Dubai Dreams is a documentary series which looks behind the glitz and glamour of life in Dubai - the world's fastest-growing tourist resort and the world's largest building-site. Thirty years ago Dubai was a desert settlement. Now it's one of the world's fastest-growing cities, with half its population involved in building luxury properties. With $2.7 billion worth of property under construction in a single year, Dubai has fast become a magnet for the fabulously wealthy and is the destination of choice for anyone with real money and a taste for luxury. Each episode of Dubai Dreams gets up close and personal with a particular character who finds themselves caught up in this whirlwind growth - from the Property Agent to the Real Estate Magnate - from the News Photographer to the Building Industry Recruitment Agents. Each episode reveals the unique issues they face and the day-to-day life in such a diverse east-meets-west community. Dubai Dreams provides an excellent resource and research opportunity for entrepreneurs and investors thinking of getting into the Dubai property market. The series also gives a great deal of insight into the tourism industry in Dubai.
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1. News
Gulf News photographer Paul Velasco is new to the Arab world and has to get used to reporting in a country that, despite appearing very western, exercises strict control of the press. When getting David Beckham on the newspaper's front page is classed as a major victory his disillusionment with the place begins to grow.
2. Property
The property market in Dubai is one of the world's hottest markets. From the amazing Palm development built out to sea to the hundreds of apartment blocks, it seems investors just can't get enough. With money to be made, property agent Paul McCutcheon is there to cash in by buying a villa for a fellow Geordie who's never even visited Dubai.
3. Real Estate
Billionaire Mohamed Ali Alabbar is head of the largest real estate group in the world and also responsible for much of Dubai's amazing transformation. Mohamed is, in addition, a government minister. In a rare glimpse into his world, he's closing multi million dollar deals with Giorgio Armani, promoting Dubai to the West and trying not to upset the ruling sheikh.
4. Social Problems
The rapid development and glittering skyscrapers of Dubai mask its many social problems. American Sharla Musabih is on a mission to put things right. She's spent twenty years rescuing people, from the women who find themselves in crisis to the young boys who are brought to Dubai as camel jockeys. Now she's fighting for government recognition so she can expand her refuge.
5. Hot One Hundred
For the first time the country's equivalent of Hello magazine, Ahlan, is holding a party to celebrate the hottest one hundred people in Dubai. To make it onto the guest list it helps to be a party animal, socialite or friend of the publisher.
6. Workers
Dubai is the world's largest building site, creating a demand for hundreds of thousands of workers. Partners Younis Amiri and Mr Chacko run a recruitment agency trawling the world for the right people, yet unlike other agencies they do not charge a fee which can take more than a year to pay off in a country where there are no unions, no minimum wage and few workers' rights.
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