From Fiction to Reality

The Golden Burj Khalifa

Visiting popular landmarks of Dubai is not unique for people who live in different parts of the UAE. But a trip to explore various places of the emirate reveals many interesting aspects of the city.

I realised this during a recent hangout with my friends. One of our destinations was the famous Dubai Gold Souk.

My past visits to the Gold Souk were limited to a few shops. Now, as a tourist, I was going everywhere and was noticing everything. We all felt amazed seeing many unique things.

It was remarkable to see several gold shops in a row displaying huge amount of gold jewellery. I was fascinated when I saw huge necklaces on the walls of these shops. They looked as if they were golden armours of the soldiers in a king’s army.

Many other things too astonished me. In a jewellery shop, I saw a gold bar that weighed about 160 kilogrammes.  It is not easy to exhibit the extraordinary gold bar. Next to it was a tall and astonishing model of Burj Khalifa made from pure gold. I could not believe it at first sight. Soon I noticed a display board saying stating that it was made of pure gold.

But the third exhibit left me stunned. It was a shirt made of pure gold. I felt as if I was in a fairyland. I recalled a story about a princess who wore a robe made of gold, on her birthday. I enjoyed reading the story thinking that it was a fictional work. But here I was seeing it in reality.

But I had to convince myself because Dubai is such a place where fiction can become reality.

(Published in The Gulf Today on March 28, 2015)