Bhurj Khalifa is said the tallest standing man-made structure in the world today at 848 m. It is a huge towerlike structure which is 210 storeys high though not all if it is complete. The tip of the Bhurj's spire can be seen a good 95 km away, they say. There's a lot of statistics - pretty impressive - presented all along the corridors that lead one into the structure.
As we approach the Bhurj from the road, there is a good photo opportunity spot. One can stand at an angle from the Bhurj and hold out one's palm and have a photo taken and it will look as though one is holding the tower in one's palm. We tried it - I am just a poor amateur photographer and this is all I could muster:
They say it will house offices, residences, hotels and malls when it is ready, though my head swims at the thought of living at that height, so far away from the comforting security of the ground. One can go up to the 124th floor and take a look at the world around through a telescope or just look out of the glass enclosures. The elevator that takes you up there to the 124th floor does so in a flash even before you can say 'Bhurj Khalifa.' It is supposed to be the world's longest elevator run in the world and in the minute or less that it takes to go up, one just does not feel any discomfort or pressure [though my ears got blocked for all of a minute both while ascending and descending.] And right there at the top is this little souvenir shop that sells you keychains, models, pens, and merchandise - they sure know how to cash in, out here.
The Bhurj is worth visiting, though if you are not taking a tour, or going by car, then finding the office within Dubai Mall is quite a wretched pain. There are signboards everywhere all right, but they all assume that visitors to the Bhurj will travel by car, so Sudhakar and I [who took the Metro from home] got mighty exasperated wandering all over the basement parking of the Dubai Mall, following signboards that finally led to the Mall entrance. Grrrr..r! Everyone we asked outside the Mall - some Mall staff, security - told us to follow signboards and take the basement - and led us on a jolly wild goose chase.
Apparently Bhurj began as an ambitious project undertaken by the Sheikh of Dubai. But with construction in progress, Dubai fell into bad times and had the project ran into financial trouble. The ruler of Abu Dhabi baled out the project and took over the financial burden of its construction and the Bhurj dream turned real.
Which is why Bhurj was named bhurj Khalifa after the Khalif of Abu Dhabi and not Bhurj Dubai as it was originally slated to be.
And finally, a breath-taking view from Bhurj top taken when the sun was setting over Dubai Creek. The big structure silhouetted over the waters of the Dubai Creek is not some super mammoth yacht or ship, but the Dubai Marina - a seven -or eight - or even seventeen - I dont know - star hotel built in the waters. Here in Dubai, the rich can live out their wildest fantasies.
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