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From a vantage point more than 50 stories high, Ali Mansour looks down on the islands he helped build nearly two decades ago. “It was a great challenge,” he says. “A (once-in-a) lifetime experience.”
Those islands make up Dubai’s iconic Palm Jumeirah – a man-made, palm tree-shaped archipelago home to luxury hotels, pristine beaches, and nearly 80,000 people.
“It was a first,” recounts Mansour, “an unprecedented project of that scale.”
A civil engineer by trade, Mansour moved from Canada to Dubai in 1998 to work with a consultancy firm. He watched from a distance as the Palm project began in June 2001. “I became very curious when the first satellite pictures were published in 2002, showing a tiny piece of land emerging above the ocean surface,” he says. “Then I decided I’m going to do whatever to join the company behind the work on this project.”
01:48 - Source: CNN
Dubai's Palm Jumeirah turns 20
One year later Mansour joined Nakheel, the Palm’s developer. Today, he is advisor, director of projects for Nakheel Marine Engineering.
Building the island
No steel or concrete was used to create the base of the island; instead, the team used only sand and rock. Even though Dubai is surrounded by desert sand, they couldn’t rely on the emirate’s bountiful resource. “Desert sand liquifies once in the water,” Mansour explains.
Roughly 120 million cubic meters of sand had to be dredged and brought over from the bottom of the Persian Gulf 10 nautical miles from the islands. More than 7 million tons of rocks were mined from the UAE’s northern Hajar mountains.
From Nakheel
The western part of the "trunk" of the Palm Jumeirah during construction.
These rocks make up the crescent-shaped, 11-kilometer-long breakwater that protects the island from large waves and high winds. Nakheel says all the rock and sand used to build the island could form a two-meter-high wall that would circle the globe three times.
The 560-hectare (1,380-acre) island is so massive, that Mansour and the team used satellite guided technology to help build the frond-shaped island.
Also a master diver, Mansour visually inspected the breakwater with five of his colleagues, “diving together in parallel and on different levels,” he says. The review took Mansour and his team 10 weeks to complete.
“Although we had the latest software,” he says, “I’m an old-school person … visual inspection remains very essential for me.”
For the first 20 years of the Palm’s existence, the only way for visitors to see the entire colossal structure was from a helicopter tour or to jump out of a plane.
Now, visitors can view the Palm from Nakheel’s new 360-degree observation deck – 52 stories high – called the View at the Palm, which opened in April.
Nakheel
This infinity pool is slated to open later this year as part of a new Dubai attraction, "The Palm Tower." It will offer 360-degree views of the Palm Jumeirah, from 210 meters above ground. Scroll through to see the best spots to take holiday photos in Dubai -- and what to do while you're there.
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Dubai Frame: Offering one of the city's best views, the Dubai Frame has welcomed more than one million visitors since it opened in January 2018,
according to state media. Situated in Zabeel Park with views of skyscrapers lining the Sheikh Zayed Road, the gardens also host a number of events.
Courtesy Alma Al Turkmani
Dubai Frame: Look across and you'll see the Burj Khalifa, but look down and you might catch a glimpse of the
Dubai Flea Market, which hosts second hand sales in Zabeel Park on the first weekend of the month.
Alamy
Dubai Miracle Garden: Dubai Miracle Garden is certainly the most floral spot in the city between mid-November and mid-May, when the 72,000-meter square site is in bloom with 150 million flowers. Attractions include
the world's largest flower arrangement, a sculpture in the shape of an Airbus A380 airplane.
Francois Nel/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images
Dubai Miracle Garden:
Continuing the colorful theme, on the other side of the highway from the Miracle Garden is the Dubai Autodrome, home to 24 hour motor races, karting and, on one day every year,
the Color Run. Dubbed the "happiest 5K on the planet," the global fun run series first came to Dubai in 2013 and takes place in November. Runners start off dressed in white and end covered in colored powder.
CNN
Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve: Covering 87 square miles, the
Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve is a place of quiet solitude away from the city, with rolling sand dunes and rare flora and fauna.
Courtesy Platinum Heritage
Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve: There's a number of ways to navigate the extreme terrain, but one of the funnest has to be on a
retro sand safari in old school Land Rovers from the 1950s, a service operated by Platinum Heritage.
GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
Madinat Jumeirah: Featuring luxury resorts including the Jumeirah Al Qasr, artificial waterways, souks and restaurants, Madinat Jumeirah is a destination with traditional aesthetics and fabulous views of the Burj Al Arab. There's also a two-kilometer private beach.
Sarah Hassan
Madinat Jumeirah: Leave the private beach and head north past the public beach and you'll find
Bu Qtair Restaurant. A low-key gem of a seafood shack dealing in the freshest fish, it has a large local following and was once visited by the late Anthony Bourdain.
GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP/Getty Images
Burj Khalifa: Still the tallest building in the world -- and by a significant margin -- the views from the top of the
Burj Khalifa speak for themselves. At the heart of Downtown Dubai, there's no shortage of options nearby, from the Dubai Opera to The Dubai Mall.
Armani Hotel Dubai
Burj Khalifa: But why descend when you can stay in the sky?
At.Mosphere on the 122nd floor is a restaurant with lofty ambitions, while further down
Armani/Amal (pictured) serves up high-end Indian cuisine with views of the Dubai Fountain.
William L. Stefanov, NASA-JSC
The World: The World archipelago (top right), viewed from the International Space Station, is one of the most impressive sights ever engineered in Dubai. For a more up close view you can charter an airplane tour to fly over the islands via
Seawings.
The Heart of Europe
The World: If you can afford it, you will soon be able to stay on The World. Developer Kleindienst is building a six-island mega resort called The Heart of Europe, including dozens of Floating Seahorse villas with underwater bedrooms and bathrooms.
KARIM SAHIB/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood: The Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood, (also known as Al Bastakiya) next to the water of Dubai Creek has preserved vernacular architecture dating back to the 19th century. Many of the buildings have open-sided towers which transport cool air down into the rooms below.
Tom Dulat/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images
Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood: A short walk west from Al Fahidi is the Dubai Museum. Housed in the Al Fahidi Fort, it's the
oldest existing building in Dubai and covers the emirate's history as a maritime trading post and its pearl-diving industry, with some artifacts dating back as far as 3000 BC.
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Palm Jumeirah: Best viewed from the air, the artificial island is a stunning sight. For those feeling brave,
Skydive Dubai has a dropzone right next to it. For a more sedate option, there's always a
gyrocopter tour.
courtesy Dukes Dubai
Palm Jumeirah: If all that sounds a bit much, you can make the trip to
Dukes Dubai, located on the Palm. A hotel with private beach and first class service delivered with a British touch, there's also wonderful views back towards the mainland.
MARWAN NAAMANI/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo: It takes a brave person to stare down a shark at dinner time -- and you can do exactly that at the Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo. The "
Shark Encounter" experience allows you to enter the 10-million liter tank in a diving cage during a feeding frenzy. But if you'd rather stay dry, there's also the 48-meter long aquarium tunnel and glass bottom boats.
Tom Dulat/Getty Images
Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo: The aquarium is contained within Dubai Mall, which makes it the obvious choice when it comes to what to do nearby. The mall just celebrated its 10th anniversary and contains 1,200 shops and more luxury stores than you can possibly hope to visit in a single day. But if you're going to visit one place, make it the modern Gold Souk for your jewelry wants and needs.
KARIM SAHIB/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary: For first-time visitors it's an unexpected sight, but Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary really is in the middle of the city. The wetlands in the interior of Dubai Creek are the temporary home of thousands of migratory birds including flamingos. There's also gray herons, sandpipers and ospreys to be seen in this patch of rich biodiversity.
Cedric Ribeiro/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images for FFWD
Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary: : To the east of the sanctuary, Dubai Creek is under construction, and the new development is set to feature
the 3,045ft Dubai Creek Tower and a
$2 billion mega-mall. But in the meantime, Dubai Design District to the west hosts a number of events including
Fashion Forward (pictured), a biannual four day style bonanza.
“We’ve added layer upon layer upon layer of things to do on the actual Palm, so it’s not just a place to live, but it’s also a great tourist destination,” says Gail Sangster, assets director for Nakheel.
Part of the new Palm Tower slated to open fully later this year, the View at the Palm is the island’s latest attraction, joining others such as the Atlantis resort and Palm West Beach. Last year, Palm Jumeirah also received a Guinness World Record for the largest fountain in the world. “The future of the Palm is just going to keep going and going,” Sangster says.
Even Mansour, who has seen practically every inch of the island up close, can’t help but get butterflies viewing the Palm from up high.
“This 360-(degree) open view with all the landmarks on the mainland and looking at the island in full is really astonishing,” he says.