One Of Few Occasions I Wished I Could Be In Two Places At The Same Time
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.
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