Desert bloom

Anyone who visited Dubai 15 years ago might struggle to recognise the place today. The astonishing rate of development has created hundreds of acres of dazzling high-rise neighbourhoods out of bare earth. The pace of change has been astounding, with some estimating that a third of the world's cranes have been deployed there in recent years, erecting ever-higher and more luxurious edifices. The most breathtaking creations have arisen from the sea. Where a decade ago there was little but fish and well-laden cargo ships, luxury towns and villages now dazzle the eye, arising out of the shallo...