What to know

Dubai Over 4 Decades

Dubai in 2007

The Dubai Media Office Tweeted pictures of the Emirate taken by NASA in 1977, along with pictures four decades later.

A series of images Tweeted by the Dubai Media Office on Wednesday show how the country transformed over the past 40 years.

The images were captured by NASA, the American National Aeronautics and Space Administration, as far back as in 1977, 40 years ago.

Comparing the images side by side, you can see the massive transformation the city went through in just a few years.

In the first image it is a dessert, with no visual representation of a city, while the last one shows today’s Dubai, a dynamic, modern metropolis.

Dubai in 2000 - NASA

Picture from 2000 – NASA

Dubai in 2011 - NASA

Picture from 2011 – NASA

Back then, it didn’t have the infrastructure its residents enjoy today, when camels outnumbered vehicles. True urbanization of Dubai started in 1979, with the opening of Jebel Ali Port and Free Zone, transforming the small fishing village into an economic powerhouse and popular tourist destination.

Dubai in 2017

The city in 2017

Today, Dubai is one over the most technologically advanced and culturally diverse cities in the world. Not only is it filled with skyscrapers, it is home to the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa.

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