SOURCES FOR INFORMATION ABOUT DUBAI CITY

Learn more about Dubai City.  Dubai can either refer to one of the seven emirates that constitute the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the eastern Arabian Peninsula, or that emirate's main city, sometimes called "Dubai city" to distinguish it from the emirate.

The earliest recorded mention of Dubai is in 1095, in the "Book of Geography" by the Spanish-Arab geographer Abu Abdullah al-Bakri. The Venetian pearl merchant Gaspero Balbi visited the area in 1580 and mentioned Dubai (Dibei) for its pearling industry. Documented records of the town of Dubai exist only after 1799.  In the early 19th century, the Al Abu Falasa clan (House of Al-Falasi) of Bani Yas clan established Dubai, which remained a dependent of Abu Dhabi until 1833.

Dubai was known for its pearl exports until the 1930s. However, Dubai's pearling industry was damaged irreparably by the events of the First World War, and later on by the Great Depression in the late 1920s.

The Persian Gulf War of 1990 had a huge impact on the city. Economically, Dubai banks experienced a massive withdrawal of funds due to uncertain political conditions in the region. During the course of the 1990s, however, many foreign trading communities — first from Kuwait, during the Persian Gulf War, and later from Bahrain, during the Shia unrest, moved their businesses to Dubai. Dubai provided refueling bases to allied forces at the Jebel Ali free zone during the Persian Gulf war, and again, during the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. Large increases in oil prices after the Persian Gulf war encouraged Dubai to continue to focus on free trade and tourism. The success of the Jebel Ali free zone allowed the city to replicate its model to develop clusters of new free zones, including Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City and Dubai Maritime City. The construction of Burj Al Arab, the world's tallest freestanding hotel, as well as the creation of new residential developments, were used to market Dubai for purposes of tourism. Since 2002, the city has seen an increase in private real estate investment in recreating Dubai's skyline with such projects as The Palm Islands, The World Islands and Burj Dubai. 

Dubai has a hot and, at times, humid climate with many months recording temperatures of over 40 °C (104 °F).  Oil was discovered in Dubai after which the town granted concessions to international oil companies. The discovery of oil led to a massive influx of foreign workers, mainly Indians and Pakistanis. As a result, the population of the city from 1968 to 1975 grew by over 300%, by some estimates.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubai

Map of Strait of Hormuz
http://encarta.msn.com/map_701516791/Strait_of_Hormuz.html

Dubai city map
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Dubai_map_city.svg

Burj Dubai
http://en.=.org/wiki/Image:Burj_Dubai_in_Skyline_on_24_December_2007.jpg

Emir of Dubai:  Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (honorifically referred to as Sheikh Mohammed) is the Prime Minister and Vice President of the United Arab Emirates, and the ruler of Dubai.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammed_bin_Rashid_Al_Maktoum

Shaikh Mohammed’s new book focuses on Dubai’s astounding development
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2006/April/theuae_April816.xml&section=theuae

Crown Prince of Dubai: Shaikh Maktoum Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum
http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/08/02/01/10186492.html

It all stems from the Emir of Dubai himself, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum. Mohammed only became Emir on January 4, 2006 when his elder brother Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid al-Maktoum, died after a long illness. "Sheikh Mohammed has had a vision which is that Dubai should become a fully developed city, with the best life of any city that has ever been created. The whole city is growing as a single organism. We have planned this, very carefully, he is a leader who has bestowed a great vision on us, so that in time Dubai is going to become the first ever Arab modern metropolis."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2006/feb/13/unitedarabemirates.travel

Dubayy also spelled Dubai 
http://concise.britannica.com/dday/print?articleId=31319&fullArticle=true&tocId=9031319