Dubai's glittering house of cards tumble and markets go into free-fall. As the vast investments turn to sand we offer 5 reports which illustrate the impossible dream Dubai's rulers hoped to create.

”When it comes to real estate development Dubai is building on the frontier between the incredible and the impossible”, shouted Dubai's ambitious investment video with perhaps more foresight than was intended. The dream includes a new tallest building for the world and 1,500 miles of artificial beach front, the famous Dubai world Palm Island. “The apartments here, were all sold on the basis of a simple 3D presentation. It was sold out in 72 hours!”. These films highlight not only the glitz Dubai's leaders strived for but also the social revolution that came with it, greater equality for women and a more cosmopolitan society than seen elsewhere in the region. But will the dream soon fade, as dreams do?

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