Dubai is welcoming tourists back in force six months after tension between the United States and Iran raised fears for travellers to the Gulf, with the UK Foreign Office lifting its "do not travel" advice and Emirates reporting a sharp rise in bookings.
The advisory had been in place since February, when drone attacks struck the Fairmont The Palm Hotel and Dubai International Airport. One local worker was killed by falling missile debris in the attacks. Travel writer Ben visited the emirate, one of seven that make up the United Arab Emirates, shortly after the warning was lifted.
Ben said he was woken in his Dubai hotel room by repeated calls from his grandmother, who had seen news of escalating tension between Washington and Tehran and was worried for his safety. Yet he found no sign of anything out of the ordinary in the city the next morning, with traffic streaming past gleaming skyscrapers as usual.
Planes were still arriving from across the globe, hotels were full of guests, and the nightly LED and laser display on the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building at 829.8 metres, was continuing as normal.
Bookings bounce back
Emirates, Dubai's flag carrier, said forward bookings jumped 16 per cent once restrictions were eased and reported "sustained demand" for the coming winter season. In June the airline became the first to offer comprehensive travel insurance, including medical and conflict-related cover, to all customers, a move designed to reassure those still wary of travelling.
"It has been safe here, absolutely," said Haroon, Ben's taxi driver from the airport, who has lived in Dubai for ten years. "It's been so quiet because everyone sees this area as the same place as Iran but the region is so big. You are here now and you would never know there had been fighting."
Ben's first meal, at the "warehouse chic" Time Out Market food hall inside Souk Al Bahar, was packed with diners despite sticky 9.30pm humidity. He noted few visitors from the UK and Europe during his trip, as the hot season brings daily highs above 40C (104F); the main tourist period usually begins in November, when temperatures fall.
A different side of Dubai
Beyond the malls and designer boutiques, Ben found what he described as a real place beneath the gloss. Dubai Creek, a 15-minute drive from downtown, was for generations the city's commercial lifeline, where pearl divers and merchants once traded with Persia, East Africa and India.
The creek divides the city into Deira and Bur Dubai, and wooden boats known as abras ferry passengers between them for one dirham, about 20 pence. On the Bur Dubai side, the Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood, with its narrow alleyways and wind towers, was reconstructed as part of a preservation campaign championed by the then Prince Charles after his visit in 1989. Britain fostered ties with Dubai and the region from around 1820 until the UAE was formed in 1971.
Historic streets and a creative quarter
Away from the tourist trail, Ben stopped for a beard trim costing £3.60. A dozen miles across town, Alserkal Avenue, a cluster of former warehouses in the industrial Al Quoz area, has developed over the past two decades into what he likened to early-2000s Shoreditch, with street food trucks, galleries, artisan cafes and the independent Cinema Akil.
Inside the Efie Gallery, Ben admired oil paintings by British-born artist Tunji Adeniyi-Jones, alongside a Seventies-style space holding more than 2,000 records. In a vintage bookshop nearby he found a first edition of the original Lonely Planet guide to Dubai, published in 2000.
Dubai's international food scene
Nine in ten Dubai residents were born overseas, and Ben said the city's restaurants reflect that diversity rather than the soulless celebrity-chef outposts he expected. At the Michelin-starred Orfali Bros, dishes draw on the founders' Syrian heritage, including an eclair filled with porcini cream and a "corn bomb" combining sweetcorn custard, Parmesan and huitlacoche, a Mexican delicacy. Tasting menus cost around £60, with courses optionally paired with non-alcoholic drinks.
At Tresind, billed as "modern Indian", Ben tried a cannoli stuffed with aloo matar and wagyu beef dipped in an Indian take on Argentine chimichurri. His favourite stop was Taqueria El Primo, opened in December by Mexico-born Jonathan Colin, which regularly draws hour-long queues for achiote-marinated chicken tacos costing £5, followed by Mexican vanilla soft-serve.
Ben also joined a Frying Pan Adventures food tour, a company founded by two sisters that leads walking groups through lesser-visited parts of the city. Over Iraqi kebabs and baklava, co-founder Farida shared her favourite restaurants and spoke about Dubai's range of cuisines.
Ben said people in Dubai were focused on hoping tourists return rather than dwelling on geopolitics. Emirates operates 140 weekly flights from the UK to Dubai, with Heathrow departures from £585. Doubles at Vida Dubai Mall start from £142, while doubles at W Dubai - Mina Seyahi start from £259.
