National Geographic

Man-made structures areincreasingly at odds withthe natural landscape in theGulf states. PhotographerRoger Grasas focuses onthis “construction of anDUWLƃFLDOZRUOGRYHUWKHnatural world.” Clockwisefrom top left: The world’sODUJHVWƄRZHUJDUGHQLQ'XEDL8$(DSRVWHURIa car stuck on a hotel walk-ZD\LQ0DQDPD%DKUDLQa seafood restaurant in'DPPDP6DXGL$UDELDDQGDQDUWLƃFLDOSDOPWUHHLQ'XUXPD6DXGL$UDELD``````past,” says Grasas. “Before the oil thesewere poor countries. [Now] they are re-lating the new with something better.”Rapid development without regardfor history or context was dubbed“dubaization” by Yasser Elsheshtawy,a former architecture professor at UnitedArab Emirates University. Open landhas been covered with energy-guzzlinghigh-rises that “enable inequality andsegregation,” says Elsheshtawy, andhistoric neighborhoods are at risk. Onesilver lining, though, is that urban devel-opment has improved roads and publictransportation, which benefits everyone.Efforts to preserve “the odd fort, pal-ace, or souk” are often geared towardtourism, Elsheshtawy says. But recently,as traditional architecture is disappear-ing, he’s perceived a newfound pressureto preserve “whatever is left.”``````Giant shopping malls and soaring hotelshave redrawn the skylines of cities likeDubai and Abu Dhabi. In the swelteringdesert, indoor ski slopes are dusted insnow and flower gardens bloom. “Theyare constructing an artificial world that iscompletely disconnected from nature,”says Roger Grasas, a Spanish photogra-pher whose project “Min Turab”—anArabic expression meaning “from theearth”—looks at the idiosyncratic land-scapes of the oil-fueled developmentboom in the Gulf region.These cities—like Dubai, Doha, andAbu Dhabi—“have in a way rejected the``````SKYSCRAPERSBUILT ON SAND``````By Nina Strochlic``````3+272652*(5*5$6$6=220$*(1&<|EXPLORE|CITIES