Did you know that the world’s most iconic metropolis, Dubai, was once a fishing village? When you see the global city of Dubai, sprawling with world-class structures and high-rise towers, it is indeed hard to imagine that this desert city was once a tiny fishing village. Dubai, also known as The City of Gold, is the largest and most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is the capital of Emirate of Dubai, one of the seven emirates that comprise the country.

The history of Dubai dates back to 3,000 BC and is as interesting and diverse as the destination itself. It is believed that Bronze Age nomadic cattle herders were among the first to settle in the area and by 2500 BCE, they had successfully established a thriving date palm plantation. By 5th century CE, the present day Jumeirah, which is popular for its beautiful beachside villas, had become a prime caravan station on the trade route to Iraq.

Fast forward to 18th century and we see the arrival of Bani Yas tribe members who acquired political power and settled in Abu Dhabi. The livelihood of the area's inhabitants was primarily based on fishing, pearl diving, boat building apart from providing accommodation and sustenance for the traders, in gold, spices and textiles. These wares can be found in our souks today.

Until 1966, Dubai was enjoying a reasonably successful period where fishing, trading, and pearl diving were doing good business. It is true that the region’s economy seemed vulnerable when Japan invented artificial pearls in the 1950s. However, all this changed in a jiffy when crude oil was discovered in Dubai's Fateh Oil field. This single event in Dubai’s history is a major milestone and has impacted the entire economy of the emirates. The country produced the first batch of ‘black gold’ in 1969 and exported 180,000 barrels of the oil. Today every fifth citizen of UAE is a millionaire and many of them are in Dubai.

Today Dubai is among the world’s top ten places to visit on earth. The city boasts of unmatchable hotels, amazing architecture besides world-class entertainment and exciting sporting events. Burj Khalifa, the tallest man made structure in the world, was prominently featured as a location in the fourth Mission Impossible film. Who can forget Tom Cruise’s skyscraper stunt in Mission Impossible – The Ghost Protocol? The beautiful Burj Khalifa hotel, the pride of Dubai presides over the coastline of Jumeira beach and is the world's only hotel with a seven star rating. The Emirates Towers, a majestic 350 meters tall, is one of the many structures that reflect the commercial confidence in a city that expands at a an enviable rate.

Among the many major international sporting events that the city hosts, The Dubai Desert Classic (the Professional Golf Association tour), The Dubai Open (an ATP tennis tournament), and the Dubai World Cup (the world's richest horse race) are the most popular and draw thousands every year.

Dubai has a tropical desert climate with hot, sunny conditions, thanks to its proximity to the Tropic of Cancer and the Northern desert belt. Summers are extremely hot, humid and dry with temperatures soaring up to 40 °C and higher and rarely dipping below 30 °C. While the winters are still warm, temperatures change considerably, as high as 23 °C and as low as 14 °C.

The weather in Dubai is usually fine and rainfall has slowly been increasing over the past few decades. The ‘City of Gold’ has been receiving an annual precipitation of up to 150mm in the recent years. However, as is the case with most Middle Eastern climates, Dubai's rainfall is both irregular and brief.

Are you wondering what the best time to visit Dubai could be? Well, the best time is between November and March when the weather is pleasant for outdoor activities. Besides, the world famous Dubai Shopping Festival is held during January-February and is an ultimate shoppers’ paradise. Festivity, lights, food, shopping, glamour, sports and adventure mark the shopping bonanza that will be held between 26 Dec 2018 and 28 Jan 2019.