There is more about Dubai you should know apart from its breathtaking skyline and the trade and commerce. Specially, if you were about to finalise a travel plan to one of its famous sea beaches. Things like the law, political system, weather and traffic congestion are some of the key areas that require attention. This article gives you an account of the same important issues before you embark on with your much awaited sojourns.

Historical Background

Dubai was one of the first emirates to join the UAE, a unified group of seven Muslim majority states, when the British forces finally left the Middle East in 1971. The area is surrounded by Saudi Arabia and Oman and the shorelines unite with the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. A Supreme Council of Rulers is the governing body of the United Arab Emirates. This council consists the seven ruling Emirs as its members, who in turn appoint the Prime Minister and the various Cabinet berths for the federal government. Note that while the Supreme Council of Rulers has overall control of the complete UAE, Dubai is famous for the high level of autonomy that it maintains as far as its local development issues are concerned.

Normal Weather

Since the Emirate of Dubai is in the Middle East, the climate is naturally sub-tropical and what you might expect from a desert in the neighborhood. This is good news in terms of clear skies all the year. There is very little rainfall and most of it takes place during the winter season. Temperatures follow an extreme trend with the daytime temperatures of summer touching the 48 degrees Celsius, and the winters the 10 degrees Celsius marks. January is the coldest with an average temperature of around 24 degrees Celsius, while the hottest month of July may report back an average of 41 degrees Celsius mark.

Population Estimates

The United Arab Emirates constitutes a population comprising that of the ethnic Arab community and a huge number of expatriates from India, Pakistan, East Asian countries, United States and the members of European Union. The region has been witnessing an insessent inflow of the expatriates due to the ongoing trade and commerce activities, and this can be visualized through its sharp rise in population since 1995. It shot up to 3.1 million in the year 2000 from the 2.4 million mark in 1995.

The population registered in the case of Dubai was 689,000 and 862,000 in the years 1995 and 2000 respectively. Most of these counted people reside within the urban areas of Dubai, while a tiny fraction prefers living on in the neighbouring countryside farms.

Language, Holidays, Local Time and Religion

Arabic is the official language of UAE, but also spoken are some other languages. English enjoys being the medium of communication in the majority of trade and commerce activities, while Hindi, Urdu, Malayalam and some other dialects are spoken by the expatriates from India and Pakistan.

Dubai's standard time runs four hours ahead of GMT and keeps unchanged through out the twelve month period. It runs one and one and half hours behind the Pakistan and Indian standard times respectively.

Islam is the official religion of all Arabian countries including the UAE. Dubai is no exception either in this context. As a result, the Muslim holidays and festivities assume a very significant role in its normal life. These holidays may keep varying from one year to another as per the Islamic calender.

Visa Issues and Transportation

Visa rules can vary for the travellers from different nations. Citizens of the western block of nations may walk out of the airport with a visa on their arrival. Visitors from the rest of world are not allowed the same kind of luxury though. Those who may be looking forward to carrying on with their business activities will have to get somebody local sponsorship first.

Buses and taxis are available for the transportation within Dubai, but it may not prove sufficient to those who may have plans of going outside of the city area. Hiring private vehicles is a much preferred option for this reason these days. Roads in and outside of Dubai are advanced in nature, but the general traffic sense may not prove out to be that much appealing. Be wary of driving on Dubai's roads, if you were not fully aware if its existing traffic hazards, like the disorderly driving on the roads within and the wandering camels off the city limits.

Dubai's government has initiated some steps recently to improve upon its general traffic scenario. There are several projects planned to carry out this task, including a floating bridge over Dubai Creek, upgrading of the First Interchange with a three-tier interchange, the Dubai Outer Bypass Road and the Sufouh Roads Network etc.