Burj Khalifa: A tower that already makes history

 




Dubai: An awestruck audience watched as the tallest tower in the world lit up with fireworks at the launch ceremony of the Burj Khalifa.
Thousands of attendees held their hands to their mouths as the fireworks crackling above lit up Dubai's sky, and gasped every time a dramatic stunt was performed.

Many could be seen holding the backs of their necks after looking straight up continuously for half an hour.
Approximately 6,000 invitees to the ceremony watched the launch event below the tower and on massive screens erected specifically for them.
Families and individuals, young and old gathered at the Burj Khalifa Island park, sitting on beanbags and enjoying a meal before the ceremonies started. While some arrived in suits and dresses other were seen lazing in shorts.
The latest addition to Dubai's skyline served as a backdrop for souvenir pictures for the sea of people who were watching from the park and from Dubai Mall.
The event started with the arrival of Shaikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, accompanied by Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Foreign Minister, and other Cabinet members and dignitaries.




 Tallest skyscraper to top of spire: 828 m (2,717 ft) (previously Taipei 101 – 509.2 m (1,671 ft))
Tallest structure ever built: 828 m (2,717 ft) (previously Warsaw radio mast – 646.38 m (2,121 ft))
Tallest extant structure: 828 m (2,717 ft) (previously KVLY-TV mast – 628.8 m (2,063 ft))
Tallest freestanding structure: 828 m (2,717 ft) (previously CN Tower – 553.3 m (1,815 ft))
Building with most floors: 160 (previously Willis Tower – 108)
World’s highest elevator installation
World’s fastest elevators at speed of 64 km/h (40 mph) or 18 m/s (59 ft/s) (previously Taipei 101 – 16.83 m/s)
Highest vertical concrete pumping (for a building): 606 m (1,988 ft) (previously Taipei 101 – 449.2 m (1,474 ft))
Highest vertical concrete pumping (for any construction): 606 m (1,988 ft) (previously Riva del Garda Hydroelectric Power Plant – 532 m (1,745 ft) )
The first world’s tallest structure in history to include residential space
Highest outdoor observation deck in the world
World’s highest mosque (located on the 158th floor)
World’s highest installation of an aluminium and glass façade, at a height of 512 m (1,680 ft)
World’s highest swimming pool (76th floor) 
 
Seawings, a local seaplane charter company, has just added four new routes to its repertoire.I was among the first few to experience its new excursion called the Royal Fly and Dine. This involves arriving by seaplane at Abu Dhabi’s jewel in the crown hotel,Emirates Palace, for lunch. Billed as a ‘lifestyle product’, you can expect more than just a short flight along the coastline. I arrived at the Jebel Ali Golf Resort and Spa and after checking in, was escorted by golf buggy to the hotel’s beach-hut-cumdeparture- lounge.
Overlooking the hotel’s plush marina, I sipped on an orange juice, and listened to peacocks chirrup in the background.It’s easy to feel like an A-lister as you nibble on canapés and enjoy a head and shoulder massage while taking in the spectacular sea views. This is the ultimate in luxury, and sharing the plane with just a handful of others adds to the feeling of  exclusivity.
As my plane pulled up in the marina, the hotel’s guests looked on enviously. I tried to maintain an air of cool,as though I board seaplanes like most people catch taxis, but it was all lost when I squealed in delight as the pilot helped me inside. The plane is small, but comfortable,and every seat has a window view, so there’s no scrabble to get the best chair.

Atlantis Hotel, Dubai

 

Like everything else done to excess in Dubai, a hotel themed around the ancient myth of the lost ruins of Atlantis complete with flown-in dolphins from the South Pacific, a massive water park, and a top floor that houses a £13,000-a-night suite complete with gold-leaf 18-seat dining table is set to open today.
The sprawling 113-acre Atlantis Palm Hotel with 1,373 rooms and 166 suites is hoping to defy the credit crisis and play a part in sustaining Dubai’s tourist industry after regional oil profits have run dry.
Modeled on a sister site in the Bahamas, the £800million resort on the Palm Island is ocean-themed family entertainment with an enormous open-air tank with 65,000 fish, stingrays and other sea creatures. The resort uses a staggering 15 million gallons of water.
A featured dolphinarium with over 20 bottlenose dolphins flown in from the Solomon Islands was developed despite controversy from environmental groups and some residents of the islands that protested the decision to sell the dolphins, and the 30-hour plane flight to transport them to Dubai.
The hotel also boasts a massive water park called Aquaventure with a 3,280 foot (700 meter) long beach and a river ride of over 1.25 miles (2 kilometers).
But developers seem undaunted by criticism from environmental activists, who claim the construction of artificial islands damages coral reefs and even shifts water currents, pointing at growing water and power consumption.
The resort shares the island with rows of high-end houses and construction sites, but other international names are set to move in, including Donald Trump for the storied QE2 ocean liner which will become a hotel in the center of the palm and a tourist attraction docked alongside the island tree’s ‘trunk.’
According to the Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu firm, the Middle East had the highest hotel occupancy rates in the world during the first half of the year, with Dubai leading the area at 85.3%.
Dubai had the highest room rates in the region, but Deloitte noted that revenue growth is slowing.
Source: Daily Mail
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Atlantis (Aqua Park)