Language and religion The official language is Arabic, but English and Urdu are also widely spoken, along with Hindi, Persian, Punjabi, Malayalam, and Tagalog. Islam is the official religion of all of the emirates. A vast majority of the locals are Sunnis. There are foreign minority Hindus, Sikhs, and Christians as well. Dubai is the only emirate that has Hindu temples and a Sikh gurudwara. The Meena Bazaar area of the city has both a Shiva and Krishna temple. Both are believed to be sanctioned by the late ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum. There is an electric crematorium run by a group of Indian expatriates. Non-Muslims in the country are free to practice their religion but may not proselytise publicly or distribute religious literature. The government follows a policy of tolerance towards non-Muslims and Polytheist; in practice, interferes very little in the religious activities of non-Muslims. In early 2001, ground was broken for the construction of several additional churches on a parcel of land in Jebel Ali donated by the government of Dubai for four Protestant congregations and a Catholic congregation. Construction on the first Greek Orthodox Church in Dubai (to be called St. Mary's) would begin at the end of 2005, members of the Eastern Orthodox Christian community in the UAE have had to use churches of other denominations for services, until General Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince and UAE Defence Minister, donated a plot of land in Jebel Ali. Apart from donated land for the construction of churches and other religious facilities, including cemeteries, non-Muslim groups are not supported financially or subsidised by the government. However, they are permitted to raise money from among their congregants and to receive financial support from abroad. Christian churches are permitted to openly advertise certain church functions, such as memorial services, in the press Population

The population of the UAE as of 2001 was estimated to be 3,290,000. The population of Dubai was estimated to be 971,000. The UAE is a highly cosmopolitan environment and a large part of the population are non-UAE nationals, primarily a mix of other Arab nationals, Asians and Europeans. 80% of Dubai's population is comprised of expatriates with Europeans and Asians accounting for approximately 70% of households. Approximately 71% of the population is male and 29% is female. The UAE population is expected to grow by 3.3% per annum to reach 4.15 million by 2010. Dubai is expected to have a population of 1.4 million by 2010. Climate Dubai has a sub-tropical, arid climate, with perfect weather for at least six months out of the year. Rainfall is infrequent and happens mainly in winter. Usually it amounts to about 13 centimeters, spread over five days per year. Temperatures range from a low of about 10 degrees Celsius on winter nights, to a high of 48 degrees Celsius in the midday summer heat.

Al Qasr - Located at the beautiful Dubai Marine Beach Resort & Spa. Serves Lebanese and Middle Eastern cuisine. Overlooking the splendid gardens, swimming pools, and beach at the Resort makes for a splendid evening, which accompanied by a Belly Dancer and Arabian Music. The food is delicious.
Antique Bazaar - The Indian restaurant in Dubai. Located at the Four Points Sheraton Bur Dubai. Offers excellent food with unusual decoration. Every table in the restaurant is different. Open for dinner from 19:30 until 3 am. Prices are reasonable. 
Tel. : 3977444. 
Ayam Zamam - Famous and highly respected Lebanese restaurants in Dubai. Located at the Century Hotel (formerly known as the Dubai Marine Hotel) in Bur Dubai, Ayam Zamam is open seven days a week for lunch from 12:30 - 15:30 and for dinner with live entertainment from 19:30 - 3am. Arabian music from 10:30/11:00 guarantees a special experience. 
Tel. 352 0900.
Benjarong - is a beautiful fine dining Thai restaurant located at the only Thai hotel in Dubai, the Dusit hotel. Located on the 24th floor the restaurant offers views out over the desert. Try to enjoy a drink or two at the lounge which is located on the same floor.
Blue Elephant - Blue Elephant in Dubai will not disapoint. Offering excellent Thai food in nice surroundings.
Cappana Nuovo - This Italian restaurant offers guests in door and out door dining with amazing views of the Arabian Sea.
Century Village - Located right next door to the Irish Village, the Century Village is a small oasis of fine dining restaurants, in a relaxing atmosphere of fountains and greenery which allows you to almost forget that you are in Dubai. Restaurants include Da Gama (Portugese), La Vigne (Italian), a Japanese Sushi Bar, Coffee Shop, and an Arabic restaurant. 
La Vigne - Offers you authentic Italian cuisine in a wonderful setting. With indoor and outdoor dining, you have a choice of eating under the stars in the courtyard area, or dining in the spacious restaurant. The food is very good, plentiful and well priced. Reservations can be made at 
Tel. 2820030.
Hatam Restaurant - Famous for kebabs. The food they serve is plentiful and cheap. The servers are very friendly and will help you find your way around the relatively limited menu. They have daily specials every day and the standard fare consists of rice, and different forms of kebabs. 
Tel : 277755/237797
Kwality - Let's face it any restaurant with a name spelt like this has to be featured ! This Indian restaurant is located opposite the Century Hotel in Bur Dubai (formerly the Dubai Marine Hotel). Open from 8 to 11:30 the restaurant offers good quality Indian food. 
Telephone 3936563. 
Le Venezia - Italian theme style restaurant located at the Metropolitan Hotel, along Sheik Zeyahid Road. As you dine on the Italian cuisine, you are entertained by roaming Opera singers, guitarists, and violinists, that help add to the fun of this fantasy restaurant. Children are not allowed in, so if you do want to show your children this unusual and large restaurant then you will need to use the pizzeria which is on a balcony level overlooking the Venezia proper.
Tanour - An Indian restaurant opposite the Century Hotel (formerly the Dubai Marine Hotel). The dining area of the restaurant is located on the second floor and is extremely small. What is nice about this small restaurant is that the lighting is subdued which offers a nice private meal for you to enjoy. The food is very good and reasonable. The restaurant is open 7 days a week from 12:30 until midnight. 
Telephone 3935990.
Thai Bistro - One of the best Thai restaurants in Dubai, with even other hoteliers recommending it as a great place to enjoy the delicate and exotic flavours from Thailand. You have a choice of indoor and outdoor dining. Outdoor you sit under the stars, gazing over the landscaped gardens, with light shimmering off the swimming pools, as you look down to the beach, and the Arabian Sea. 
Telephone - (971-4) 461 111. 

Having expanded along both banks of the Creek, Dubai’s central business district is divided into two parts — Deira on the northern side and Bur Dubai to the south — connected by a tunnel and two bridges. Each has its share of fine mosques and busy souks, of public buildings, shopping malls, hotels, office towers, banks, hospitals, schools, apartments and villas.

Outside this core, the city extends to the neighbouring emirate of Sharjah to the north, while extending south and west in a long ribbon of development alongside the Gulf, through the districts of Satwa, Jumeirah and Umm Suqeim.

At first glance, the city presents a predominantly modern face, an ever-changing skyline of new developments, from striking glass and concrete towers to gracious modern buildings incorporating traditional Arabian architectural motifs and features. 
 

The Creek, a natural sea-water inlet which cuts through the centre of the city, is the historic focal point of life in Dubai. A stroll along its banks evokes the city’s centuries-old trading traditions.

Visitors will be captivated by the colour and bustle of the loading and unloading of dhows which still ply ancient trade routes to places as distant as India and East Africa.

An attractive way to view the Creek and the dhows is from an abra, one of the small water taxis which criss-cross the Creek from the souks of Deira to those on the Bur Dubai side.

Boatmen will also take visitors on a fascinating hour-long trip from the abra embarkation points to the mouth of the Creek and inland to the Maktoum Bridge, passing on the way many of the city’s historic and modern landmarks.

Redevelopment work has transformed parts of the Creek’s banks. On the Deira side, a broad and well-lit, paved promenade extends from the Corniche, which faces on the Arabian Gulf, all the way to the attractive purpose-built dhow terminal constructed beside Maktoum Bridge.

On the Bur Dubai side between Maktoum and Garhoud bridges, Creekside Park provides pleasant paved walks and extensive landscaped public gardens.

At the inland end of the Creek is a large, shallow lagoon, now a wildlife sanctuary which has become a haven for migrating shore birds. Some 27,000 birds have been counted here at one time during the autumn migration. The most spectacular are the many Greater Flamingos which have made the Creek their permanent home