Dubai: A Jewel In The Middle East - A Modern City On The Persian Gulf ~ By Maura Madigan - Dubai is an  Islamic state that is open to the modern world. From what I know of Dubai it is a playground for the rich from the more conservative states in the Islamic world. What can't be done at home can be done in Dubai. That would make it something like what Lebanon was to the Islamic world in the 1950s and 60s. Lebanon in the 1950s and 60s was suppose to have been one of the places in the world where the partying was always at fever pitch. Is this true of Dubai? The above article gives some hints.
Dubai: Make The Most Of Your Money In The City Of Gold ~ Zero Taxes, Zero Restrictions, and Busybody Bureaucrats Be Damned ~ by  W. William Woods - When you think of the Middle East, the first words that come to your mind might not be “business friendly” or “moderate” or “peaceful.” But all those words describe Dubai. Dubai is part of the United Arab Emirates, a political union that was formed in 1971 when Abu Zaby, Ajman, Al Fujayrah, Ash Shariqah, Dubayy (Dubai), and Umm al Qaywayn merged. They were joined a year later by Ra’s al Khaymah. The UAE is a small nation nestled between Saudi Arabia and Oman, but oil wealth helped put its per capita GDP on par with Western Europe.
DUBAI: You Never Imagined A City Like This ~ Having Fun In Dubai ~ By Scott Sutton - A lot of people think that living in the Middle East means having to live in great austerity, but this is not true in the city of Dubai. The nightlife, the desert and the international outlook of the people make it an attractive place to spend time in. And the architecture looks interesting as well.
Life In Abu Dhabi ~ In The UAE ~ by Bonnie Burns - It didn’t take long to figure out why expatriates don’t want to leave. Who would have imagined life could be so interesting in the exotic city of Abu Dhabi, located in the United Arab Emirates, known as the UAE. When the idea of living in the Middle East presented itself, my first thought was it was far too dangerous a place for an American woman. April/05 
Living Abroad with Children: It’s Easier Than You Think - Maura Madigan, her husband, and their  two-year-old daughter are currently living in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Maura writes that friends and relatives think it's outrageous to move and travel abroad with children.  Their friends keep urging them  to settle in the US.  Maura's article focuses on the benefits for children living an international life, such as increased cultural awareness and tolerance of differences.  The article helps to dispel some of the misconceptions and fears surrounding life outside the USA. At the end of the article is a link to Directmoving.com®, a new resource to call upon when people are faced with moving their children abroad. 
Moving Back ~ Moving Back To The United States From Dubai ~ Do I stay or do I go - the Clash, right - it's a question you are always asking yourself if you live overseas. What will it be like if and when I return. Will I crack or will it all be for the best. At what point will the things I missed about home turn-around and send me back out on an adventure. The stress of it is not that bad and you can always leave, go, stay or just travel. It's for sure that you're the same wherever you go, but are you happy?
Real Estate In Dubai - New Law Grants Foreign Buyers Greater Ownership Rights - The new Dubai Property Law will mean that for the first time foreigners will be allowed to register properties under own names in the Dubai Land Department. And if the latter conjures up images of Dickensian title deeds think again, this department offers the very latest in electronic land and property title registration.  By Laura McMahon Mar/06
Rising Temperatures in the Dubai Real Estate Market - How Hot Can it Get?  ~ The temperature is continuing to rise in the Dubai property market, with hot new developments selling out in hours.  But as speculators buy and sell property frantically, banks and builders try to slow the market down.  Just how stable is the property market in Dubai. By Tracey Meagher
Sex In The City - Dubai Style ~ Dubai remains a bastion of ‘liberalism’ here in the Middle East; the place is hated by ultra conservatives (of which there are but a few) but flocked to by increasing numbers of foreigners—including Americans. Perhaps what happened on New Years Eve is one of the reasons.
The Transformation Of The UAE ~ What’s A Poor Camel To Do? ~ by Bonnie Burns - Part of the charm of living in old world Arabia is the hours spent haggling in the crooked, narrow alleys of the old souks where you’ll be offered a stout Turkish coffee and interesting conversation that leaves both people smiling. Then off you go to the fish market, where the Gulf shrimp are so fresh and delicious, you’ll kiss your fingertips. Next stop is the fruit and veg souks where produce is squeezed then bagged at a mere fraction of grocery store prices. But the recent announcement of the demolition of Abu Dhabi’s souks is bringing this way of life to an abrupt end.
Why is real estate such a popular investment in Dubai? - Globally more people have made more money out of property than any other asset class. Even big investors also have to live somewhere. But there are reasons behind these reasons that make property so desirable to investors both in Dubai and elsewhere.

 

Other Areas Of The Mid-East

Egyptian Math - Twenty-two million people live in the city full-time, and another 2 million travel in and out each day for work. On top of this are the tourists. Busloads and busloads of them, amounting to more than 8 million each year. The Chinese come in greatest numbers, year-round; mostly, our guide believes, for the perfumes. On the streets and at the sights, you hear many languages. This is pre-season, yet the Egyptian Museum was so crowded we had to hold hands to stay together and bend close in our huddle to hear our guide's comments over those of all the other guides competing for attention. Evidently, in peak season, the guides give up. They give overviews out front, telling their tour-goers what to look for inside, then pull their groups through the throngs single-file.

Saudi Arabia: He Sings About His Gun - A hawk soared on the thermals close by, before diving to catch its prey hidden somewhere among the rocks far below. Juniper and acacia trees grew in between compact cacti that dotted the ground below. Even thought the foliage was sparse the environment was in stark contrast to the desert that covers the majority of the Kingdom, where little, if anything grows.

Cyprus: Archaeological Adventures - The Athienou Archaeological Project (AAP) is a multidisciplinary project focusing on the site of Athienou-Malloura and the surrounding valley. This site was settled for nearly 2500 years and encompasses the Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Frankish, Venetian, and Ottoman periods in the island's history. Due to its long occupation coupled with the variety of the archaeological remains found-religious, domestic, funerary - the site remains an ideal training ground for archaelogical students.

Living Life in a Turkish Tourist Town - I wake up every day knowing that I live in one of the most lovely places in the world. That, in spite of the invasion of thousands of people who have arrived these past few years to buy into our quality of life. Fortunately, I arrived in Bodrum, Turkey in the late eighties. Little did I realize then that I would still be here 20 years later. I am not the first foreigner to have been lulled into the Lotus Eating syndrome in Bodrum, Turkey. Hundreds of foreigner arrived before I. By Priscilla Windsor Brown

Finding A Villa In Turkey ~ Daylan ~ by Charles Bentley - I suppose it was the Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn manner of our boyhood that left us with a deep love for the lifestyle, values and environment long since sacrificed to secure the material riches of the modern world. Yet part of us never left the backwater village where we grew up. Part of us still yearned for the simple pleasures and delights of that time and place. June/04

Investing In Turkey ~ Incentives, Conditions, Getting Started - Christoper Deliso reports on strategies, steps, and insider pointers on how to set up your investments in Turkey, a strong US ally. Turkey is developing into a hot emerging market. The government is actively seeking out foreign investors on huge privatization programs in the fields of energy, telecommunications and infrastructure projects. The Turkish Constitution has also been amended to allow for international arbitration- a previous lack that had scared off potential investors. All in all, the situation is becoming increasingly favorable.

Istanbul - History Comes to Life ~ by Dawnelle Salant - There is only one city in the world that spans two continents. The true merging of east and west, ?stanbul stretches across both Europe and Asia. The continents are separated only by a thin strip of water, the Bosphorus. To stand at the edge of one continent and look at the other provides a thrill even greater than straddling the Prime Meridian and being in two different hemispheres.

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