dm
