Dubai Guide
The Burj Al Arab neighbourhood
Some 10km south of the Creek, the southern end of the Jumeirah Road runs through the district of Umm Suqeim, a long and anonymous swathe of Dubai-style suburban sprawl, with huge millionaire's villas cloistered behind high walls and ranged along endless deserted streets, the silence broken only by the occasional Land Cruiser or Mercedes sidling discreetly past. This seemingly unpromising district is, however, home to a trio of famous Dubaian landmarks which rise spectacularly out of the low-rise suburban desert: the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, the Madinat Jumeirah hotel and shopping complex, and, most famously, the iconic Burj Al Arab, the sail-shaped hotel which has probably done more than anything else in the city to put Dubai on the global map. There are further attractions at the wacky Wild Wadi waterpark and at Ski Dubai, the Middle East's first ski-slope, while more sedentary pleasures can be found at the adjoining vast Mall of the Emirates.