United Arab Emirates Travel Guide : Gulf countries Photos : Dubai Photo

Like many countries in the Gulf, Dubai owes its development to oil,
but here, more than elsewhere, gold also played a dominant role.

In fact, in 1894, the governor, the Sheik Maktoum bin Hasher Al-Maktoum, declared Dubai to be a duty-free area, thus inviting foreign merchants to settle here...

... The era of gold had just begun!