Could you tell me some shocking facts about Dubai?

 One of the most striking facts about Dubai is its anecdotes.

Everyone knows how Dubai grew from a dusty wasteland into the global trade and business hub it is today.

However, many people mistakenly believe that this is all thanks to oil money. Oil was discovered in Dubai in 1966, and production began in 1969. Dubai was already on its way to becoming a global hub long before that.

All of this is thanks to this person.

I am Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum.

He is the father of the current ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (pictured below).

Shall I explain in more detail?

When Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the father of Sheikh Mohammed, began his rule in 1958, Dubai was nothing more than a collection of small settlements near Dubai Creek, lacking electricity and infrastructure. These settlements were primarily sustained by the declining and unsustainable pearl trade. Sheikh Rashid was visionary and implemented a series of remarkable reforms to transform Dubai into a globally important city. These included:

1. Construction of Dubai Creek (1955-1961) : Dubai was well known for its central location on the East-West trade route. Nevertheless, Dubai in the 1950s was plagued by problems. Dubai Creek, a natural harbor, was clogged with silt. Ships had to anchor in deep waters up to a mile offshore, and only when the weather and tides were favorable could their cargo be transferred to barges and brought into the creek. Because the creek was too shallow for most ships, captains had to travel via Dubai. Sheikh Rashid commissioned a feasibility study to dredge the creek and construct a breakwater with bulkheads and sheet piles. However, the cost amounted to $3 million (approximately 350 million yen), which Dubai could not possibly afford. So Sheikh Rashid decided to raise funds. To do so, he imposed special taxes, sold bonds, and solicited donations from merchants using the creek. Once the port was completed in 1961, business boomed. Dubai became a lucrative country. Dubai's trade and reverse export businesses blazed like a fire of gasoline. Sheikh Rashid repaid his loans, and even more, ahead of schedule.
2. Electrification and Infrastructure (1961) . Sheikh Rashid's next task was to light up the city. He established a municipal power plant with a capacity of 1440 kilowatts and laid power lines throughout the city. (1961 was also the year Israel launched its first rocket into space.) In the same year, telephone exchanges and telephone lines were also installed. That same year, Dubai saw the construction of its first paved roads, its first bridges, and its first municipal water supply. Engineers were hired to construct roads and roundabouts and lay underground water pipes. New facilities swept through Dubai - ice factories, radio and television broadcasting, streetlights, the city government, the police, and more were introduced.
3. Dubai Airport – Surpassing its Neighbors (1960-68) . Of course, Sheikh Rashid wasn't satisfied with simply making Dubai equal to the rest of the region. He wanted more. Before the British withdrew, he built an air base in Sharjah (Dubai's neighboring emirate), which increased in value along with advancements in aviation technology. Air transport was becoming increasingly important in global trade. Having taken flights from Sharjah himself, Sheikh Rashid knew Dubai needed an airport. He knew it would be profitable, even if it was just a refueling stop. He commissioned the British airline International Aerodeo to design the airport, and it was completed in 1960. He removed all the tariffs on air cargo that Sharjah's rulers still imposed and shifted all business to Dubai Airport. By 1968, Dubai Airport had grown to handle Boeing 747s. Meanwhile, Sharjah's airport became obscure, serving as a hub for arms dealers and low-cost carriers.
4. Port Rashid (1971) . Dubai Creek was the beginning of what Dubai needed, but it was still a relatively small port. Even after dredging, it was too small for the ships that were the mainstream of international trade in the 1960s. Dubai's growth was unstoppable, and in 1967, Sheikh Rashid vowed to solve this problem. He hired the British planner, Hulklow, who had been in charge of the dredging, and commissioned him to design a deep-water port bearing his own name. Port Rashid was the largest civil engineering project in Dubai's history, but the discovery of oil gave Dubai the funds to make it happen. In 1971, coinciding with the 35th birthday of its owners, the port was declared open by Queen Elizabeth II. The state-owned enterprise that operated the port is now the fourth largest in the world.
5. Dry Dock (1971–1983) . Sheikh Rashid wanted Dubai to be more than just a port; he wanted it to be a center of the shipping industry. In 1971, he commissioned a feasibility study for the construction of a dry dock (a facility for lifting large ships out of the sea for repair). However, a British advisor in Dubai called the project absurd. The global shipbuilding industry was in ruins. Dubai was too small to absorb such a massive industrial investment. The project was so risky that it was even ridiculed in the Wall Street Journal. However, in 1983, after the port was completed, it could be said that it was a successful gamble. In the 1980s, the Iran-Iraq War escalated into a full-blown tanker war. This was an economic investment opportunity for Dubai. Damaged ships began to come for repairs, and suddenly the dry dock was flooded with ships. The number of ships requesting repairs was enormous, resulting in a long waiting list.
6. Big gambles (1970s, 1980s) . Dubai's dry docks had an almost naive ambition:
   1) The massive Dubai Aluminium smelter, which uses heat from a power plant to distill seawater into fresh water; 2
   ) The Dubai World Trade Centre, a skyscraper built in the middle of nowhere;
   and 3) Jebel Ali Port, another large port at the edge of Dubai's desert beaches.
   As usual, these were met with ridicule, but all three were resounding successes. Dubai Aluminium is one of the world's largest single-site primary aluminum smelters. The Dubai World Trade Centre houses major companies of the time, including IBM, UT, British Petroleum, the US Consulate, and the Dubai Stock Exchange. Jebel Ali is the world's largest artificial port and the largest and busiest port in the Middle East.

What Sheikh Rashid did was criticized at the time, but in hindsight, it was prescient. He made the most of Dubai's limited oil reserves. Meanwhile, neighboring countries rich in oil resources, such as Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, were using their oil money to subsidize a comfortable life and highly paid bureaucrats. His steely gamble on infrastructure was a crucial decision in creating Dubai as it is today.

Sheikh Rashid's reign continued until his death on October 7, 1990. However, his wisdom was not lost. He passed on that wisdom to the young Sheikh Mohammed, inheriting the baton.