The Palm, Jumeirah began construction in June 2001 and was expected to be completed in 2006. Due to design changes the expected completion date is now December 2007. There are plans for three five-star hotels to be built on The Palm, Jumeirah each with a distinctive national theme: Okinawa, Brazil, and Venice. The Palm's leaves will be covered in luxury holiday homes, when these went on sale in 2004, they were all sold with in three days of being put on the market; notable purchasers include the Beckhams.

You can find here some other interesting places:

• The Burj al-Arab hotel
• Ski Dubai - ski slope on desert

Satellite photo of the second island (currently under construction) Jebel Ali

The Palm is constructed of sand islands that are made of sand dredged from the bottom of the Gulf which is conveniently narrow, and shallow, and the sand was then sprayed by the dredging ships, which were guided by GPS, onto the required area in a process known as rainbowing. On the outside of the outer ring of the island there is a huge breakwater constructed of carefully placed rocks that were collected by blasting.

Dutch scientists were called in, because of their experience of changing the land of their own nation, to study the area and perfect the plans to make sure the island would remain intact over time and through storms, and function correctly. However, the owners refused to wait until they had completed their investigation, and ordered construction to commence immediately. After the island had been constructed, the Dutch scientists discovered that the tide could not reach all around the palm and if left, the water would stagnate at the top of the palm, and it would become a haven for algae and mosquitos. The owners saw this as unacceptable and ordered action to be taken immediately. The scientists then came up with the current design, which has two channels through the outer ring, each about a quarter of the way around from the nearest end. These channels allow the tide to come in through the sides as well, and this means that all of the water in the palm is replaced every two weeks.

(Source: Wikipedia)

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