The United Arab Emirates is a very unusual country. In the middle of the endless desert and practically unsuitable for farming soils, there are luxurious oases and flourishing cities. The UAE includes 7 separate emirates at once, which are separate state formations. The capital is the city of Dubai. It also represents one of the seven emirates.
How to plan your own trip to Dubai read our travel guide.
Our small review contains the most interesting and unusual facts about this eastern country, which was able to reach considerable heights in its development and technology thanks to only one natural wealth - huge oil deposits.
History and geography
Anyone who comes to these lands for the first time will hardly believe that a few decades ago the UAE was an endless desert, in which it was incredibly difficult to survive. Today the country is included in the list of the richest states. Just imagine, out of a population of 5 million, 59 thousand millionaires live here!
Local punishments have long been famous for their severity. Even the death penalty may await you for certain crimes. As before, this type of punishment is enforced by beheading or stoning to death. That is why the UAE is included in the list of countries with the least number of crimes.
Public life
Every indigenous UAE resident receives impressive support from the state. Almost every solemn event in the country attracts financial assistance. For example, when a son is born into a family of citizens, they receive 50 thousand dollars. Each wedding brings young people 19 thousand dollars and a private villa. The size of the salaries of government officials is also impressive. They receive up to 10 thousand dollars a month.
Since the country belongs to the Muslim world, there are a lot of prohibitions here. For example, the consumption of alcohol is strictly prohibited, as is its transportation. There is also a taboo on photographing government agencies and even women.
On the streets of the UAE you will never meet people who hitchhike. This is also strictly prohibited.
In addition, the ban on the “yellow press” should be attributed to local quirks, since the private life of citizens, especially sheikhs, is taboo. And it is also prohibited to access social networks, since in the UAE it is generally recognized that such Internet resources contain a lot of negative information.
The fines in the country are also amazing. Imagine a fine of up to $ 800 for breaking the rules on the road.
Entertainment and features
Since the UAE is a desert country, camel racing is a very popular pastime here. But the riders are not people at all, but real robots. The locals also love to arrange desert safaris and use sophisticated jeeps for this.
Each bus stop is air conditioned. And this is not surprising, because in summer the average air temperature during the day does not drop below 50 degrees. And winter is perhaps the warmest here. The air temperature ranges from 18 to 28 degrees at different times of the day.
Gold in the UAE is one of the most popular commodities. According to statistics, every citizen buys at least 38 grams of this metal annually. According to local tradition, during the marriage proposal, the groom is obliged to give the bride 5 kg of gold at once.
By the way, the parents determine the future of the newlyweds. From early childhood, each boy and girl are united in pairs, and with the onset of a certain age, they marry. But for connections outside of marriage, you can even get a real prison sentence.
There is also the right to polygamy. But this is an expensive fad, even for the citizens of such a wealthy country. Therefore, in recent years, the vast majority of marriages are monogamous.
The UAE is considered one of the most expensive countries in terms of utility bills and fresh water purchases.
There is a clear distribution of the roles of men and women in the country. Representatives of different genders even travel separately on public transport in separate carriages. Even the taxi cabin is fenced off with a special partition.
It will take a lot of time to tell about such a country in colors. What is worth knowing that it is in the UAE that the most luxurious hotels are built, for example, the world famous Burj al-Arab, the tallest skyscraper and even a real ski resort!
