Text: Nikolai Gudalov THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES ARE NEVER CALLED CALLED THE "GOLD COAST". FROM YELLOW METAL, EVERYTHING CAN BE PRODUCED HERE, AND SOME MASTERPIECES EXCEED THE MOST FANTASTIC LEGENDS ABOUT UNLIMITED EASTERN LUXURY.
From a religious point of view, Islam treats gold with restraint. Doing business with the help of gold and silver, rather than paper money, is, of course, considered more charitable and reliable. But this, as stated in the Qur'an, is only for "the next life." External wealth alone cannot bring a person closer to Allah. It is better for a Muslim to limit himself to wearing silver, and if female beauty can be framed with gold, then a man shouldn’t flaunt it. But in the life of the eternal righteous, paradise gold bracelets, dishes and bowls await ...
Nevertheless, gold sparkles in the Emirates everywhere. It can be bought in boutiques of famous jewelry houses or in colorful oriental markets. Golden Souk ("Golden Market") in Deira - one of the largest and most famous in the world. And for those who want to "just" buy yellow metal without too much searching for jewelry, bargaining and market bustle, an elegant solution has been found - gold vending machines. In their introduction, the UAE is a pioneer. Gold-plated cars were installed at the luxury Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi and at the capital's airport, Burj Khalifa Tower and The Dubai Mall. Robots-sellers will find gold bars, coins, and jewelry. But in the Emirates, gold can be won. Not only the wealthiest, but also random lucky ones can get rich. So, during the Dubai Trade Festival 2014, a kilogram of gold was played out every day!
Of course, a huge amount of gold jewelry is bought in the UAE by women and for women by their fathers and husbands. A special occasion is a wedding. The groom pays the bride family a dowry (usually not less than 30 thousand US dollars), and gives the bride herself a gift - mahr. Such a gift includes 25-30 thousand dollars and 2-2.5 kg of gold and even platinum jewelry for 30-45 thousand. Note that the Prophet Muhammad presented his future beloved wife Aisha for the wedding with only 50 dirhams ... In modern UAE, to protect grooms from squandering, even a mahr limit of 50 thousand dirhams has been set. But sometimes they still spend 10 times more. After the wedding, women are free to dispose of the makhrom themselves. It is not surprising that today in the UAE they control about a fifth of all private property! There were even special women's bank branches, where the emirates put their jewelry.
But even against this background, the most extravagant "golden records" of the Emirates attract attention. Shining metal is widely used in architecture - for example, only in the decoration of the Dubai hotel Burj Al Arab 8 thousand square meters of 22-carat gold. Abu Dhabi is not far behind: the interiors of Emirates Palace shine with gilding, like the chandeliers of Sheikh Zayed Mosque. By the way, at Emirates Palace every day about 5 kg of edible gold is spent on desserts and decorations. And in his lobby in 2010-2011, the world's most expensive Christmas tree was installed. The winter beauty herself was worth 10 thousand dollars, but in the Emirates they put on her jewelry - bracelets, chains and even watches - more than 11 million! Finally, speaking of rich interiors, golden toilets are mentioned as a parable. Well, this is really not a myth. Moreover, in the UAE, gilded latrines can be found not only in buildings, but also on floating luxury temples - yachts. Continuing the theme: the legendary Dubai hotels inspired one Australian firm to create a gold toilet paper roll. A product worth almost $ 1 million 400 thousand is completely suitable for use, during which, according to the manufacturer, the shiny flakes of 22-carat gold will fall on the floor ...
Money and jewelry have always been made of gold. But the emirate’s records in this area exceed all expectations.
Emirates love powerful and expensive cars that the gold rush also does not pass by. Recently, disputes about the mysterious Mercedes seen in Dubai, which is allegedly covered with white gold and runs on biofuels, have not ceased here. And in 2013, the UAE presented a model of the most expensive car in the world, made from a five-hundred-kilogram piece of pure gold.
It is interesting how in the United Arab Emirates addictions to gold and to the latest technical innovations are combined. They use gold-plated laptops and tablet computers, mobile phones and flash cards ... Against the backdrop of such extravagance, a contest is held that was held during the Ramadan - the month of fasting - in 2013 by the Dubai government. It gave participants gold if they were able to lose weight. Each kilogram was paid with a gram of precious metal, and the three main prizes were coins worth up to $ 5,400. So gold in the Emirates, it turns out, can be not only a commodity at the vanity fair, but also an incentive to work on yourself.
In 2008, the world's largest gold coin, cast at the Canadian Royal Mint, was presented in Abu Dhabi. Such coins, weighing 100 kilograms each, were made only five. Two of them were bought by investors from Dubai. In the UAE itself, a meter-long silver coin was cast, coated with gold and weighing 165 kg. She got into the Guinness Book of Records.
Back in 1999, the world's longest gold chain 4.1 km long was exhibited in Dubai. Of these, 3.136 km in the form of separate decorations were immediately bought by 6363 Dubai. And in 2009, one Saudi firm introduced the world's heaviest gold ring weighing almost 64 kg in the Dubai gold market, of which more than 5 kg are precious stones.
