Dubai Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Pre-oil Dubai=== Dubai's geographical proximity to [[Iran]] made it an important trade location. The town of Dubai was an important port of call for foreign tradesmen, chiefly those from Iran, many of whom eventually settled in the town. By the beginning of the 20th century, it was an important port.<ref name="britannica" /> At that time, Dubai consisted of the town of Dubai and the nearby village of [[Jumeirah]], a collection of some 45 ''areesh'' (palm leaf) huts.<ref name="Lorimer 1915 454" /> By the 1920s, many Iranians settled in Dubai permanently, moving across the Persian Gulf. By then, amenities in the town grew and a modern quarter was established, [[Al Bastakiya]].<ref name=":03"/>{{Rp|page=|pages=21β23}} Dubai was known for its [[pearl]] exports until the 1930s; the pearl trade was damaged irreparably by the 1929 [[Great Depression]] and the innovation of [[cultured pearls]]. With the collapse of the pearling industry, Dubai fell into a deep depression and many residents lived in poverty or migrated to other parts of the Persian Gulf.<ref name="hist_trad" /> In 1937 an oil exploration contract was signed which guaranteed [[Royalty payment|royalty]] rights for Dubai and concessionary payments to Sheikh [[Saeed bin Maktoum bin Hasher Al Maktoum|Saeed bin Maktoum]]. However, due to [[World War II]], oil would not be struck until 1966.<ref name=":03"/>{{Rp|page=|pages=36β37}} In the early days since its inception, Dubai was constantly at odds with [[Abu Dhabi]]. In 1947, a border dispute between Dubai and Abu Dhabi on the northern sector of their mutual border escalated into war.<ref name=dxbadconflict>{{cite web |url=http://www.archiveeditions.co.uk/titledetails.asp?tid=120 |title=The UAE: Internal Boundaries And The Boundary With Oman. Archived Editions. Walker, J |publisher=Archiveeditions.co.uk |date=18 February 1969 |access-date=20 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130505121549/http://www.archiveeditions.co.uk/titledetails.asp?tid=120 |archive-date=5 May 2013}}</ref> Arbitration by the British government resulted in a cessation of hostilities.<ref name=rashasian>The Middle East and North Africa. Schofield, C. p 175</ref> {{multiple image | direction = vertical | footer = The [[Al Ras, Dubai|Al Ras]] district in [[Deira (Dubai)|Deira]] and Dubai Creek in the mid 1960s | image1 = Dubai Creek 1964.jpg | width1 = 220 | alt1 = | caption1 = | image2 = AlRas Deira Mid1960s.jpg | width2 = 220 | alt2 = | caption2 = }} Despite a lack of oil, Dubai's ruler from 1958, [[Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum|Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum]], used revenue from trading activities to build infrastructure. Private companies were established to build and operate infrastructure, including electricity, telephone services and both the ports and airport operators.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|title=From Trucial States to United Arab Emirates|last=Heard-Bey|first=Frauke|publisher=Longman|year=1996|isbn=978-0-582-27728-1|location=London|page=260}}</ref> An airport of sorts (a runway built on salt flats) was established in Dubai in the 1950s and, in 1959, the emirate's first hotel, the Airlines Hotel, was constructed. This was followed by the Ambassador and Carlton Hotels in 1968.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title = Father of Dubai|last = Wilson|first = Graeme|publisher = Media Prima|year = 1999|isbn = 9789948856450|location = UAE|page = 126}}</ref> Sheikh Rashid commissioned John Harris from Halcrow, a British architecture firm, to create the city's first master plan in 1959. Harris imagined a Dubai that would rise from the historic centre on Dubai Creek, with an extensive road system, organised zones, and a town centre, all of which could feasibly be built with the limited financial resources at the time.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Elshestawy |first1=Yasser |title=Planning Middle Eastern Cities: An Urban Kaleidoscope |date=2004 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=1-134-41010-7}}</ref> 1959 saw the establishment of Dubai's first telephone company, 51% owned by IAL (International Aeradio Ltd) and 49% by Sheikh Rashid and local businessmen and in 1961 both the electricity company and telephone company had rolled out operational networks.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|title=The Trucial States|last=Donald.|first=Hawley|date=1970|publisher=Allen & Unwin|isbn=978-0-04-953005-8|location=London|page=245|oclc=152680}}</ref> The water company (Sheikh Rashid was chairman and majority shareholder) constructed a pipeline from wells at Awir and a series of storage tanks and, by 1968, Dubai had a reliable supply of piped water.<ref name=":5" /> On 7 April 1961, the Dubai-based MV ''[[MV Dara|Dara]]'', a five thousand ton British flagged vessel that plied the route between [[Basra]] (Iraq), [[Kuwait]] and [[Bombay]] (India), was caught in unusually high winds off Dubai. Early the next morning in heavy seas off Umm al-Quwain, an explosion tore out the second class cabins and started fires. The captain gave the order to abandon ship but two lifeboats capsized and a second explosion occurred. A flotilla of small boats from Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman and Umm al-Quwain picked up survivors, but 238 of the 819 persons on board were lost in the disaster.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/general/fifty-years-on-the-tragedy-of-vessel-mv-dara-lingers-1.789262|title=Fifty years on, the tragedy of vessel MV Dara lingers|last=Reporter|first=Mariam M. Al Serkal, Staff|date=9 April 2011|newspaper=Gulf News|access-date=2 February 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203075924/http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/general/fifty-years-on-the-tragedy-of-vessel-mv-dara-lingers-1.789262|archive-date=3 February 2017}}</ref> The construction of Dubai's first airport was started on the Northern edge of the town in 1959 and the terminal building opened for business in September 1960. The airport was initially serviced by Gulf Aviation (flying Dakotas, Herons and Viscounts) but Iran Air commenced services to Shiraz in 1961.<ref name=":5" /> In 1962 the British [[Political officer (British Empire)|Political Agent]] noted that "Many new houses and blocks of offices and flats are being built... the Ruler is determined, against advice [from the British authorities] to press on with the construction of a jet airport... More and more European and Arab firms are opening up and the future looks bright."<ref name=":2" /> In 1962, with expenditure on infrastructure projects already approaching levels some thought imprudent, Sheikh Rashid approached his brother in law, the Ruler of Qatar, for a loan to build the first bridge crossing Dubai's creek. This crossing was finished in May 1963 and was paid for by a toll levied on the crossing from the Dubai side of the creek to the Deira side.<ref name=":4" /> BOAC was originally reluctant to start regular flights between Bombay and Dubai, fearing a lack of demand for seats. However, by the time the asphalt runway of Dubai Airport was constructed in 1965, opening Dubai to both regional and long haul traffic, a number of foreign airlines were competing for landing rights.<ref name=":4" /> In 1970 a new airport terminal building was constructed which included Dubai's first [[duty-free shop]]s.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Fly Buy Dubai|last = Wilson|first = Graeme|publisher = Media Prima|year = 2008|isbn = 9789948859437|location = UAE|page = 58}}</ref> Throughout the 1960s Dubai was the centre of a lively [[gold]] trade, with 1968 imports of gold at some Β£56 million. This gold was, in the vast majority, re-exported β mainly to customers who took delivery in international waters off [[India]]. The import of gold to India had been banned and so the trade was characterised as smuggling, although Dubai's merchants were quick to point out that they were making legal deliveries of gold and that it was up to the customer where they took it.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Gold smuggling boosts Dubai economy|last=Thomas|first=Anthony|date=3 March 1969|work=The Times}}</ref> In 1966, more gold was shipped from London to Dubai than almost anywhere else in the world (only France and Switzerland took more), at 4 million ounces. Dubai also took delivery of over $15 million-worth of watches and over 5 million ounces of silver. The 1967 price of gold was $35 an ounce but its market price in India was $68 an ounce β a healthy markup. Estimates at the time put the volume of gold imports from Dubai to India at around 75% of the total market.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Trucial States|first=Donald|last=Hawley|date=1970|publisher=Allen & Unwin|location=London|page=204|oclc=152680|isbn=<!--978-0049530058-->0049530054}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page