BSEIndia: All Stock Market News: DG - A trip down the memory lane

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

DG - A trip down the memory lane

Trip Down Memory Lane

Chicago Beach Hotel (where Burj Al Arab and Jumeirah Beach Hotel now are – "Jumeirah")

Dubai's First Traffic Lights ,

" Dubai 's Drivers have always been impatient, no more so than when waiting at Traffic Lights. The Drivers used to sound their car horns if they thought the lights were taking too long to change. For no apparent reason the Traffic Lights were switched off between midnight and 6 am. At least the Residents of the nearby Apartment Blocks could get some sleep. However no one needed an alarm clock! Promptly at 6am the car horns started again" J

Taken from the roof of the Carlton Hotel in Diera in 1967. Clock Tower can be seen in the distance (arrow). In the centre of the photo is the old Dubai Municipality Building . Behind that is the Dubai Electricity Company's Power Station that supplied Dubai 's electricity. All the buildings in the foreground have been demolished.

Airport facilities were minimal. A compacted sand runway, a small terminal building and a service building formed Dubai 's Airport in the 1960s.

A new Terminal Building and a hard surfaced runway had been built by the mid 1970s

In the mid 1950s Dubai 's Creek filled with sand becoming very shallow and difficult to navigate. Dubai 's trade was affected. Diera's coastline was eroding and buildings and roads along the coast were threatened. Dubai 's Merchants and People were complaining.

Sheikh Rashid solved the problem by employing Overseas AST to dredge Dubai Creek to 20 feet deep and make it navigable again. Dredge material was pumped ashore to reclaim new land areas on both sides of Dubai Creek. Dredged material was also used to recover Deira's Coastline and build the Deira Corniche.

Doesn't appear to be too much traffic - non existent in fact! Must have been a major road junction in Old Dubai to have a Traffic Policeman on duty.

Speed Cameras: Dubai Police were always keen to use technology to help their cause. Drivers had to keep a look out for VW Combi Vans parked on the side of the road!

Hatta Road – Well do you see Academic city here J

Jumeriah Beach Road joined Jumeirah and Umm Sequiem to Dubai . Although the road shown here is tarmac, further towards Umm Sequiem the tarmac disappeared. The road did not lead anywhere and came to a dead end around where Burj Al Arab is today.