A week ago, wife Linda, and I flew from Today to Tomorrow.

We explored it, then came back from Tomorrow to Today.

The United Arabic Emirates, also known as the Arabian Gulf States, are Tomorrow. We, in America, Tampa, surely are Today, by some comparisons.

The seven Emirates are eastern Arabian seaside, north towards Oman and Syria. They are Abu Dhabi and Dubai, best known to most, then Sharjah, Ajman, Umm, Al-Qaiwain, Ras Al-Khaimah and Fujairah. Now forget them, all but the principals, the fairylands, best-known of Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Linda and I flew the 14 and a half hours it takes nonstop from Atlanta on Delta.  The wonderful Emirates Air goes there, too, from there to the Far East and all points Europe and Africa.

It is a long way.

It is alongside the vast deserts of Omar Sharif and Lawrence of Arabia. Surely, if Omar (as Ali in the film) and Lawrence had ridden white Arabian stallions in recent years on a dune crest looking west to the sea, Omar would have wondered. “What the hell is that?” Seeing the sparkling Abu Dhabi or Dubai skylines for the first time, while the more practical would have put first things first and declared simply, “well, maybe now we can get a cold beer.’’

He could have had the Budweiser or Heineken, available to us in the Grand Hyatt room,  for starters, then had a fine five-course Arabian dinner- with belly dancers as they ate. Everything is available in the wonder city of Dubai or nearby Abu Dhabi, indeed the best of the best. That is where we spent our time, a four day trip with English-speaking Indian drivers. English is the second language in the UAE. The English settled these places, but returned them to the ruling Bedouin Families who are still in control and own the land of the sheikdoms.

Yes, Dubai is all it is reported to be. For starters, the skyline sparkles and grows by the minute.  There are perhaps 100 tall buildings, or, as they call them, towers, including the world’s tallest at 124 stories. It is probably at 100 now, with a crane up there on top pulling everything up. Another is to be 100. And, yes, the one built like a sail, the Burj Al Arab, is there, built on huge landfills with a topside restaurant extending outward apparently unsupported by the hotel. It is.

National Geographic featured the building in a documentary for television. Perhaps 40 towers are under construction now along the seacoast, some on the flawless beaches, many man-made.

The coastline of Dubai

The main north-south roadway is magnificent but not enough. It is being widened from four to six lanes. Traffic is horrific at rush hours. Stop and go’s are maddening. A 50-mile tram alongside the road is being built by a Japanese contractor, but is a year or two away. Don’t drive. Rent a car and driver. You’ll get a Lexus or BMW, unless you asked for less. We would.

The new buildings are condominiums, apartments or office towers. Full page ads appear in the very fine two daily English newspapers. Plenty of rentals or buys are available, with conditional payment plans available. Hugh new towers have wraparound ads seeking buyers.

Yes, Holland and Knight, the worldwide law firm with a major Tampa base, is opening an office there. Key Tampa office partner, Bob Grammig, said they had a man on the job there now. When we arrived, we called him, a University of Michigan graduate who had been in the Holland-Knight office in Miami, named Donald Moore and his beauteous Brazilian wife, Jackie, met us for dinner. He said they pursued a place to live, got the responses, two for the same place. They took it. He is already busy, he said. Their adventure is ahead. She is a language devotee.

They know the business is there in that Dubai city of 1.4 million, where there are few taxes—no income tax, no property or sales tax, where there is a Gold Souk, precious medals exchange and the great stock and mercantile exchanges that once were for gold and camels but now are for stocks, bonds, the world, and of course, oil. Don’t forget the black gold.  Abu Dhabi sits on 9% of the world’s oil.  Dubai sits on plenty as well, as do their neighbors, but the Emirates are well organized, their ruling sheiks and emirs are cooperative, organized and agree the sheik of the biggest and wealthiest emirates should be the chairman. So shall it be declared, so shall it be done.

There are mosques all about, large and huge. A few can be visited, but not generally when prayers are offered. Some are gold-laden, with the rove and the pillars, the sides painted in gold. One counsel told Linda, “if it looks like it is gold, it is.”

The men are handsome and the women are black-haired beauties. The dress of the Nationals (or locals), who make up about only 25% of the overall population of some 2 million, is varied.  Some will be in the robes and headdress. Some will not. Some women will be completely covered, some will be in complete western dress, even to the open collar with sports coat and no tie. Caps are fine, topless bathing suits are not.  This is Muslim country.

It also is a sports country.

You know Tiger Woods is the golf ambassador. You know Ernie Ells is a favorite and has a course designed there. The big name golfers play in the Dubai Desert Classic. Like everything else there, fresh water is the white gold.  The desalinization business is vast. Often I would ask the driver what is that.  There would be a line of new homes of a variety of values in some business areas. He would reply, “a new city.” The Emir said it. It will be filled. We have water and we have oil.’’ And he would point then to a desalinization plant. It is an easy and necessary process. Helps make the golf courses green, and allows people to live in this place that once not long ago wasn’t.

The horse track for the $10 million Dubai World Cup, the world’s richest horse race is a beauty, and to which they all come once a year in March.  Thoroughbred horse racing thrives. Why would it not in the land of the sleek four-legged Arabians? There is a big soccer stadium, cricket fields and thousands of yachts, sailing and fishing craft for the big and for the smaller of the small of the sea.  There is even an indoor ski slope with manmade snow and of course, Busch Gardens and Sea World are projects in the works there.

Add to this, Dune racing, a Formula One course and a favorite, World Wrestling Entertainment from the States.

Dubai is one of the culinary capitals of the world and one of the most diverse. Indian, Pakistani, Filipino, Chinese, French, Italian, German, Arabic, Sushi. Ask for it, they had it. In our hotel alone, we had the choice of six different restaurants.

If you get a chance, go to Dubai.

Gas is cheap there.