Dubai, the largest United Arab Emirates city, is well-known for its luxurious shopping centers, modern architecture, and exuberant night scene. It is no secret that the locals live extravagant lifestyles, with their supercars and exotic animals as domestic pets.
There are currently 26,000 millionaires living in Dubai, the second-largest number in the Middle East after Turkey. The amount of wealth swimming in the UAE has spawned many bizarre inventions, and that is why we are diving into the weird and wonderful things that you may find in this beautiful city.
Exotic Pets
Owning an exotic pet in Dubai has long been a status symbol for wealth in the Middle East. This dates back to when Egyptian and Persian royalties owned big cats as a sign of power. Many well-off folks flaunted possessing a baby leopard or a cheetah in their car or boat, even letting them run free on the beach.
In 2017 the United Arab Emirates put up a law banning people from owning these wild animals. Officials were concerned about the dangers of these animals running wild. Anyone involved with the ownership and sale of these exotic animals could face jail time or a $136k fine.
Gold ATM
Where would the first-ever gold ATM hail from? Dubai, of course! The vending machine is not made of this dense metal, but it dispenses small golden bars as an ATM does with cash. The machine was unveiled at a hotel in Abu Dhabi in May 2010, attracting many visitors within the first few minutes of opening.
The ATM is German-created and displays a live display of the rates. It has been placed in one of Abu Dhabi’s most luxurious hotels, “Emirates Palace Hotel,” which distributes one, five, and ten grams worth of bars.
Camel Parking
Since Dubai is in a desert, sights of domesticated camels would not be out of the ordinary there. So even if this camel may look out of place in a parking lot, they don’t seem to mind being there while their owners run errands.
In a wealthy place like Dubai, you may find luxury cars like a Ferrari or a Bentley parked in the middle of the city. Yet, it is not unusual to just buy a camel and park it once you do not need its service. Of course, it is still a funny sight to see.