Dubai paper plane game
Fly up Dubai Creek, past the wooden dhows, all the way to the Burj Khalifa.
Wind-tower houses by the creek, then taller towers. Get past the oryx, then the pearl diver.
A harbour on the creek
In 1833 families of the Bani Yas, led by Maktoum bin Butti, settled beside Dubai Creek, a natural harbour on the Gulf. The town lived by fishing, trading and pearl diving. Today it is the biggest city in the United Arab Emirates.
“I'd follow a dhow out of the creek and into the Gulf.”
The landmarkThe Burj Khalifa
The Burj Khalifa opened on 4 January 2010. At 828 metres it is the tallest building in the world, rising high above the old town by the creek.
Who keeps the wish in Dubai.
An Elite wakes first; the Boss guards the wish itself. Hit their weak points for a BONK!, land the last blow for a KO!, and each one grins and takes a bow.
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The Elite
The Oryx
Came home to the desert · Keeper of the dunes
Arabian oryx are white antelope with long, straight horns, made for a desert with little water. By 1972 hunting had wiped them out in the wild. A few kept in zoos were bred into herds and set free again, and in 2011 the oryx became the first animal to climb from extinct in the wild back to vulnerable.
The oryx lifts its head high, its gold horn rings flash, and it stares straight at the plane. The oryx rears up on its hind legs, and its gold medallion swings. The oryx lowers its long horns to the ground in a slow bow.
“I'd follow its tracks across the dunes.”
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The Boss
The Pearl Diver
Dives on a single breath · Keeper of the Gulf
Before oil, pearls were Dubai's main trade. Every summer the boats sailed out for months. A diver clipped his nose shut, sank fast with a stone weight and filled a rope basket with oysters on one breath, while a puller on deck hauled him back up by rope.
The pearl diver takes a long, slow breath, smiles and holds up his oyster so the pearl catches the light. The diver's stone weight swings, and he nearly drops his oyster. The diver laughs, tucks the pearl into his basket and waves the plane on toward the tower.
“I'd hold my breath and count with him.”
Dubai cleared. The tower caught the last of the sun, high above the boats on the creek.
- The oryx bowed so low that its horns touched the ground.
- The pearl diver held his breath the whole time I was flying. I tried too and got to five.
The plane reaches Dubai from Istanbul.