The Burj Khalifa (formerly known as The Burj Dubai), the world's tallest building, officially opened today, January 4, 2010.
For the past 12 months, I've lived in its shadow, about a kilometer
away from where it towers. Each time I left my not-so-temporary
home-away-from-home in Jumeirah 2, one of Dubai's more established
areas, I cast my eyes on "The Burj," in all its dubious splendour.
I'm not a fan of big buildings. Or of bigness in general. But when
confronted with something so ambitious, so extraordinary, so completely
and totally over the top, one can't help but pause to reflect on the
vast potential of the human spirit, and on how we choose to manifest
that potential.
And so I have the Burj Khalifa, until today known as the Burj Dubai,
to thank for an entire year of daily meditations, despite my
ambivalence with respect to the structure itself.
Regardless of my mixed feelings about the Burj Khalifa, and on what
it represents, I must confess that I wish I could have been in Dubai
today live and in this Burj's shadow, to see one of the marvels of
modern architecture and technology take its place on the world stage.
Oh yeah. And besides that? I'm a huge fan of fireworks. HUGE fan!
And these ones beat any I will probably ever see in my entire lifetime.
Full stop. No contest. Hands down.
Mabrook Dubai :) You did it again, against all odds. Amazing city. Amazing Emirate. Amazing attitude.
Good for you Dubai. You rock. BIG time.
Related links:
An Open Letter to Johann Hari of the Independent