Dubai

Dubai went from pearl-diving creek to vertical mirage in a single human lifetime, and the two cities still share an address: down at the Khor, wooden abras cross for a dirham between the gold and spice souqs while dhows load cargo for ports the skyscrapers have never heard of; uptown, the Burj Khalifa needles into the stratosphere above a mall with an aquarium and a fountain that dances to opera. Neither half is a mask — the trick is visiting both.

The traveller crosses the creek at dusk by abra — still the world's best value in maritime transport —; haggles theatrically in the gold souq and buys saffron by the gram in the spice alleys; goes up the needle at sunset to watch the desert's edge glow; walks the old Fahidi quarter's wind towers for the pre-oil memory; and gives one evening to the dunes, where the city finally exhales and the camels resume their ancient precedence.

The Guide's practical counsel: winter is the whole point — November to March is terrace weather, summer is an indoor sport honestly declared —; the metro is spotless and the taxis fair; dress is relaxed by regional standards but modesty travels well in souqs and mosques; Friday brunch is a local institution best entered with pacing; and the emirate rewards the traveller who budgets one wonder per day rather than five — the desert has taught this city patience it will happily teach you.