@kaa I remember back in the day when, if anyone knew one of the Emirates, this was the one they knew. I wonder if Abu Dhabi is jealous of Dubai’s rise to prominence? (I also remember back in middle school teaching a cute girl that Abu Dhabi was the capital of the United Arab Emirates…as one does in middle school… :-P )
@smokey Ha, for my dad it was Sharjah...never Dubai as the centre of things going on in the UAE. I think the local population of AD are happy for their city to be a little more...quiet? They have their important things (Ferrari World, WB World, F1 Grand Prix, the Louvre) and leave Dubai as the tourist destination :)
@kaa I think outside our colleges and universities (and even then, perhaps only the Middle East centers) and perhaps anyone who’s been associated with the military’s Central Command, I don’t think anyone here would have heard of Sharjah; it’s all “Ooh, Dubai this, Dubai that; Celebrity X is spending New Years in Dubai!” among Americans who have heard of the Gulf… :-)