DUBAI, WHOSE ADDRESS could well be Number One, Arabian Riviera, combines the sophistication of a first world metropolis with the potent tang of the Middle East.
Justly viewed as one of the most go-ahead cities on the planet, it has transformed sand dunes into golf courses and erected glittering shopping malls on what was once little more than barren desert.
Marinas packed with yachts and cabin cruisers have replaced fishing dhows bobbing at anchor, and the billowing sails of the Burj Al Arab hotel replace the Bedouin tent as the emirate's principal icon.
New residents can look forward to enjoying a luxurious way of life tinged with a certain exoticism. The shopping in Dubai, anchored around an annual cut-price retail extravaganza, has attained legendary status, with malls such as Ibn Battuta (named for Arabia's wandering Marco Polo) providing a heady mix of international designer labels and local handicrafts within a themed complex.
But no single modern retail outlet comes close to the centuries-old Gold Souk, an Aladdin's Cave of precious metals, where ornaments are sold by weight (according to the day's international pricing) and a strong measure of age-old courtesy. Incidentally, there is hardly a security guard in sight.
The shopping in Dubai, like the eating, is endless. The emirate's vast smorgasbord of restaurants offers the world's cuisines laid out for the myriad expats who have come to live and work in the city.