Most of you have probably already heard about Dubai by now, if for no other reason than for the stunning Palm Tree Islands and The World Islands built entirely on land that was reclaimed from the ocean and are all visible from outer space, or perhaps for Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world (designed by the Chicago-based architectural firm Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill). Yes, you can see it in the picture, and no, is not that the adjacent buildings are small, it is the Burj that is really, really tall.
However, for those of you who do not know– and I didn’t know this either until I Googled it, I am embarrassed to say– since 1993 Dubai has literally “sprouted up” from the desert’s sand in a proliferation of tall buildings crowned by the Business Center of which Burj Khalifa is the most prominent landmark.
Although much of its development is due to the discovery of oil in the 60s, today Dubai thrives due to tourism, real estate, and financial services. But how could a small city like this (population just over 2 million in 2010) be turned so quickly and successfully into what would appear to a first-time visitor like the “Switzerland” of the Middle East?
Let me chip in with my two cents of Feng Shui:
1) The United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), of which Dubai is one, is located in the NorthEast corner of the African continent, a tricky area to read given its irregular shape, but nevertheless the geographical boundaries are still pretty clear. And as I mentioned a few times in previous newsletters, the NE area of a continent at this time is the strongest, while the SW is the weakest (Cheer up California!).
2) Dubai sits on the Arab Gulf (a.k.a. the Persian Gulf) and receives the strong influence from the Water Qi (which relates to financial prosperity). Most of the city runs along the water’s edge rather than deep inland, hence most of the city receives directly the Water Qi benefits.
3) The newer part of the city (most of it) runs along a NW-SE grid, which proved an extremely successful orientation for all the buildings built during most of its development.
4) Last, but not least, is where the house (in the picture) of the founding father of modern U.A.E., Sheikh Saeed, is located in Dubai. He was the first visionary and during his rule Dubai grew from a small trading town into a major cosmopolitan city.
This house, where he used to live at the time, just so happened to have had an extraordinary good Feng Shui for leadership and success, which had undoubtedly supported his ability to manifest his vision for the development of the city.
Since then the original building located in Old Town (and which is now a museum and open to the public) was substantially remodeled about 25 years ago and in the process the original energy has been changed. But it is still a good example of upscale, local architecture, so I recommend a visit to it if you are on site.Many factors appear to have contributed to the development of this amazing city.
It is a living example of what can be accomplished with resources, strong leadership, and good Feng Shui (incidental or on purpose).
Do you have resources and strong leadership, but success still eludes you? Perhaps it is the Feng Shui part that is missing. I’ll be happy to assist you in correcting it.
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