The Palm Islands, or Palm Islands, is a man-made archipelago in the waters of the Persian Gulf. It is composed of sand and stone, is constantly threatened with erosion and resists waves and winds. Despite this, the archipelago is visited by thousands of tourists every day.
The eighth wonder of the world
The Palm Island archipelago is one of the most ambitious projects in the Emirates, which is visible from space with the naked eye. It fully lives up to its name. The outlines of its islands are shaped like date palms, which are treated with great reverence in Islam. From the point of view of geography, it is correct to call them peninsulas, since they are connected to the coastline.
The archipelago includes three large peninsulas:
- Palm Jumeirah;
- Palm Deira;
- Palm Jebel Ali.
They have increased the coastal area of Dubai by almost 520 km. Between them are also a man-made group of islands - "Universe" and "Mir". The Palm Islands are amazing. One gets the impression that the archipelago has been moved to the desert from the pages of science fiction novels. It is rightfully considered the eighth tourist wonder of the world and the most daring engineering structure in the history of mankind.
Construction history
The bold idea of creating an alluvial island in Dubai was born in the late 90s as a way to increase the area of the coastline. By that time, the part of the coast suitable for construction was already occupied, and the demand for real estate increased every year. Sheikh Mohammed, a well-known connoisseur of architectural wonders, became the mastermind behind the project.
The shape in the form of a palm tree is far from a sheikh's quirk, but the result of design calculations. This shape made it possible to accommodate a maximum of buildings. Thus, the first peninsula of Palm Jumeirah has a coastline of 56 km. Moreover, its diameter is only 5, 5 km. But due to the seventeen "branches" of the peninsula, the area is 9 times larger than if it had the shape of a circle.
The construction of the first peninsula began in August 2001. Only natural materials were used in its construction - local stone and sand. It was decided to abandon the use of steel and concrete, so that the peninsula would harmoniously fit into the environment. This solution added problems for the builders, as they had to constantly control the water, which easily washed out what was already built.
The construction of the second peninsula, Palm Jebel Ali, began a year later - in 2002. Palm Deira is the largest of the three. Construction began in 2004.
The territory of all three peninsulas is surrounded by crescent-shaped breakwaters. Their height is about 3.5 m, and their length is 12 km. The breakwaters are made of stone.
The Palm Islands are mostly located villas, bungalows, hotels, museums, shopping centers and other entertainment venues.
How to get there
Tourists mainly visit the first peninsula - Palm Jumeirah. The other two are not yet fully built up. Palm Jumeirah is located half an hour's drive from Dubai Airport. The peninsula is connected to the mainland by a monorail, the movement of which is fully automated. Its line runs along the trunk of the "palm" and consists of only four stations. The monorail reaches the top of the peninsula, where the main attraction is the Atlantis hotel and the water park. Its opening hours vary depending on the season.
You can take a taxi and ride not only along the main, but also the rest of the streets of the artificial peninsula. The fare is relatively low. The Palm Jumeirah also has a subway.
