B – Burj Khalifa

B – Burj Khalifa #AtoZChallenge #BlogchatterA2Z

The moment you land in the ‘Vegas of the Middle East’ you are surely going to be left spellbound by the spectacle known as ‘Burj Khalifa’. Dubai is known as the ‘City of gold’ for many reasons and one of them is their opulence. There isn’t a superior example of this extravagance in the entire world than the ‘Tallest building in the world – Burj Khalifa.’
About the building:
It is 829.8 m high with more than 160 stories. Built at a whopping $1.5bn its construction started in January 2004 and was officially opened in January 2010. Adrian Smith, of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, whose firm designed the Willis Tower and One World Trade Center, designed Burj Khalifa. The design of the building, if viewed from the top, resembles a ‘Hymenocallis or Spider Lily’ flower – a regional desert flower.
The observatory deck of the building is located at a height of 1483 feet or 452.1 meters. Burj Khalifa boasts 2957 parking spaces, 304 hotels, and 900 apartments.

The story around its naming:
There is a very interesting story around the naming of Burj Khalifa. It was either going to be named ‘Al Burj’ or ‘Burj Dubai’ when the construction started. In 2004 when the construction began the real estate market was at its boom but unfortunately for Dubai, the markets crashed followed by a global slowdown during 2008-09. Dubai fast vent into severe debts. It was their sister emirate of Abu Dhabi that extended their support and pledged to bail Dubai out of this. As a mark of respect (as they say), it was named after the head of UAE and the ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan and hence the name ‘Burj Khalifa.’
How to reach:
The main building is in an area known as Dubai Downtown, which is built around the Burj, keeping it at its center. For one to reach the base of the building they need to go to the Dubai Mall and then follow directions to reach the building. If you just want to catch a glimpse of the building then the place where the fountain is there in Dubai Mall, that is the best place to view its might and it is free too.
You can also have a panoramic view of the city from their observatory deck, which is on the 124^th floor. You need to pay a price to go up there. It is around 140 AED if you book online in advance, otherwise, you can always walk up to the counters and pay a nominal price of around 400 AED to get the highest view in the world.
If you want to spend some more you can choose the ‘At the Top – Burj Khalifa Sky’ package where you can enjoy the hospitalities of the Sky lounge at level 148.
If you can make the arrangements and if and only if you manage to get inside the Dubai Mall, there is no better way to celebrate your New Year’s Eve than witnessing the fireworks at Burj Khalifa.

Img ref: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BurjKhalifaHeight.svg http://www.skyscrapercenter.com

World Records:

• Tallest building in the world.
• Tallest free-standing structure in the world.
• Highest number of stories in the world.
• Highest occupied floor in the world.
• Highest outdoor observation deck in the world.
• Elevator with the longest travel distance in the world.
• Tallest service elevator in the world.

Some astounding facts:
It’s three times as tall as the Eiffel Tower and nearly twice as tall as the Empire State Building.
The tip of the tower is visible from as far as 80 km that means wherever you are in Dubai – the Khalifa is never out of your sight.
It is heavy…really heavy – the weight of the concrete is equivalent to 100,000 elephants.
The Burj Khalifa elevator speed is 10 meters per second and it hardly takes a minute to reach the observatory deck on the 124^th floor.
At the peak of construction, 12,000 workers worked on the building per day.
If you thought that this is splurging at its best, wait till the tower in Saudi Arabia is completed. It is tipped to surpass Burj Khalifa and claim the number one spot in the tallest building of the world.
If you are still not shocked with that, Emaar properties have already announced and even showcased the prototype that they will come with an even taller tower. They are just waiting for Saudi to complete its tower and declare its final height.
Whatever the critics might say, it is a modern marvel of the world and placed Dubai right at the top of the world. It is definitely a worthy experience irrespective of what it costs. Don’t miss it.
For all those who love tall buildings,
For all those who enjoy the luxury,
For all those who like the wonders of the world,
And
For all those who love Burj Khalifa…
It’s not a goodbye
But it’s a GOOD BYE.
Manas ‘Sameer’ Mukul
This is the second post for the #AtoZChallenge #BlogchatterA2Z. My theme in Travel Category is ‘Dubai – the City of Gold’, where I would be covering everything about the city in the course of 26 posts.
B – Burj Khalifa
Read the Previous post here:
A – Arrival in Dubai
Please do visit tomorrow for the next post with letter ‘C’
I am also taking part in the #AtoZChallenge #BlogchatterA2Z using another theme –‘IPL – Indian Parliamentary League’. If you are keen on following key issues pertaining to the upcoming General Elections head over to the Politics Theme and share your feedback.