What is Dubai?

We've been in Dubai now for two days. Our primary purpose of the trip was to renew our visas, and to actually upgrade to a longer term, multiple entry status, as well as to rendez-vous with our third compadre. Those missions were rather quickly attained, and actually we've just been the waiting for the visas to be processed at the Omani Consulate here. In the meantime, we've been able to check out some of the things that are Dubai. I had a mix of expectations before I got here, ranging from a modern metropolis to a businessman's dream to The Club of the Middle East. What I found has been a bit of all and more. It is certain that the city is home to some of the most extravagant developments on this planet, from the palms to the Burj al Arab where Agasi and Sampras played their match on the heli-pad to the now proclaimed tallest building in the world. It is also true that it snows in the desert. Above all, the city is a phenomenon that I don't think anyone yet understands. The ruler himself may have a pretty good idea, but inside all the glitz and glamour there remains a human community that is trying to sort itself out. The local population is small, 10% being Emirati with the rest being expats from all over the world. The identity of what Dubai is seems transient, and may be defined by the next super development to come its way. Gathering places are few, and to truly thrive here you need your own car - this is not a pedestrian metropolis, nor a model for public transport, yet. Life is expensive for those who want to live it large, and that may very well be the norm in another decade. There are multiple skylines, clustered in these super developments that have been planned from beginning to end. And in it all, I search for some sense of identity here. I look for an element of culture that says, "We know what we are to the world, and we are special because of it." Perhaps that identity is in the future claims as the center of the world. For now, Dubai seems to be a developers playground, and the next best thing is always the most daring and innovative. I hope it is sustainable for its own sake, and for the sake of the region as well. And I look forward to many returns to see what kind of a city it is becoming - in order to better understand, "What is Dubai?"