Sunday, December 11, 2011

Burj Khalifa

Burj Khalifa is the tallest man-made structure in the entire world. I honestly have to admit, it's a very impressive building. The cost was close to $1.5 billion and since Dubai fell behind and became a little in debt, their neighboring and more richer city Abu Dhabi helped them out with paying for the project. So they changed the name from Burj Dubai to Burj Khalifa, to honor the current President of the United Arab Emirates, Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan; who happens to be the world's third wealthiest monarch, with an estimated net worth at $19 billion.

Burj Khalifa has 163 habitable floors and another 43 maintenance floors located within the spire at the top of the building. The building is "mixed used", which basically means that it is used for many reasons. This building includes Armani Residence, Armani hotel, and offices. It's also very expensive to purchase any piece of property in this building. The average square meter for office space costs about $43,000 while the residences cost about $37,500. That is unbelievably expensive for an apartment. However, if you have the money, then it's probably worth it because of the luxurious amenities offered in this building. Modern day and advanced technological products are offered inside the building.

This masterpiece truly reflects the wealth of the country. However, I'm still confused as to why they had to build it. There are nine hundred apartments in this tower, 825 of which were empty at the time of it's initiation. I don't know exactly what the number is at now, however I sure do hope that they get filled up quick. That's only because it'll save them the embarrassment, not only from other Middle Eastern countries such as Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon, but it's oil rich neighbors such as Kuwait and Qatar.

It's like a competition to see who wants to build the tallest building in the world. Dubai has held the record for a few years, however a few months ago, Saudi Arabia just approved to build a building which is taller than Dubai's. I don't understand what fun they find in building these super tall buildings, however this scenario right here was described in Islam as one of the signs of the Day of Judgment. Those in the desert will compete to build the tallest structures in the world.

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