World Islands: The mini world of Dubai

Just imagine if you could have the experience of travelling the entire world sitting at only one place. If you could enjoy the same weather, same food, same feel as different countries would have but at a single place. No hassle of shuttling your bags from one country to another and no need to have many number of days at your disposal either. Wow, that sure sounds awesome!  

Let us tell you, this is no work of imagination. It can happen for real. We are talking about the World Islands in Dubai. Sitting around 4 km off the coast of Dubai in the Persian Gulf, the World Islands are a collection of smaller islands designed to replicate the world in miniature, with each island named after its corresponding country.  

Man-made islands 
So, what’s so special about World Islands? Well, these islands are not natural. They are artificially made to resemble the global map. In total, there are 300 islands, each representing a country or place on the global map.  

The mastermind  
The project is the brainchild of Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The man-made archipelago is being created by Dubai-based development firm Nakheel Projects, a name associated with many high-profile projects across the region, including St. Regis Dubai and The Palm. 

Far from over  
The construction began in 2003, before a light stop during the 2008 financial crisis. Since then, things have moved at much slower a pace, with only a minor part of the project being finished.  

But that hasn’t stopped celebrities around the world from buying the countries on a whim. Famous owners include F1 champ Michael Schumacher, the international pop star Madonna and Hollywood actresses Lindsay Lohan and Hilary Swank. 

The sad news is that the project is far from over. Not many islands have been completed. The first country which finished completion was Lebanon. The global hotel group Anantara launched its 70-room resort, at the location giving a new buzz of hope for the destination and it is currently the only open resort on the whole archipelago. This resort sits in the South America region of the islands.  

Heart of Europe  
There have also been reports of a section called the Heart of Europe opening soon. It will see a small number of the islands transformed to replicate the continent of Europe. Fake weather conditions including rain and snow have been created in some areas. The project includes the building of a series of luxury hotels, private mansions and floating villas, each of which is designed to transport guests to different European destinations, including Switzerland, Germany, Venice and Sweden.  

Well, whenever the project sees the light of the day, it sure sounds very inviting indeed!